When it comes to the world of entrepreneurship, us women have been taking over. According to Fortune Magazine, women have been thriving in retail, professional services, accounting or law and fashion. It is not surprising at all that we are thriving in these areas. It’s also not so surprising that Fortune reported that just about 90% of women entrepreneurs are expecting their companies to gross profits to increase or remain stable for the following year. I don’t know about you, but I can say that this certainly sounds like #GirlBoss is taking over.
While women may be dominating the world, there is one question to pose: What are we doing about taking care of ourselves? Think about it. It’s exhausting enough to have a 9 to 5 job, come home and make dinner, clean and do other agenda items. Now imagine women entrepreneurs. You’re running an entire empire and still need to stay on top of your personal life. Personal life is a broad category, but it includes dating, friendships, family, exploration, dining, etc. Yikes, that sounds incredibly exhausting. Even more exhausting because when it comes to work women have to work ten times harder than men to even be noticed or get a raise.
Every busy girl must now take a moment and reflect on whether or not they have been properly taking care of themselves physically and spiritually. Us women are very much into our fashion. We walk to work in our Zara blouses and skirts, our Jimmy Choo heels and still demand respect. Some of us may have the time for a quick session at Soul Cycle or a yoga class. However, many women still neglect taking care of themselves. It becomes career before self care. It’s time to change that and incorporate easy, helpful ways to keep up with the busy schedule and still give yourself a little TLC.
Fast Beauty Routine
You may not have time to do your normal beauty routine. From hair care to pedicures, this is important. Not saying you must have the smoothest hair in the world or that your eyebrows should all be polished, but it is nice to look cut and clean. Here are tips to ensure that you can still run a business and look physically well kept.
Quick Hair Styles
Not all women have time to give themselves beautiful bouncy curls every morning. Instead, opt to to setting curls in your hair the night before. I know, I know this is such an old classic way of doing your hair, but I can guarantee you that you’ll waste less time getting ready in the morning. Even if you need to dart out the door you can remove your curls on the go and run your fingers through your hair. Not a fan of curlers? Do two big braids overnight and you’ll wake up to flawless waves.
If you’re not into the curly look, try a low bun. If you do this the night before and wrap your hair, it’ll be set in place in the morning. Super easy to do.
Gel Nails
Your weekdays must be as jammed packed as your weekend. You may hold off on going to the nail salon for weeks. Getting a regular manicure and pedicure is not an option since it’ll chip off within a week. Gel Nails are all the rave especially for busy women. Gel lasts long even up to a month thanks to UV Light technology. You can get just about any color and not worry about your nails chipping after a couple of days. Take this easy route and have your nails look spot on for every handshake of the week.
Fresh Makeup
While many women today are catching onto the new makeup trends such as baking and strobing, some don’t have the time to have a flawless face like Beyonce. Develop a 5 minute makeup plan. This simply consists of a concealer, powder foundation, bronzer or blush, brow pencil, mascara and tinted lip balm or lipstick of choice. These are the simplest of makeup products that will help you look fresh, awake and makes it seem like you put in some effort.
Facials at Home
It’s easy to do a facial at home instead of going to your local spa. You can even purchase a huge tub of powdered clay to make your own clay mask. You can also make masks at home from things in your kitchen. Apply a mask while replying to emails or reading over that contract. Then wash it off when you’re in the shower. It’s the perfect at night cool down.
Running Late Fashion
We all have those days. We may hit the snooze button a couple of times and wake up realizing we must be out the door in 20 minutes. What freaks you out more is that you don’t even have a decent outfit picked out. Here are some quick tips to look stylish even when running behind schedule.
Dress Pants for The Win
Dress pants are a staple for any business woman. Having the basic black, grey or even khaki colored dress pants make getting ready a lot easier. You can easily tuck it in with a solid colored blouse and top it off with a blazer. You could wear heels or flats. Having a pair of dress pants requires no intense thinking.
The Little Black Dress
Dresses are easy especially if it’s a black dress. Black is always the answer. Throw on a black dress, heels or flats and you’re good to go! Again, it’s easy and requires less thinking just like dress pants. It’s a one throw on and go piece that is a necessity for every busy womans closet.
The Basic Blouse
Blouses are a must for every business woman. They come in so many different colors and patterns which makes it fun. If you have a solid color blouse you can easily pair it with dress pants or a skirt. Plus it makes you look very put together as if you tried a bit hard.
Statement Jewellery
Believe it or not, accessories matter. If you’re wearing any of the pieces mentioned above and you throw on a nice belt or a colorful necklace or bracelet, your outfit just got a whole lot better. Adding these bold pieces of jewellery makes you look like you put a lot of thought into your outfit and didn’t just throw it on in 10 minutes. Super chic and effortless.
Work and Workout
Working out and healthy living has been a huge deal now days. There are people who go to the gym at least 4-5 times a week or participate in a cycling or yoga class. While this is great and important for overall physical care, not every busy woman has a chance to take at least an hour a day to go to the gym. So instead, here are some easier ideas to stay fit.
At Home Workouts
Instead of trying to make time to go to the gym, workout at home. What’s great is you can incorporate workouts while you work. Need to read that new contract? Do it while doing some leg lifts. It’s that easy.
Invest in Equipment
Going along with at home workouts, invest in a treadmill or an elliptical. A lot of people do this so that way if they don’t have time to go to a full gym session they can sneak their way on to a machine while at home.
Always Walk
If you can, walk. The more active you can be during the day the better it is for your own fitness. If you’re planning on getting lunch 10 blocks away, don’t be lazy and take a cab or the subway. Take a nice stroll. Take the stairs whenever there is an option to. I’m not saying to go climb stairs up to the 50th floor of a building, but if it’s a reasonable amount of stairs to take then might was well.
Dance at Home
You know how much you love that new Beyonce track. Instead of just listening and head bobbing, dance! Get out and dance around your house. Move around while making dinner or in the shower or if you’re prepping for work the next day just dance! Dance is great cardio and really helps get the body going and helps burn off some of those calories.
Mental Wellbeing
Let’s be real, sometimes stress can consume us. It can make us sick to the point where we can’t necessarily complete our work. It’s important to have that one point in the day where you can be with yourself and focus on your own needs. Here are tips to be mentally well.
Meditate
Take 10 minutes at some point during the day to close your eyes and clear your mind. Find a quiet spot, get comfortable and close your eyes. This is great especially if you find yourself stressing out while at work or feel your mind is going all over the place.
Journal
Writing is a form of relaxation. If you journal about your day or just some thoughts you may have that can help ease up the stress. It’s another form a venting that is only private between you and a piece of paper.
Soothing Music
Play some calming music or some nature sounds during a break from work or while at home. Doing this helps ease the mind and relax your thoughts. Instead of feeling really overwhelmed, you may find yourself more at ease.
Reading
How often do you get to read for pleasure? Devote a bit of time at night or even in the morning during your commute to work to read a book. Now you can even listen to audiobooks so you can walk and listen or cook dinner and listen to a book. This takes your mind away from reality for awhile and helps ease the tension.
While these tips will help all you entrepreneurial women rule the world, keep in mind that what is important is your happiness. Do what you love, stay focused and remember positive vibes only. After all, you’re your own boss lady.