Why Entrepreneurs Need to Get Physical

Here’s a statement that I suspect many entrepreneurs can relate to: I do some of my clearest thinking—and get some of my best, most creative ideas—when I’m out walking the dog. Not sitting behind my desk. Not glued to my laptop. Out walking the dog.

And perhaps you do too. It may not be actual dog walking per se. That’s my activity, but yours may be going for a jog, or a simple walk around the neighborhood. It may be raking leaves or mowing the grass. I just hope you have something—some way in which you get physical, and let your mind wander.

Entrepreneurial Tunnel Vision

Too often, entrepreneurs get tunnel vision about the task at hand. We sit at our computer and force ourselves to think until we’re creatively drained, physically fatigued, and burned out—and then we force ourselves to sit and think some more, until we arrive at the solution we need.

This is not only unhealthy, but unproductive. When you start to feel unproductive or uncreative, get up and get your body moving. Give your hands something to do. Allow your mind to simply wander; relax it and let it naturally drift to whatever issues have been bubbling just below your consciousness.

As an entrepreneur, you probably know full well that your subconscious really is working around the clock. If you’re like me, it’s not irregular for you to wake up in the wee hours of the morning and realize that your mind has been wrapped around your business, even while you slept.

Allowing your mind to simply relax—for the good ideas and creative solutions out there to just come to you—may be the best way to aid it in this process. And the best way to do that is to focus on something physical.

Something to Try

If you haven’t discovered the perks of getting physical, try it today. Allow yourself to breathe more freely and to be more open in your thinking. Give it at least 20 minutes; you’ll need that long just to clear all of the junk out of your brain and give the ideas some room to develop.

Hopefully, you’ll arrive at something creative, productive, and surprising. If not, don’t sweat it too much: Perhaps your mind really just needed the break. If nothing else, a little physicality should send you back to work feeling refreshed, which is an invaluable thing for any entrepreneur.

Why Entrepreneurs Need to Get Physical