Get All Access for $5/mo

4 Habits That Will Help You and Your Business Bounce Back Into Top Shape What will help you bounce back in business will also help you recharge and upgrade your health.

By Julian Hayes II

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Some call it "Covid pounds." Others label it the "quarantine 15." And some refer to it as the "pandemic pounds."

Regardless of the name, we are emotionally and physically under duress.

According to an American Psychological Association (APA) survey of more than 3,000 people — released a year to the day since the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic — 61 percent of American adults reported undesired weight gain or loss since the coronavirus outbreak.

As if that wasn't problematic enough, according to the APA's latest "Stress in America" report, more than two in five of the surveyed adults (42 percent) revealed that they gained more weight than they intended over the past 12 months. And that amount was 29 pounds, on average.

Besides the everyday stressors from just being a human, entrepreneurs have a business to manage as the world is figuring itself out. If you're looking to have a bounce back year with your health and business, practice these four cornerstone habits.

Related: 3 Overlooked Reasons Why Entrepreneurs Struggle to Lose Weight

1. Adopt the law of one

As you're looking to rebound in health and business, you'll inevitably do some researching and strategizing to formulate your game plan.

While this is the logical thing to do, avoid becoming overwhelmed with possible solutions by adopting the "law of one." Adopting the law of one simplifies your life and ensures that you'll operate with unparalleled focus.

For example:

  • One diet
  • One workout plan
  • One sales process
  • One product/service
  • One platform/method you'll create content through (ex: audio, video, or text)
  • One social platform for your content

Fewer decisions, fewer distractions, and fewer opportunities to procrastinate equal more mental and emotional energy that you can positively allocate toward your goals. The more dialed in your focus, the more likely you'll transform your health while forging an unfair advantage in business.

While you may not have a martial arts tournament set up anytime soon, the principle applies to your fitness and business: Go deep with one thing and master that, rather than dabbling in multiple things and ending up average at all of them.

Related: The Surprising High-Performance Habit That Entrepreneurs Can Use to Survive (and Thrive) During Any Crisis

2.Turn poison into medicine

Besides running a business, entrepreneurs aren't exempt from facing various challenges, obstacles and painful periods of life.

Maybe you've had to rebuild a severly impacted business over the last year. Or perhaps you're losing weight that accumulated over the previous year. Or you're simply leaping into entrepreneurship after having sat on the sidelines for so long waiting for the perfect moment to leave the job that brings you no purpose.

Whatever the case, turning poison into medicine starts with facing your current reality and not running away from it. Whether it's your weight, business, finances, relationships or something else, you can turn poison into medicine by changing your perspective. And changing your perspective begins with monitoring your internal dialogue.

After all, the only reality existing is the one you're perceiving.

3.Treat the cause, not the symptom

If you had a termite issue in your room and it led to a hole in the wall, would you hang up a picture to remedy the situation?

Of course not. But this is how many people approach their health and business.

They treat the symptom, but not the cause. And to no surprise, the problem rears its ugly head back months later, and often worse.

Whether weight gain or inconsistent revenue, those are merely the symptoms that won't go away unless their root causes are addressed. Without focusing on the root causes, you can find yourself on a rollercoaster with both your weight and income.

Getting to the root causes for weight gain could be uncontrolled stress levels leading to mindless snacking, poor time management or a non-sustainable nutrition plan. And inconsistent revenue could be due to a flawed sales process or even your beliefs and attitudes around money.

Before blindly jumping into action, do some preliminary work and investigate the possible root causes for your problems. Getting to the root cause will help you develop more precise solutions, so you never have to deal with them again.

Related: The No. 1 Reason You're Falling Short With Your Health and Business Goals

4. Script the first and last 90 minutes of your day

Your day-to-day life is akin to bookends and the books kept in order. Without bookends, holding a row of books upright is mission impossible. Your morning and evening routines serve as the bookends to holding together your day-to-day life.

Focusing on how you start the day is well documented. Still, it's equally important to develop some strong habits for the end the day so you can set yourself up for success the following day. There are four quarters, and your morning is the first while the evening is the fourth quarter. To ensure you start and end the day well, adopt a priming and regeneration routine to serve as your bookends.

Priming is what you'll do in the morning upon waking. Regeneration is what you'll do before sleeping. Block and script out 90 minutes for each one. Include critical habits and tasks to get you in the right frame of mind.

If you find yourself with some extra quarantine weight or a business that needs a tune-up, don't fret. Instead, let the past serve as clues to how your present currently constructs. Leverage lessons and insights from the past in this present moment so you can forge a future to your liking.

Julian Hayes II

Author, Fitness & Lifestyle Consultant, Speaker

Julian Hayes II is an author, host of "Optimal Health for Busy Entrepreneurs" and the founder of The Art of Fitness & Life. He helps busy entrepreneurs and executives recharge and upgrade their health.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Fundraising

Working Remote? These Are the Biggest Dos and Don'ts of Video Conferencing

As more and more businesses go remote, these are ways to be more effective and efficient on conference calls.

Growing a Business

The Best Way to Run a Business Meeting

All too often, meetings run longer than they should and fail to keep attendees engaged. Here's how to run a meeting the right way.

Business Ideas

There's a New Wave in Online Shopping — And These Strategies Are Fueling All The Success

Here's why niche marketplaces are becoming a new trend and growing rapidly, gaining 67% of consumers' trust.

Growing a Business

He Left the Corporate World to Pursue His Passion for the Outdoors. 25 Years Later, His Business Is Thriving Thanks to These 4 Principles.

Cliff Bressler shares how he started Nature's Friends Landscaping — and continues to thrive today — on a recent episode of 'Behind the Review.'

Growing a Business

5 Strategies for Building a Business Dream Team in an Early-Stage Startup

Both founders and candidates navigate a journey filled with risks and rewards. How can these paths align? Discover practical tips to build a strong team from day one.