I sat down with one of our pro-bono coaches, Wendy Walter, owner of The Voice of Clay in Brookline, NH, to discuss work/life balance and mindfulness. Wendy has worked with clay for over 25 years. One of the reasons she loves pottery so much is because of the relaxed focus that she experiences when she’s working with clay.

Wendy has a BA in Music and English from Skidmore College, an MA in Transpersonal Psychology from Atlantic University, and certifications in Breathwork Facilitation and Hypnosis. She started her business in 1999 and has predicated leadership in her field on resiliency, creativity, resourcefulness, and her true nature. In addition to pottery classes, Voice of Clay offers holistic therapies and spa services.

Here are 5 of Wendy’s mindfulness tips for entrepreneurs:

1. Choose to put yourself first. Being a business owner is overwhelming and it may feel like you can’t take a break from your work to take care of yourself. Try to remember that you can’t give your work your best if you don’t give yourself your best.
2. Declutter your space. This will help you declutter your mind and lead to more productive work.
3. Notice your breath. When you are feeling overwhelmed, take a moment to notice where you are breathing from. Is it your chest, abdomen, somewhere else? This simple meditation technique can be done quickly and quietly to get you back on track.
4. Do something for yourself once a week. Whether it’s reading a book, exercising, painting, or something else. Take time once a week to do something you really want to do. This piece of advice came from one of Wendy’s favorite books, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron.
5. Don’t do it alone. If you are feeling burnt out and struggling to make time for yourself, find a coach or teacher to help you see outside of yourself.

Hannah Grimes’ staff has been trying to integrate techniques like these into our workflow to encourage work/life balance. That is why our Administrative Coordinator, Nicole French, has been hard at work creating a new meditation corner in our coworking space, The HIVE. We also recently started offering a lunchtime yoga session to our HIVE members on the first Friday of each month. You’ll often see HGC staff joining in on the session too.

Written by Program Coordinator, Lillian Chase.