In today’s “always-on” tech culture, the line between work and rest can blur, leaving us stretched thin. When you are distracted or neglect your own well-being—sacrificing sleep, exercise, or downtime—it’s not just you who suffers; your team, technology and business do too. 

"We don't take care of ourselves because we're trying to take care of the business." —Brad Farris, Anchor Advisors

As my business coach and friend Brad Farris recently shared on Episode #6 of my Intentional Change podcast (which I co-host with Shawn FitzGerald), effective business begins with self-leadership.

Here are some practical ways to prioritize self-care and avoid burnout:  

1. Guard Your Energy: Schedule breaks and downtime like critical meetings. Protect your mental and physical energy as you would your business data.  
2. Use Tech for Wellness: Leverage tools like meeting-free blocks, focus modes, and automation to create healthier work habits.  
3. Delegate and Automate: Use platforms like Zapier to offload tasks and free up your mental bandwidth.  
4. Model Self-Care: Set boundaries for yourself, your team, and your family/friends—avoid late-night emails or instant responses after hours.  
5. Optimize for ‘Best Days’: Use analytics from your productivity tools to identify when you and your team perform best and build routines around those insights.  

Doing business & utilizing tech needed to do so in 2025 requires clarity, creativity, and resilience—all of which depend on taking care of yourself first. By weaving self-care into your habits and tech practices, you’ll empower both yourself and your team to thrive.  

Challenge for you: What’s one self-care habit and/or tech tool you can start using this week to create more “best days”? Hit reply and share—I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Your Tech Pal,

—Joshua

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P.S. I’m taking a bit of my own advice and unplugging for some vacation during the next month. I’ll reply to your emails when practical, or you can reach my team anytime at support@mcnary.me.

You won’t hear from me as often during this time, but you can still connect through my podcasts (links below or wherever you listen):

• BizTech Superhero — Discover how to unlock the tech superpowers inside your business
• Intentional Change — Practical insights for navigating change as a business leader

Talk soon!

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Disclaimer: I use AI to help write emails like these. I review & edit all AI-assisted work I publish.