You’ve taken the tour, activated your FOB, signed in to our Slack channels–you’ve done it, you’re a Geekdom member!
The Geekdom motto “Find your dream, build your team” may be short and sweet, but actually achieving it is anything but. There’s a copious amount of coffee, long days, some long nights, and tough meetings ahead of you, and that can be stressful just to think about. But you’re not alone!
First and foremost, Geekdom is a community. And a community can only thrive if the people look after it, and it looks after them. Over the years, hundreds of members have traded tips and tricks for staying ahead of the stress and anxiety that comes with entrepreneurs and startups. So we’ve chatted with some of our seasoned Geekdom veterans and have come up with a short list of ways you can keep your body, mind, and soul in healthy and productive harmony. Read on to find out!
- Exercise/Physical Activity
There’s no debate that as a society, we are sitting down way too often, and for far too long at a time. Years of strain for hunching over a desk and laptop has shown a direct correlation with a number of back problems and health issues appearing later in life.
To keep your body—and your mind—sharp throughout your day, you need to make sure you fit some physical activity in your schedule. For the gym-goers out there, Geekdom is just two blocks away from a Gold’s Gym location!
But you don’t need a membership to be active; Geekdom has a few outlets of our own to help our community stay healthy and balanced. Once every two weeks, Geekdom hosts a one-hour yoga session in the Event Center, free for the entire community!
In addition to that, longtime community member Julia Bates hosts a mindful meditation session every Friday at 2:45 PM that’s open to the community. She recently took her sessions public with the announcement of Mellobe!
“If you can spare the time to take six breaths, you can relax your nervous system at almost any point in the day. Bringing just an ounce of compassion to the table, you’ll be amazed at how much stress you can dissipate even when the deadline is approaching. Practice becomes a habit, and a habit leads to a lifestyle filled with more mindfulness, and far less anxiety.”
- Find a Hobby
They say entrepreneurs are always on the clock, which means the repetitive grind can lead to some stressful emotions. Monotony is a common occurrence for many professionals, and one of the easiest and most effective ways to break up the cycle is by finding a hobby.
How does engineer and community member Rene Balderas keep things fresh in his routine? By perusing eBay and Amazon for rare knick-knacks. Just recently, he bought a pocket square for the 1980-81 play schedule for the Spurs!
But with a limitless amount of activities to do out there, where should you start? According to recent studies, some of the most effective destressing hobbies are all hand-related: knitting, crocheting, solving a Rubix cube—activities that allow your brain to activate a form of autopilot so it can rest while you stay active to keep your energy levels up.
- Turn off Technology
In our modern world of texts, Bluetooth, face timing, and smartphone interactivity, the average person is “wired in” for almost every minute they’re awake. With such easy access to business communications—namely email—it’s almost impossible for most people to truly leave work at work and “disconnect” from the job, which means the stress follows you everywhere.
Here at Geekdom, we understand the importance of providing a community space that not only promotes a productive work environment but a supportive social environment as well.
Our weekly Fermented Friday event celebrates the end of each work week with a social hour where community members can close the laptops, gather in the kitchen, and kick back with snacks and beer. Letting yourself take a break in the company of friends is just as important for your mental health as it is for your physical health.
- Know When to Walk Away
Patterns can be great for business, but tricky for your state of being. While some may thrive in surrounding themselves with familiar sights, smells, and people, others believe fresh locales can help stir new ideas and innovations in your business.
That’s why Geekdom’s community space was designed to give you both! If you enjoy the energy of a bustling bullpen, the 7th floor community space is at the heart of the daily grind. If you’re more comfortable in solidarity, the library on the 7th floor, or Audrey’s corner on the 8th floor might be better options.
Doing something as simple as changing your physical location can help you out of a rut if you’ve hit a mental block in your daily work. Don’t forget to take a few breaks during the day; stretch your legs with a walk around the community space, start a chat with a fellow member in the kitchen, or even head down to the first floor and grab some coffee from Rosella’s bistro!
- Remember You’re Human
While it may not be a successful evolution for your business, there is no argument among entrepreneurs that one of the most important things that will happen in your career is failure. Some of the greatest evolutions of major companies and veteran CEOs were born out of failure in one form or another.
But if you need some advice or guidance through the mental and emotional dissonance coupled with failure, Geekdom is here to help with our mentor network. On the first business week of every month, you have the chance to meet with industry veterans, professional entrepreneurs, and other executives that can dispense vital experience from their own careers that can help you at times when you may need it the most.
At the end of the day, however, the number one thing to remember is to never, ever, lose hope—we are all human, and that means we’re imperfect. But that doesn’t mean we can’t achieve our goals, build our futures, and cement our legacies in the here and now.
These are just scratching the surface of the ever-growing world of Geekdom and entrepreneurship, but it’s a great start to your exciting journey here.
The time is now, and your next opportunity is here—are you ready to grab it?
