Hey everyone, welcome back to the Lawn Hustle
Podcast. I am your host, Andy Wilson, with 16
years of experience in the field. Today we are
talking about something that often is pushed
to the side in this industry. Taking care of
your body and your mental health. We spend so
much time taking care of lawns, equipment and
clients that we often forget that we are our
business's most important asset. If you burn
out or break down, the whole thing slows down
or shuts down. Let's dig into how we stay strong
physically, mentally in this demanding line of
work. Lawn care is a tough, hard business, but
it is a rewarding business if we learn to not
only take care of clients, equipment, properties,
but we learn to take care of our self physically
and mentally. Let's start with the physical side.
Number one, stay hydrated. And I know that sounds
simple, but a lot of guys and gals overlook it.
You're sweating You're out there in the heat
of the day on your feet Dehydration leads to
fatigue headaches and poor focus So you have
to stay hydrated drink Water Gatorades I Am of
the opinion it's probably not the best thing
to guzzle soft drinks, Coke, Diet Mountain Dew,
Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper, whatever soft drink
you like. When you're out there in the heat of
the day, drink you some good water, drink you
some good Gatorade. Those things will keep you
hydrated. As much as I love coffee, it's not
a good thing to drink coffee in the heat of the
day because coffee is a natural dehydrator. It
dehydrates you. So you don't want to drink coffee
in the heat of the day. I'm sorry. I love it.
I drink it. And I struggle with that very thing.
Number two, stretch it out. Every day. Morning
and night, stretch your back, your shoulders,
your legs. You don't need to be a yoga pro. Just
spend a few minutes to warm up and cool down
your body. It'll save you from injuries. Number
three, eat like you're fueling a machine. Look,
it's easy to hit fast food. It's easy to grab
chips from the convenience store. It's easy to
grab a slice of pizza from the convenience store.
The real energy comes from real food. Aim for
protein, fruits, nuts, and whole carbs. protection,
sunscreen, UV gear, the sun will catch up with
you. The way you grip your mowers, your hands
are usually exposed to the sun. I had to have
a spot removed from my hand that they thought
was cancer. Thankfully, it came back negative.
But you've got to protect yourself. You've got
to take care of yourself. If you don't take care
of yourself, no one else will take care of you.
So use protection. Protect your tools and protect
yourself. Number five, sleep is part of the grind.
Your body recovers when you sleep. I know the
hustle can push us to 12 to 14 hour days, but
consistent rest is the key to long term gains.
It took me a long time to realize how important
sleep really is. Now I have a bedtime. I go to
bed every night at the same time. Now there are
some situations where things happen and I might
not get there, but for the most part I have a
bedtime and I stick to it. There's nothing like
crawling in my sleep number bed. setting my bed
to my number, elevating my head, elevating my
feet just a little bit, and I can sleep. Not
like a baby. I never understood why people say,
oh, I slept like a baby. Babies are up every
two hours. So why does somebody want to sleep
like a baby? I want to get in the bed. Set my
sleep number adjust my my head and my feet and
sleep all night long So Let's talk about mental
health because it matters Mindset and mental
strength is important because burnout is real.
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is in the bio So we have talked about physical
Health and we have given you Some things that
you can do to strengthen your physical body Now
we're going into the mental health because it
matters Number one Set work boundaries. Don't
let business blend into every hour of your day.
Decide when you're on the clock and when you
are off the clock. It's important to have an
set where you no longer answer work emails you
no longer take work phone calls you separate
yourself from your business because you matter
your family matters take a day off it's not a
luxury it is a necessity I'm going to say that
again. Take a day off. It's not a luxury. It
is a necessity. Number two, build a circle. Talk
to people who get it. Whether it's a mastermind
group like Professional Lawn Care's Facebook
Mastermind. Group The lawn hustle mastermind
join our group talk share communicate Or you
might find just a friend Someone you can trust
someone you can talk to someone that you can
spill it all out in front of. Don't isolate yourself.
No man is an island. Isolation leads to being
overwhelmed. But when you have friends, when
you have a group, a circle, a mentor, You have
someone that you can share business struggles
with. You can share, you know, this client is
wanting this and I'm not sure. It takes a lot
of stress and pressure off of you. So build a
circle. Join Facebook groups. Attend networking
opportunities upcoming in July the 20th and the
21st. You could attend the LCR Summit in Louisville,
Kentucky. Naylor Taliaferro has put together
a tremendous itinerary. I encourage you to go
to the LCR Summit. and get your tickets now.
And at checkout, you can use my name. I appreciate
that. Attend Equip Expo, where there's 20 some
thousand plus people that's in the same business
you're in. You can meet people, you can share,
you can communicate, you can grow friendships,
develop relationships. within the industry, people
that know the grind, people that know the struggle,
people that understand, people that have been
through what you might be going through, and
you can find help and strength to make it through
yourself. So build a circle. Number three, gratitude
is a superpower. Each day, even when you're struggling,
each day, name three things that you're grateful
for. Name them out loud, write it on paper. It
rewrites your brain to focus on what's going
right, even when the day goes sideways. In the
struggle, Three things you're thankful for three
things you're grateful for It changes the way
you think Gratitude is a superpower number four
Don't try to please everybody Clients will test
your limits But you've got to protect your time,
your sanity, and your worth. Clear communication
equals less stress. Boundaries equal peace of
mind. Do something you love outside of work.
Fishing. Church. Go to the gym, reading, whatever
helps you reset. Don't lose yourself in the hustle.
Let me tell you, break down is real. Burnout
is real. And I'm trying to help you avoid burnout
because you won't shut down. for a day and spend
time outside of your business and not be stressed
and focused on jobs and clients and deadlines
and meeting payroll and stress, stress, stress.
Take a day off. You need to learn to shut down
before you break down. Go golfing. Go to church.
Build within your business systems. Not just
hustle When you run your business on systems
you free up mental space Schedule routes Set
invoices to auto Use software for quotes and
client tracking Every system you build reduces
chaos and that helps your brain reset. Every
day I can open up my iPad and I know exactly
what needs to be done that day because I have
a work system that tells me what jobs need to
be done. I have systems that tell me how long
it's going to take when the day is going to be
concluded. I start at seven and depending on
what day it is, I can tell you exactly when I'm
going to end because I have timed every job and
I know how long it's going to take me to do the
job and complete the task for four. that day
now there are some exceptions like today it's
raining so I'm going to have to do a double schedule
tomorrow but that's okay we'll get it done because
I have systems and that helps your brain reset
because you're not so frustrated and you're not
so intense Because you got to do this, and you
got to do that, and you got to go here, and you
got to go there, and you got to make sure you
get this done, you got to make sure you get that
done, and you're trying to remember all that's
involved. Develop some systems because they reduce
the chaos. So here's a reminder. Take care of
yourself like you take care of your equipment
Oil changes sharpened blades tuneups your body
and your mind deserve the same attention Because
when you're strong when you're rested, when you
are clear -minded, you make better decisions,
you grow your business faster, and you enjoy
the journey a whole lot more. Thanks for tuning
in to the Lawn Hustle Podcast. If this episode
helped you, share it with a fellow lawn pro,
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it. Thank you. Until we talk again, keep hustling
smart and take care of you.