Wellbeing for business owners

Business is nothing without the people behind it so this is a really important episode, join James and Jamie as they discuss how you can look after your well-being whilst still driving your brand forward! You'll be surprised by the fact your business will actually do better.

Show Notes

Behind the Madness is back - this episode's focus is well-being! Mainstream modern-day society sees a lack of sleep, working all hours, no social life and sole focus on business ventures as badges of honour but unfortunately, most people are getting it wrong. Some of the most successful people in the world prioritise themselves, knowing that for their business to perform that they need to be at the top of their game.

Jamie's previous experience has been in the health industry so he and James talk about how to incorporate healthier habits into the working day, as well as the 5 areas to balance the scales and fuel not only you but your business too!

Feet up, headphones in...it's time for some madness

What is Behind The Madness?

A podcast helping companies grow with marketing strategies, automation and time-saving tips and creative solutions.

James: Welcome back to behind the
madness where we talk about business

growth, ways to work smarter and the
fundamentals of business, all geared to

unlocking your brand's peak performance.

I'm your host James Roberts, owner and
founder of Method, and today I am joined

again by Jamie, where we're going to
talk about wellbeing within business.

But before we jump in I wanted to
let you all know about ways that

you can connect with the show.

So obviously at the moment, we've got
some great content going on Instagram,

where you can find us at @hello_method.

But we've also introduced a new email that
we introduced, I think last time on the

pod, which is [e-mail],
you can give us any feedback, ask

any questions, and we will try to
answer them on future episodes.

So with all of that out the way let's jump
on in with wellbeing in your business.

Welcome back Jamie.

Jamie: Hi, James, always a pleasure.

James: Always.

a pleasure, so for those of you that
didn't know, and we all do here.

So Jamie used to, uh, obviously
look after the, the gym manager.

I think David Lloyd.

Jamie: Lead coach.

James: So we thought, obviously I
love a bit of wellbeing, uh, anyway,

and looking after kind of my body
as well as I can, until I slip

and we have pizza with the kids.

But thought wellbeing within the
business would be a great place to start.

I think everybody should be doing
it, I think everybody's becoming

more aware of being able to do it.

What are your thoughts, Jamie?

What are your thoughts about
wellbeing within business?

Jamie: I think it's a really
interesting one because so many

times in the past we've seen business
owners or thought leaders as people

who work themselves to the bones.

They want themselves to burn out and
they don't really look after themselves,

they look after their businesses
and this is what they see as either

getting ahead what they need to do.

But now, as you said, the awareness
by looking after your body, looking

after nutrition, making sure you're
moving, making sure we mindsets

in, we've seen the growth of the
awareness around mental health.

And that comes through stress,
depression, anxiety, how you're

working through your days, your
sleep patterns, all of these things.

It is wellbeing, which is why health
and fitness has become less and

wellbeing has become more the tagline
because fitness has always been, oh

well yeah, you don't go to the gym.

We don't run 10 kilometers
actually wellbeing

James: More of a thing.

Yeah, we've also got a guest lined up
who's going to talk a bit about the

nutritional angles, which is great because
that's something I know a little bit

about, but always looking to improve.

So that's going to be good in a couple
of weeks, hopefully we're going to get

we're going to get that guest on, but.

Jamie: You're gonna sneek peek
that you're gonna, oh, you're

going to keep it in suspense.

James: Might never happen.

Jamie: That's true.

James: So there's always that.

Jamie: Dangle the carrot.

James: Exactly, and if we don't get that
person, then we might find somebody else.

So if I, if I drop names.

Jamie: So if you do want.

something on nutrition as a business
owner flood the comments because

then the person will have no choice.

James: You got some questions then,
though, at [e-mail],

and we'll try and get those to the guest.

Um, but I think you're absolutely right.

I think, uh, the, the whole kind of
fitness angle was, shall we just go

to the gym, get a bit of gym work in.

But now I think there are
so many, as you said, sleep,

there is, uh, that meant mental

Jamie: So, what, what do you
think James are the key areas?

Everyone knows exercise and nutrition,
they know of them, but what are the

areas like you're very conscious of how
you work as a human, which allows you

to perform better as a business owner.

What areas do you think, obviously,
exercise and nutrition are two

James: Yeah,

for me, it's got to be sleep.

