A simple system I use to protect my mental health starting a business

3 min read time

Ever notice how the pursuit of entrepreneurship can feel like you’re chained to your laptop screen while your mental health takes a hit or a hundred?

Now, whether your workday is a highs or lows is irrelevant.

The issue I’m talking about is fluorescent lights, low physical activity, and the idea that life is taking a backseat.

Then, I stumbled upon this photo by Matt Blease:

I can’t be the only one who saw this photo and had a mini panic attack.

Sure, no one’s dropping dead in front of a laptop (at least not literally), but the thought ‘Is this how I’m going to die?’ stuck in my head. It makes you wonder how we prioritize ambition over health with the all-too-familiar “I will take care of my health when…” mindset, even though the benchmark keeps shifting. It’s a sobering realization as a twenty-something trying to kickstart a business.

So, here’s my game plan — a holistic approach to prevent that panic attack from turning into a warning sign I forget in 2 minutes:

1. Sit outside in direct sunlight for at least 10 minutes. When the sun is on vacation, a light my neurologist recommended to mimic sunlight. Both help with mood regulation and has helped combat my depression.

Note: 10 minutes because it’s all I can manage right now without feeling like I’m wasting time even though it’s literally for my mental health. But more on that battle another time.

2. Plan one activity that aligns with the life you want to live when your business is up and running once a week. The goal is avoid the ‘I’m missed out on important moments because of my business’ and ‘I don’t remember the last time I had fun’ subreddit comments I see. Plus it makes the life I want to live my present instead of something to change.

3. Home-cooked meals. Am I broke. Yes. Are my culinary skills are questionable. I don’t want to talk about it. Point is cooking ‘healthy’ meals pulls me away from the screen, nourishes my body, and even feels good.

Note: If we are being honest, it probably takes less time than scrolling UberEats and going out to eat. It’s even healthier than the ramen and less than $10 more expensive in my experience. Plus, it’s usually a couple meals in one.

4. Productive and planned breaks. Shoutout to Stephen Timoney for teaching me about productive breaks in 5, 15, 30, and 60-minute intervals. For me it looks like chlorophyll water, meditation, workouts, and dog walks. Bonus: It’s also self-care thats helped me avoid mindlessly scrolling and wasting time doing things that make me feel like crap.

Now, if you’re reading this and thinking, “Sounds good, but I have too much work and not enough time,” just consider this:

All four preventatives combined cost me maybe a fifth of my day, assuming I get a solid 8 hours of sleep — which, let’s be honest, is rare, excluding the one weekly activity.

I won’t pretend I’ve been flawless in sticking to these preventatives. Some days, the weight of depression or failure hits hard, and I feel like I’m drowning. But the point is to keep trying, so you don’t end up as a cautionary tale of entrepreneurs who picked up destructive habits due to struggling mental health. Even as an ‘aspiring’ entrepreneur, I can see the rollercoaster of mental and emotional health. Maybe a tactic or two could help you too.

Your preventatives might look different, but the goal is a healthy and more sustainable approach to entrepreneurship.

(Please) Find what works for you.

Nichole