Becoming your own boss has many advantages, starting the opportunity to choose your projects and your clients. For a lot of individuals who have been furloughed during the pandemic, starting a home business has offered one significant advantage, namely the chance to replace partially or completely their income.
However, running a full-time business at home comes at a high cost. As you create you establish your strategy for growth, you need to learn to separate your business from your day-to-day life. It’s easy to cross the line and accidentally use your business budget for your grocery shopping. It’s not uncommon, as well, for new business owners, to find themselves investing their personal savings into the business without making a note of it in the financial records. Keeping track of how much your business cost can be more challenging than it appears. Yet it is essential to understand and manage those costs.
If you are dedicated to maintaining your home-based venture in the future, you should also consider how a at home work environment can also affect your health. Here are some of the health costs faced by WFH entrepreneurs.
Disturbing your eyesight
It would be unfair to claim that working on screens can damage your vision. However, prolonged screen exposure can lead to eye strain and muscle fatigue. In the long term, tired eyes become less likely to adjust to different factors, including distance and brightness. It’s not easy to create a non-screen business, but you can reduce risks of fatigue with glasses that allow your eyes to rest. Computer-friendly lenses, for instance, can help you see better at all times. Keeping a pair of computer glasses at your desk will offer the protection your eyes need. Ideally, you also want to schedule frequent rest time for your eyes. Looking away from the screen can help your eyes adjust to new distances and brightness levels.
Affecting your sleep patterns
You are probably familiar with the blue light that is artificially created by screens. Screen light can affect your circadian rhythm, making your brain believe that night is daytime. Typically, the situation can be easily resolved by scheduling time away from the screen as part of your bedtime routine. Yet, when you run your own business, it is a lot more difficult to stop checking on your progress. You want to tackle issues as quickly as possible, so working late could be a frequent occurrence. Unfortunately, if you don’t introduce a cut off time for your on-screen work, you are likely to exhaust yourself. The combination of short nights and difficulties to fall asleep can only lead to burnout!
Changing your waistline
How do stress and hard work affect your appetite? For some people, stress can push them to eat less, which leads to weight loss and potential deficiencies. However, most individuals react to stress by seeking comfort food and irregular breaks, which will add a few inches around the waistline. What are a few inches? Well, here’s the thing: They can slow down your metabolism. Did you know that the brain requires 20% of your energy? A slow metabolism makes it hard to keep your mental focus.
In conclusion, running a home-based business doesn’t come without risks. It makes no doubt that the process can affect your finances. However, it’s crucial to understand how a home venture can also damage your health if you’re not careful.