I think if I don't

Jamie: Is that why we never see you.

James: Rest, then let's put it as rest.

We all know what it's like.

If you don't get a good night's
sleep, you feel it the next day.

So on top of nutrition, on top of that
whole kind of exercise that you're getting

in it's so detrimental to your day.

Sleep is different for everybody.

Everybody says about the eight hours,
but for me, I think it was a little bit.

Jamie: That's what Bezos does, Bezos
really says eight hours is one of

the key things in my working day.

And I think we can all agree
like he's done ok for himself.

James: Yeah.

But I know people who can
perform well on six, seven hours.

Again, it's the quality of the sleep.

If You're getting eight hours, but
you're getting a kid who's coming

in every 30 seconds and waking you
up, then you need 35 hours, you're

still not going to get it back.

Jamie: Quality over quantity.

James: Exactly.

And then the sleep debt
that comes into it.

So if you are, if you've
had one bad night's sleep.

You're going to have to sleep a
bit more, rest a bit more, even

take something out of your day.

And I think it's the same.

Jamie: So many people go, they kind
of go, I slept four I'll sleep 12

tomorrow and it doesn't work like that.

Let your body just does not
work like that unfortunately.

James: Being able to break away.

So luckily, obviously where we came from
with the graphic design, you always hear

about this, oh, I'm really struggling to
get any ideas, and walk away from your

desk and go and find something else to do.

And I think that almost has to come
into this rest idea as well, if you're

feeling depleted, and it doesn't have
to be rest sleep, it has to be removing

yourself from that process, that job, the
activity that you're doing and recharge,

and that could be going for a walk.

Try not to go into social media cause
I still think that's just, again,

Jamie: it's Well, I think it's
something like 95% of people the

first thing they do when they are the
get into bed or when they wake up in

the morning is reach for the phone.

Inevitably it's either going to be
emails or social media they're jumping.

I read something the other day, which
was really interesting and it was in Jay

Shetty's book and it was all about how
you wouldn't, for example, go from zero

to a hundred when you get on a treadmill.

So why do we do it to our minds when
we wake up and suddenly you're flooded

with what the latest Kardashian is
saying, or you're seeing an influencer

travel around world and see one of these
trends that James absoloutly loves.

James: Love a trend.

I think we all, we've all
done it, everybody's done it.

But I think waking up slowly and adjusting
I've mentioned before about my lovely

power hour, that you know I do where I
wake up and I will slowly get into doing

things when nobody else is up what I might
do a bit where yoga, I might do a bit of

meditation, I might do some journaling,
whatever, but I'm slowly waking up getting

ready for that day and building on it.

And then what I tend to do is then
after I've done that after I've had a

cup of tea after I'm ready, I will then
go through my emails, so when I do hit

the desk at nine after I drop the kids
I'm ready for that day then to start

whatever it's going to throw at me.

But again, you know, So
I think so I think rest.

Jamie: I'm just going to jump on you
there, James, because whoever anyone who's

new to the pod, or maybe haven't heard
it before obviously you've even labelled

it your power hour in the morning, and
obviously that's almost your day set up.

So That's your morning routine,
which we hear a lot about nowadays.

Talk me through that because that could be
really useful for other business owners.

James: It all started from I think
I read a book which was called

Rest, which I've mentioned before.

Um, and it was around this idea
that you can be much more productive

in that, in that area, especially
kind of creativity as well.

You're still apparently, and somebody
will correct me, no doubt on an

email shortly after I say this, but
you're still kind of in two worlds.

If you like your brain
isn't fully woken up.

Jamie: In a dream state kind

James: Exactly.

So you can see your brain
can certainly for creative.

You're still in that a lot of writers
do it very, very early because

they can get everything flowing.

Um, But I think for me, it's more, I can
kind of have my time without my kids as

bad as that sounds it's me, it's my time
to, as I said, I'll tend to and I'll

mix it up sometimes I'll do a bit of a
workout sometimes I just don't feel a

million dollars so I will do some yoga.

I'll wake my body up, I might even just
take five minutes to do a kind of quick

meditation, which then for me focuses me.

When I finished my meditation,
I kind of have a better focus.

Where I can think, right.

