Career Trends: 5 Habits to improve your mental state, motivation and productivity

4 min read

Edition: October 12th, 2021
Curated by the Knowledge Team of ICS Career GPS


Most entrepreneurs have an intuitive understanding that mental health is important to the success of their business. (Image Credit: iStock)
  • Excerpts from article by Firas Kittaneh, published on Entrepreneur.com

Being an entrepreneur is a lonely, difficult journey. You’re running your own business and dealing with the fact that your financial security is directly tied to your company’s success. So, it’s challenge to simply cope with all this, but actually being able to thrive at the same time is a different story altogether.

Since many of the problems entrepreneurs face each day are mental, it should come as no surprise that many of the most valuable habits you can develop as an entrepreneur have nothing to do with business acumen, but with your personal mental health.

Here are five such habits that will improve your mental state, boost your motivation and productivity:

1. Getting a good night’s sleep

  • Many entrepreneurs like to work late into the evening and rise early in the morning to make the most of each day.
  • By pushing yourself to the limit, however, you’re actually lowering your productivity.
  • The Harvard Medical School found that a lack of sleep can prompt an inability to focus and prohibit higher brain functions.
  • If the sleep deprivation is severe enough, these side effects can last for several days.
  • Poor sleeping habits are also linked to a variety of health problems, including heart attacks, diabetes and obesity, which can lead to even more issues.
  • If you want to perform at your peak and prepare for the long haul, getting six to eight hours of sleep each night is a must.

2. Eating the right foods

  • Another aspect of being an entrepreneur constantly on the run is that you don’t always have the chance to eat well.
  • It’s much easier to grab a burger and fries in the car than to take the time to sit down and enjoy a more wholesome meal.
  • Unfortunately, this is affecting more than just your health.
  • Food actually has a direct impact on the way we think and feel, the food you put into your body is turned into glucose, which fuels your brain.
  • Meals that are high in fat require much more energy to break down properly, leaving you tired and unable to perform at optimum levels.

3. Exercising regularly

In a day packed with responsibilities, it’s not easy to set aside an hour to exercise. Taking the following benefits into consideration, though, exercise is a good use of your time:

  • Reduces levels of mental and physical stress
  • Releases chemicals into your system that cause happiness and fight depression
  • Improves your sense of self-worth and self-confidence
  • Gives you a chance to turn your brain off, boosting creativity and allowing you to take a fresh perspective on problems later

4. Taking the time to pray and meditate

  • Meditation isn’t usually attached to entrepreneurial success, but it can boost performance no matter how spiritual you are.
  • Meditation gives you the chance to shut down for a little while, relax and let the stress of running a business wash away.
  • Meditation’s positive impact has to do with the fact that it lowers blood pressure.
  • The best part about meditation is you don’t need a lot of room or time to do it, you can simply set aside five minutes a day in a quiet place.

5. Reading voraciously

  • If you want to learn and be a successful leader, you need to read as much as you possibly can.
  • You don’t need to spend your time consuming the latest self-help and business non-fiction books, either (although you should certainly work them into your rotation).
  • Evidence shows that reading has an impact on your emotional awareness, thus helping to improve your mental state.

Most entrepreneurs have an intuitive understanding that mental health is important to the success of their business, but not many understand how deep it actually runs. These habits will produce higher-quality output & help you enjoy a better overall lifestyle.


(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article mentioned above are those of the author(s). They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of ICS Career GPS or its staff.)

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