Make Your Mental Health Day Count
As an entrepreneur, your mind is your greatest asset. When your mind is at its best, you are more energized, productive, and ready for any challenge. However, the longer we go without a break, the more likely we are to face burnout. When this happens, we are not performing at our best which can get in the way of achieving success. This is why it is so important to take a mental health day and make sure that it counts:
Find Your Stress
In order to have a successful mental health day, it’s important to identify what has your under so much stress to the pint of burnout. When you find your big stress point, decide whether it would be better to get away from it or push through it. If it can be left only for a day so you can relax, then don’t think about it while you’re on your mental health day. However, if it is something that cannot wait and will cause you even more stress to leave alone, then work through it and take your mental health day when the task is completed.
Schedule the Day
The last thing you should be thinking about while on your mental health day is work. Before setting off on a day of relaxation, make sure everyone knows that you will not be available. Plan ahead on a day you know you will have no interruptions. This way nothing can get on the way of giving yourself the mental break that you have earned. Planning ahead can even help you figure out how you’d like to spend your day off.
Do What You Like
Use this day to an activity that you love. Some people make the mistake of running errands or catching up on work. This isn’t giving your mind the break that it needs. Take advantage of this time off to relax by going on a hike, a walk, drawing, painting, journaling, or whatever puts you at ease and relaxed. When your mind is focused on something that you love to do, it will be stronger for it when the day is over.
How to Manage Your Energy as an Entrepreneur
One of the greatest strengths you can have as an entrepreneur is your energy. You put your energy into your business, brand, networking, and everything else that helps you need to be a successful entrepreneur. In order to avoid burnout which could lead ultimately to failure and setbacks, it’s important to know how to effectively manage your energy as an entrepreneur:
Healthy Eating and Fitness
While this may sound like it has not a lot to do with being an entrepreneur, it definitely majorly effects your career. In order to be working at your best and being the greatest you can be, you need to be healthy. By eating food that has nutritional value and getting in daily exercise, you are being good to your body and giving it the energy it needs. By pumping in more energy through healthy lifestyle choices, you will have more energy and a much better focus for work.
Rest and Relieve Stress
The life of an entrepreneur is often very fast-paced and can feel a bit overwhelming, Many make the mistake trying to power through, thinking that it’ll set them apart from the rest and help them jump professional hurdles faster. This is not the case, however, because overworking yourself can lead to some serious stress constantly weighing down on you. This means that instead of focusing your energy on getting the actual job done, most of it is wasted on worrying over stressful obstacles. To combat this, remember to rest when you need it and destress whenever things are becoming too overwhelming.
Think of What Not to Do
Every entrepreneur will have their to-do list, but successful entrepreneurs will keep a what-not-to-do list. In order to manage your time and energy, know the tasks that are better left alone and would hold you back rather than moving you forward. Look at your days and pinpoint the activities that are not productive and not progressing you towards your professional goals. Then you need to replace them with activities and tasks that will push you forward in your life and your career.
Be Around Those Who Empower You
You are only as good as the company you keep. In order to manage your energy properly, it’s important to be around people who uplift you, not one who will bring you down. Make sure they are encouraging you and not draining you of all your potential energy for success. If there are people who steer you in the wrong direction, distract you from business goals, or discourage you, they are not someone you want or need in your life.
Why Monday’s Are the Best Days for Entrepreneurs
For a while now, Mondays have had a bad reputation. This is mostly because Mondays mean the end of the weekend and the start of the work-week. It can definitely be difficult to see Mondays as the best day of the week, but every successful entrepreneur knowns Mondays are the most important and productive day of the week:
Start Fresh
Mondays can be used as a fresh start of the week. When you have to goal in mind to be more productive, Monday is the perfect day to start the week off right. It’s important to set the right tone for the week and use Monday to be your most productive. When you start off on the right track right away, you are more likely to keep things going longer. Make sure to start each Monday with this in mind.
Morning Routines
Although sticking to a morning routine throughout the entire week is ideal, sometimes life gets in the way and it can be difficult. However, Mondays are the most important day to stick to your morning routine. Not only does this help you to stay focused on the new goals and taks of the week, you’re more likely to enjoy the rest of the day. Find the morning routine that fits into your schedule best and consists of activities you will look forward to doing. This could be making breakfast, taking a walk, or fixing up a cup of coffee. Make sure to start nice an early.
Planning Ahead
Another great way to make Mondays the best is by planning your day out ahead of time. When you have a particular set of goals in mind for what you’d like to accomplish and plan you Monday out ahead of time, it makes the day go by a lot smoother. It’s also a good idea to get most of the tasks of the week out of the way. This way most of what you hoped to accomplish is already out of the way and the week is simply smooth sailing from there.