I need to achieve this and again it's
a meditation and journaling where I can

focus on what I need to achieve that
day and then I'm ready to go and do it.

But as a sideline to that, I've
still got time in that morning hour,

where I can clear off everything and
check everything off that I might

not have achieved the day before.

So I am then ready to then when everybody
wakes up, they have the breakfast I can

then spend family time, I've had a chunk.

I'm then almost resting again because
I'm then going to go walk the kids to

school and I'm going to come back again,
I've done a huge amount, but I'm fresh

and ready to go from that clean slate.

Jamie: It's that set up and I think it
is odd because we put so much emphasis on

as a society on new year's resolutions.

But we don't do day
resolutions which is so odd.

Whereas by adopting something like
that, you're almost saying okay in

the year I want to learn the guitar,
but then today I want to learn

two new chords which after a year.

James: Breaking it down
How'd you eat an elephant

Jamie: Yeah, exactly.

Illegally.

James: If you've ever worked in an
organization as well I work with we're

slightly separate here, where we are
kind of all remote anyway but if you

worked at any business, you will tend
to start work at nine o'clock and we've

all had it, everybody arrives at nine
then you go make your coffee, then

you're going to have the chat about what
happened in the football and before,

you know it it's 10 o'clock and then
you think, well, do you know what, maybe

it's time for another cup of coffee
now because it's mid morning or 10 :30.

So me being able to kind of clear
everything off and get all of that

processes done, we have a little bit of a
banter on Slack, but I think the way we're

set up that almost goes on the one screen
almost as you're still working away.

Um, and I think we're all very
good at concentrating on what we

need to do, but still having that.

So what I'm getting around to is when
you, when you kind of do get to work

and you're going through all of those
things that you need to clear off

then you might sit at your desk at 10
o'clock after you've had the chat or

whatever, then you're going to clear
up your emails, half of your productive

morning has whizzed you by, it's gone.

So I think for me anyway a
business owner, you know, if you're

working nine to five, that is it.

But I have to just get everything tucked
away so I can start again because as

well, my day is never the same anyway.

Jamie: Yeah, and I think a lot of the
people we aim to help, whether they're

business owners, marketing departments
and teams will have found themselves

in a, in a very similar situation with
mainly working remotely because a lot

of it's digital in the post COVID era.

So I think it's very applicable for
them, so we looked at that we've got

nutrition and exercise, you've got some
recovery with sleep, recovery rest.

This mindset in there spoke about
journalling some meditation kind of

really almost mentally ticking off
things, and they are four kind of

really huge pillars because I think
as and I will take the daycare of

I'm the younger one on the team.

Whereas mindset probably wasn't as
big when you were my age, whereas

it's got a lot more awareness and this
isn't due to mental health becoming,

Uh, having much more science behind
it, and having much more awareness,

but it's also competing where you're
seeing top athletes, business owners,

and it's cascading down to every day.

James: It's mad that it's had
to happen for it to be a thing

Jamie: Well, you think all the negative
things that have happened where

it's like high suicide rates, high
depression, rates, anxiety, all of that.

We've actually turned around
and gone, wait a minute.

We've been curling barbells was
for our biceps for a hundreds of

years, but we haven't actually
thought about working the mind.

James: Training your mind.

I think that's gotta be something as well,
that goes forward as certainly in business

and business owners have to recognize it
because if you are a member of staff who

is struggling then you're not going to be
the one who's going to put your hand up.

It has to come and filter that way down
and You have to create an organization

and I hope we've got it here where people
can go I need five minutes, I need to

be able to, I need to just, I want a
day and that is, it's not, you know it's

not I've broken my leg, I need a day.

It can be anything, it's a hard
place to get within an organization

where people can feel comfortable
enough to go, I need a break.

Jamie: And I think that really nails
What I would consider the fifth and

final piece of overall wellbeing,
and that's the social aspect.

Humans are connected creatures,
you go back thousands of years

and people have that tribe.

It's become a phrase, again on kind
of social media you have your tribe,

your community, you have that social
aspect and I think a lot of people

missed that during covid they couldn't
see their friends or couldn't see

their family, they couldn't touch base.

So I think having those five
elements of nutrition, exercise,

mindset, rest and recovery and social
really make up the human wellbeing.

