Wanderlust: Expat Life & Style in Thailand June / July 2017: The Business Issue | Page 50

Though it's tempting, avoid masking fatigue with caffeine THE FREEDOM DILEMMA & HOW TO CONQUER IT While the advantages of business ownership can be great, they often come at the expense of wellbeing. Here, Ror Alexander gives advice for entrepreneurs who want to run a start-up while remaining happy, fit and healthy. N ow more than ever, people are opting out of the 9-to-5 rat race to become their own bosses. This means entering a differ- ent kind of race that we could call the start-up circuit: Run from meeting to networking event and back home or to a co-working space to hunch over a laptop; repeat all week. It’s no wonder, with brain batter- ies too drained to even think about healthy meals and exercise, that budding business men and women quickly slip into stress, anxiety, lethar- gy, burnout and even depression. The good news? You can bypass a lot of these troubles just by paying a little attention to your health. Let’s take a look at the top five pain-points you may encounter as you balance 50 WANDERLUST building your empire with staying physically and mentally well. 1 I’M TIME POOR Striving toward the perfect “beach body” is never easy. And it is even less realistic for busy business people. This is why many entrepreneurs cut out exercise all together: They see it as a luxury they’ve had to sacrifice to launch a company. But exercise doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. There is a way in-be- tween: If you view exercise as a stress-busting activity — one that will increase your productivity and cre- ativity — you can switch to a fitness plan requiring minimal effort, just enough to reap the benefits. Approximately 20 to 30 minutes of high-intensity interval training three days a week should suffice, but you can always try to fit some movement in the mornings, too. For example, take a brisk walk outside before you start your day to increase your heart rate, soak in some vitamin D, and prepare your body and mind for the day ahead. In short, as your work-life changes, so too should your workout routine. LOW ON 2 I’M ENERGY Many modern entrepreneurs spend the majority of their days seated at WWW.WANDERLUSTMAG.COM