Business and Health Harmony: How to Stay Healthy While Running a Business

Terri Conger, CFP®

June 10, 2024

The Greek and Spartan militaries were among the first to explore regular exercise to improve conditioning, endurance, strength, and speed, as far back as 600 B.C. In modern times, it was an epidemiologist named Jerry Morris who, in 1949, was the first to discover correlations between exercise and cardiovascular health. This is important because, according to the American Heart Association (AHA), for more than a century, heart disease has been the #1 killer of Americans. But it isn’t just about dying. Health issues put a strain on your time and, if you are an entrepreneur, your business.

Running a business is often described as a 24/7 job, leaving little time for exercise and healthy meal preparation. However, relying on processed meals, eating out, or delaying regular exercise due to a busy schedule can have unwanted implications. The habit of unhealthy eating and neglecting physical activity can gradually take a toll on your health and well-being, which in turn can negatively impact our business performance.

The Mayo Clinic recommends at least 30 minutes of exercise per day. On average, people scroll social media 2 hours and 23 minutes everyday (according to DataReportal). Similarly, those aged 15 and older spend almost three hours watching T.V. each day (according to Statista). When it comes to your diet, plant-based or lean proteins, fruits, nuts and vegetables are crucial for maintaining good health. But it takes time to buy and prepare. By reallocating a fraction of your free time to exercise and meal prepping, you can incorporate these health-promoting activities into your daily routine which could also help your business.

But how can a busy business owner truly manage their busy days to fit in exercise and healthy eating? Here are a few tips:

Budget your time like you do your money

Budgeting time is a lot like budgeting your money. You have 24 hours in a day, and most likely 6-8 of those hours will be spent sleeping. Then you have another 8-10 hours working. That leaves between 6-8 hours of free and family time to manage.

Keep a journal of your exercise regimen and the food you eat

This is actually much harder than it seems. Maintaining an accurate journal over a long period of time is as difficult as keeping up with an exercise routine or healthy eating regimen. Keeping a journal requires the same habit-forming discipline to maintain eating right and exercising after the initial enthusiasm buzz has evaporated.

Action

Taking action is so important when deciding whether to exercise and eat right. Having plans and creating a routine and strategy is essential, but doing it is when it all becomes real. Even if you only start by doing something for 5 minutes a day, you are doing it and that means everything. If you only do it for 5 minutes the first two weeks, that is OK. You can build on that over time. You are also training your mind to develop the habit of exercising and healthy eating. If you are in the habit of eating out on the way to work, for example, pulling through a fast-food drive-thru or slipping into the cafeteria at work for the breakfast special, eating at a nearby restaurant for lunch, and then ordering out for dinner, you can start changing your habits. You can do this by preparing one of those meals each day.

Food Prep for the Week

Consider food prepping for the week to save time and money and maintain a healthy diet. Each week, maybe on a Saturday or Sunday morning, before your day gets going and you get too busy, run over to the grocery store and purchase healthy food for the week. Go home and spend an hour preparing a week's worth of breakfast, lunch, and even dinner if that suits your lifestyle.

Be Patient

Developing healthy eating habits doesn’t show right away. You have to be patient and do it over an extended period. It is a lot like building a business or investing money. Results compound over time.

Consult your financial professional

A financial professional can help you not only with budgeting your money, but they may also be able to help you budget your time on your journey to create new habits to live a healthier lifestyle. With your life transformation, there may be monetary changes you can make, and therefore you may consider modifying your financial strategy and goals.

Important Disclosures:

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.

All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however, LPL Financial makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy.