Today I want to talk about self-care - because the decisions you make as the spa owner for health and wellness hugely affects how you show up at work. If you are not feeling at your best, you are not performing your best at the spa.

Plus, there’s the fact that you can't afford (in both money & time) to get sick or burned out in the middle of the busiest time of year. But more than that, not taking care of yourself is going against your whole purpose of helping to nurture and take care of the people in your community.

Pause with that thought for a second.

If you’re burned out, tired and feeling like you are going to lose your mind, I would like to suggest that it’s time for you to make some very clear decisions about your own health and wellness before it's too late.

4 Tips To Help You Stay Sane, Healthy and Productive at the Spa This Summer

Make a priority list for your own wellness - If you tend to put your own needs on the back burner but put everyone else first (I get it! We’re a bunch of givers in the industry!), I want you to start by making a list all the things that make you feel good during the summer. Do you like to spend extra time with your kids? Arrange your schedule so you can hit the water park once a week. Do you love reading? Block off a few hours a week to read a great book.

It doesn't always have to be huge blocks of time, even taking a little bit of time here and there for yourself can make a huge difference in your mental wellness during a stressful time.

Make a plan - I often joke that if it’s not in my calendar, it doesn’t exist. The same goes for your self care - if you don’t schedule it in, it just never happens. Being a leader means you must prioritize time for yourself if you wish to work at your highest level. So book it, and keep it sacred. Do not cancel on yourself or make someone else a priority. Protect yourself and your energy. Your business, clients and earning potential depends on it.

Nutrition - When you’re busy rushing from client to client the tendency is to fit a bit of food in whenever you have a spare minute. But this means your blood sugar is fluctuating and you may not have enough nourishment to work at your best. I’d like to suggest this summer you block off a lunch break for the entire season. This goes back to points number 1 & 2 - make yourself a priority and block it off.

If you also struggle to get healthy meals made at home because you are so busy at work, I would recommend meal planning and shopping for the week on Sundays. Again, this is about making a plan and sticking to it because you’re worth the effort of nurturing your potential.

Recognize that you always over-schedule yourself - Most spa owners are people pleasers and want to make everyone happy, but if you’re fitting in clients at the detriment of your own energy, health and happiness, it's time to make some changes. Your tasks are part of the Queen Bee Role of your spa business, and if the Queen Bee is unhealthy and not working at an optimal level, the whole hive is not healthy.

You need to protect yourself because you are the investment in your spa business. Whether you are working directly with clients or you are out of the treatment room and managing your spa business and team. You are the business, and if you’re not healthy, the business isn’t healthy.

The bottom line here is that you need to prioritize your self-care this summer. We all know that if you just wait for it to happen, it will never happen so consider this a loving reminder: you’re important, your energy is important, so make sure you are prioritizing you.

If you are struggling with your spa business and are totally stressed out and don't know where to begin, please contact me. We can chat about systems to help you prioritize yourself and find your spa business zen.