Put Health First
Mondays feel a lot better when you feel better. In order to start the week off right, start with a healthy meal and make sure to be active that day. Don’t skip the gym and put in the extra time to be healthier that day. By putting more focus on your health, you’ll be more likely to have a productive day and week. A healthy body means a healthy mind, which is very important for an entrepreneur’s success.
About Graham Zahoruiko
ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS LEADER FOR GREATER CORPORATE SHAREHOLDER WEALTH, PUBLIC BENEFIT AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Graham Zahoruiko is a transformational growth leader with over 25 years of entrepreneurial C-Level leadership experience. His objective is to help companies unlock unprecedented growth and increase shareholder value, while delivering an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) that far exceeds the cost of any restructuring or reorganization. He does this by delivering a highly polished “game changing” solution strategy, executable materials, and team mentoring throughout the implementation phase.
The key foundational element of any organization is the right culture. When precisely positioned, the right company values and work environment lead to independent, empowered, self-reflective teams that have both the initiative and the capability to drive new revenue sources, generate higher profitability, and lower operational costs.
The assignments Graham Zahoruiko takes on vary widely based on the specific needs of the companies he works for, but some examples include: interim leadership; positioning and executing an initiative or project; cultural improvements; project and process management; leadership development; growth initiatives; cost efficiencies and improvements; personal career performance coaching; innovation modeling; entrepreneurship; and mentoring.
For a number of years, Graham Zahoruiko has contemplated how he can do the work that he loves but continue to add more purpose, meaning and value. Consultants tend to push harder and harder on the obsession for long-term value for clients.
Combining meaningful work and a meaningful “public benefit” certainly would be ideal. Near and dear to Graham Zahoruiko has always been family, children and disadvantaged. As a background in organizational effectiveness, change management and transformation ideally prepares one for leading through change, Graham is the Director of Organizational Effectiveness, Public Benefit Corporation. Organizational Effectiveness, Public Benefit Corporation delivers high value project-based management consulting services for greater corporate shareholder wealth, public benefit and social responsibility. Organizational Effectiveness, Public Benefit Corporation’s own advocacy efforts focus on families, children and disadvantaged.
While working for a multi-billion dollar energy company, Graham proposed and led an effort to transform a $160 million dollar division with 750 employees and its 4th C-level leader in 5 years from a “cost center” into a “growth center”.
The implementation of this plan involved several key shifts, both in mindset and operation. The first step was the launch of a new culture through the development of a “Cultural Playbook”, which promoted a more innovative generation of employees empowered with the skills and ability to lead the company into a future of unprecedented growth. Graham Zahoruiko also conceptualized, developed, and implemented a QBR (Quarterly Business Review) program and accompanying materials for all senior leaders, resulting in a more consistent reporting format that improved corporate communication, business line health, and tracking mechanisms for leader reviews. This program increased shareholder value by $731 million. Graham also created a C-level leadership presentation for the CEO and Board on the subject of “game changing – change the lens/perspective of thinking” which outlined “the pitch, the proof and the value” of a $1 billion investment. This new thinking derived a 59% IRR, a significant impact on the organization’s P/E Ratio, and a $3.4 billion increase in shareholder value.
When working with a $250 million healthcare company, Graham Zahoruiko found the organization with a global business division comprised of over 350 hands-on IT professionals with expertise in cloud technologies, networking, applications hosting, storage, and disaster recovery. The $60 million division was facing declining revenue.
After rebuilding morale and mentoring the team on leadership and entrepreneurship, Graham helped improve gross margins by up to 40%, and net margins by 17% (12% to 29%) with the addition of $20 million in new revenue bookings. Operations were restructured through offshore centralization, and processes were formalized for the prevention of future revenue and cost leakages. The sales pipeline subsequently grew from $0 to $110M.
Graham Zahoruiko also led the formation a Cloud Software Services sub-business unit, and re-positioned aging software IP into a new offering centered on healthcare data access archiving, reducing ongoing client legacy software costs by 80%. The new release resulted in $15M in revenue opportunity and a recurring revenue stream. The company’s subsequent operating plan focused on continued margin improvement, better client value, innovation, and long-term sustainability of continued revenue growth.
Leveraging very early roots as a repeat start-up entrepreneur, Graham Zahoruiko is an independent management consultant helping leaders improve shareholder value through strategic improvements and transformations in culture, entrepreneurship, innovation, and growth. He has a talent for balancing the business and financial impact of decisions with the people side of the equation.
Northeastern University (Business Management): 1996
Saint John’s Preparatory (General Studies): 1990
Boy Scouts of America (Eagle Scout Award): 1987