And it doesn't matter how about changes
in terms of if you are Elon Musk and

you are jetting between the Space X and
Tesla and, uh, and The Boring Company

in all of these companies, or you have
just started your company on Etsy.

You are still made up of the same thing.

So you still need to look after
those components of your life.

James to finish this one off, I
know you love being put on the spot.

Love it.

If someone could walk away with
five action points, to look after

that wellbeing a little bit more.

What would they be?

And these are going to be quick
fire, anyone who knows James

knows when I'm talking about.

James: So quick-fire sleep.

Remove your phones at night.

Uh, so a good tip for the sleep.

Turn off your notifications, I have
mine set at about nine o'clock,

everything goes off, yeah, exactly
that I don't have any numbers cause

as you know, my OCD will kick in I'll
have to get rid of numbers on anything.

So all my numbers and everything
disappears on my, on my phone.

Jamie: Which again, taps into
the mental side of things.

James: Yep So I can slowly wind down.

So that wind down is massively important.

Um, so I think that's kind of,
it's almost a one and a two.

But sleep, rest, recovery.

I think then look after your, I think,
understand yourself a little bit and I

do this through my mindfulness through,
um, taking five, being battered all

day, step back and understand yourself.

So know where you're under
pressure Yeah, exactly that.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

So I think being able to understand
yourself helps you grow, but also

understand when you do need breaks.

We'll all good at working through.

Jamie: We I imagine that helps step
away from, all day every day we compare

ourselves to other people on social
media on digital stuff like that.

So by being able to turn around and
go, actually, do you know what now?

I'm Jamie and this is what I'm about.

James: Hundred percent So I think so I
think that which ties then nicely into,

obviously if we're doing an audit of
ourselves, I think being able to, being

able to understand yourself as we said,
but also knowing when to step away.

So we're all very good at
continuing forward, as I said.

So, also just stepping away giving don't
think that you have to work yourself

through you're okay to leave something.

Even, even if there's a massive
deadline, if you're struggling,

you're not going to hit it.

And sometimes taking that five
minutes is going to make you

come back stronger, fitter.

Jamie: And I think, I think I'm going
to add something, I did say we were

quick fire on this, but I'm going to
add something to that is with that

step away being able to afford yourself
that time but also when you're doing

that reflection be nice to yourself.

Because so many people
don't and, and you will

James: We're all so negative to each other

Jamie: Yeah

James: Should've done that better

Jamie: Yeah Like if, if moments, one of
my favorite phrases is Yesterday is gone,

tomorrow may never come, today is a gift
that's why they call it the present.

James: Yeah Yeah.

I think the one which I, which I heard
was around if you do one thing, if you,

sorry, if you do six things really,
really well, and one thing badly.

You'll kill yourself over that
one thing you did badly and you'll

forget about the other six things.

And it's, it is very, very true.

Uh, well, my on three, four

Jamie: You're on four, this is four

James: Hydration simple.

Get the water in.

Jamie: Reaching for the water

James: Both grabbed for a water bottles.

Always hydrate and lastly, which I think
will tie us on lovely into the, into a

podcast which is coming soon, nutrition.

I think yeah, massively.

I'm no expert, which is why we're going
to get somebody on to talk to us about it.

Um, but educate yourself a
little bit around what should be,

shouldn't be putting in your body.

Jamie: Go and read Food,
what the fuck should I eat?

James: Yeah

Yeah.

Jamie: By dr.

Mark Hyman.

Yeah, incredible read a really
eye-opening but also very interesting.

James: Uh, so I think.

Jamie: What are the five
mate can you remember?

James: I can remember, nutrition,
yeah, hydration, Uh, rest,

audit yourself, and step away.

Jamie: What happened to sleep.

James: Rest Uh I did drop rest in

Jamie: Okay Cool

James: Uh, let's call that a wrap, Jamie.

Thanks again for chatting, I
thought that was really good.

If you've enjoyed it
[e-mail].

We're always going to answer any
questions and anything you want to

hear and know that you didn't like.

Uh, I'll give you Paul's
email address, um, but anyway

Jamie: He's busy editing.

James: Yeah.

Oh God.

Yeah

.
Thanks for this episode.

Thanks for listening.

And we'll catch you next time.