Home Alone: change your scene, change your thinking

Okay, so you’re not an eight year old accidentally left in the attic, as in the original movie, but if you’re an entrepreneur working from home, there are still steps you should take to get the most from your freedom.

The topics of health, wellbeing, exercise and nutrition are all subjects covered in a plethora of books, TV shows and documentaries, so rather than attempt to deep dive into those areas, let’s look at some basics to keep you sharp.

As an entrepreneur on a journey to create a smart little business, you’ll need to show up for work in the best possible shape you can.

If you are stressed about things, you won’t sleep well. If you don’t sleep well, you won’t operate well and if you don’t operate well, you’ll get more stressed.

But you know this stuff, right?

Diet and exercise impacts how you work and how you feel. A big night out will likely impede the start of a new day. If you’re undernourished or dehydrated, eat a banana or drink some water! And if you think a long stodgy lunch will help your energy, well think again!

Exercise not only boosts your energy and improves your health; it’ll open up the pathways in your mind that lead to innovative new ideas.

As an entrepreneur, you can’t overload on fresh ideas, right?

It amuses me that so many of us talk about not having enough hours in the day, when what we’re really saying is we don’t have sufficient energy to make the most of the time we have. Ouch!

I’ve spoken with heaps of startups over the past decade or so and often ask them, ‘When do you have your best ideas?’ No-one ever responded by saying they have them when they’re in their office staring at their screen.

Just pause for a moment and consider when your best ideas come to you.

The prosperity of our ventures demands an approach that constantly brims with innovation and new ideas

For this, we really need to get into the habit of moving away from our desk at regular intervals. A change of scene can create a change of thinking.

Getting out and getting active is one of the best ways to do this and having the courage to move away from our work can be the key to opening the door to new possibility.

Let’s back this up with some data.

Researchers from Stanford examined creativity levels of people while they walked versus while they sat and quite amazingly, a person’s creative output increased by an average of 60 per cent when walking.

Sixty per cent! That’s a heck of an increase from er, w-a-l-k-i-n-g.  Read a summary of the study here.

But wait, there’s more. And this is encouraging, even for those who don’t like pounding pavements. A study from the University of Notre Dame found that the mere action of stepping through a doorway can reset the brain and it’s been suggested this is why we can forget what we are looking for when we enter a new room.

Phew, and I thought it was an age thing!

So getting up and moving away from your desk is a great way to get your brain to ‘start fresh’ and come at something from a different direction.

Give it a go and pity the poor buggers in the tall buildings who don’t have the choice.

Robert’s latest book, The 1 – Minute Commute is out now through Pan Macmillan.