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It is a common misconception that entrepreneurs and business owners should sacrifice all of their time toward their business. No doubt that running a business is hard and damn right stressful, but it is important and necessity for all those running a business to understand the importance of getting enough sleep.

We often find ourselves working through the night in order to “get ahead” but realistically by doing this we are sacrificing our progress tomorrow. We might be getting ahead for a few hours but as a result lose an entire day. I want to stress the importance of getting the right amount of sleep (which only you would know). Here are some of the benefits of getting a good night sleep:

• Improve attention and concentration
• Increased cognitive ability
• Helps you maintain a healthy weight
• Keeps your heart healthy
• Keeps your immune system strong
• Takes care of your emotional well being 
• Reduces your stress levels
• Increased productivity

Sometimes our biggest weaknesses are ourselves and its important to realise that. Holding yourself accountable for your actions allows you to take responsibility and change the outcome and progress of your day. It also gives you the ability to change bad habits and improve on goals and resolutions. 

There is many ways to hold yourself accountable, here is what we recommend:

1. Ask a friend

Simply asking a friend or family member to hold you accountable is a great way of being held accountable. This is commonly seen when people want to get fit, they will get a gym buddy, therefore if they don’t turn up, they won’t have just let themselves down but the friend also. 

The simple action of asking a friend to keep you accountable is powerful! 

2. Be disciplined

Stand up to all the thoughts in your head saying “no” and just do it! You should never argue with this thought as it will always win. You have to be strict and just do it without thinking.

3. Avoid distractions

Ensure you keep your focus on the task at hand, set timers and focus on nothing but that task.

4. Look at past achievements

Sometimes looking back at how much you have gone through, how much you have learned and the progress you have made is enough to keep you accountable to your goals. It is a take on “We’ve come too far to give up” and it works! 

5. Mini Goals

Sometimes looking at the bigger picture is overwhelming, so set your goals and then break them down into mini goals which are a lot less scary. This will help you not become overwhelmed with the task at hand and get started. 

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Take a break! Sometimes we all get overwhelmed and it just creates mental fog which feels impossible to break out of. Take a break and relax. Go spend time with your family or go out for a meal, do whatever makes you happy and soon enough these huge walls of problems that were staring us in the face slowly start to crumble. 

Sometimes when we have a problem that is just stacking up it is all that we see, and I think we have all been here before. In the end, the problem is never as big as it once seemed. Taking a break clears you from this mental fog.

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Starting small is the key to success. We all want to dream big but it is often our own disaster if we try to do it all at once. Dreaming big is great but it is important to strategically plan and optimise your growth to prevent self-sabotage. 

That's why you should start small and build. There was a great quote by Will Smith:

“You don’t set out to build a wall. You don’t say I’m going to build the biggest, baddest, greatest wall that’s ever been built. You don’t start there. You say, I’m going to lay this brick as perfectly as a brick can be laid. You do that every single day. And soon you have a wall.”