As a business owner, we need to be switched on. Awake to the latest talking points, trends, tools, platforms, the right people to be connected with, the right media contacts and so on, the list is endless. But what happens if we are so switched on that we are actually ineffective?
As the covid pandemic hit, many small businesses had already begun to look at the online space. In the main though, we probably collectively scrambled to get on the right meeting platforms, free tools and freemium versions while we waited to be paid, all whilst trying to manage debt, get to grips with rapidly changing operations and even lay off staff and all that goes with that. First of all hats off to everyone – We Did It!!!! We survived. Give yourself a massive clap on the back, I did. The small business owner is nothing if not resilient.
News outlets report that lockdown arrangements are likely to be in place for some time. Thankfully as versatile business owners looking into the online space, we have been preparing for that and have already embraced our virtual lives. But how do we continue to survive and then thrive and even flourish in the virtual space?
For me, I must take regular pauses during the day. I am largely at my desk (if not virtually teaching) from 10-5 trying to have a productive few hours every day helped by breaks, a wander around my garden, my kindle and my beloved Nespresso machine. As nerdy as this may sound, I don’t feel too good if I’m not ‘reporting for work’ in some form of work wear(although I do love my pjs) with my messy bun every day. I may be just a little institutionalised from my banking and faculty office work days….
Underpinning everything though, is my mindful half hour every day. I HAVE to do this. Otherwise I get sucked into the race of everything feeling urgent, fear of getting left behind, becoming irrelevant and all of the other things small business owners worry about. That’s before I even start fretting about my partner getting sick and wondering if I’ll ever see my mother again.
But……..when I practice a daily body scan or reconnect with my breath, I come to the now, I am once more living one day (one moment sometimes) at a time and I and my business have everything we could possibly need right now or even want in the current moment. The right actions slowly present themselves intuitively as I take a pause to potter about the tiny apartment, head for the coffee machine or circle the garden, if I make the time to tune in and really listen.
And besides my mum and partner are just a Zoom call away. God bless Zoom.
Join me for a FREE 30 minute Mindfulness Zoom call every Sunday at 6.30pm. Sign up by subscribing via the pop up box on www.stillmind.ie
Grainne Toher
Founder of Yogapal and Still Mind
http://www.stillmind.ie
https://www.facebook.com/stillmindapp
https://twitter.com/GToherLtd
@GToherLtd