If you own a business and have a chronic illness, it might feel like everything is working against you. Maybe you don’t know how you’ll survive the next day, let alone keep your business afloat. Hopefully, following a few of these tips can reduce some of the load you carry.
Save Time and Reduce Your Stress
If you have a chronic condition, stress likely makes your condition worse. Stress might turn your headache into a migraine or a cold into a lingering cough. While you won’t eliminate all the stressors in your life, the less stress, the better your health is likely to be. It also helps you save time. For instance, if you live in Massachusetts, one way of reducing stress is to get your medical marijuana card online instead of doing it in person. Many people use cannabis to try to manage their symptoms. Getting your MMJ card in Massachusetts online only takes 15 minutes, and you only have to pay if you’re approved. That’ll be one less thing to worry about.
When You Feel Good, Take Advantage
With a chronic illness, some days are better than others. Sometimes, you might only feel like staying in bed and sipping water. But if you’re having a good day, you might have an energy boost and feel like normal. If you have a good day, you might want to spend it doing the things you love, like hanging out with friends or working on hobbies. But this is an excellent time to work on your business. It might look like working on a blog post instead of going out with your friends. Or you may work on marketing instead of pulling your watercolors out.
Although you don’t have to work all day when you are feeling well, you should try to get a few hours in. You might not know when your next bout of sickness will hit. You may wake up feeling terrible the next day and regret not getting things done when you were able to. If you’re able to get a lot done during the day, you might decide to reward yourself by doing something enjoyable in the evening. It’s all about finding the balance.
Rest When You Can
Too many people with chronic health issues push themselves to get more done than they can handle. But in the long run, that can result in you having to take more time off than if you had rested. Instead, give yourself permission to take an afternoon nap or sleep in and start work later. Then you might feel well enough to work the next day. It’s important to listen to your mind and body and pay attention to what it’s telling you.
Create a Support System
While it’s important to have family and friends by your side, you also need to have a support system in place for your business. You won’t have as much time to work on your company, so consider hiring part-time staff members for tasks you don’t enjoy or that drain you too much. Then you can focus on what you’re good at and can accomplish.
