Unless you’re a particularly lucky individual, marketing is a stressful job.
Sure, it’s fun, too. But it’s often stressful.
You’re juggling ad budgets, keeping up with industry updates (hey, that’s what we’re for!), boosting conversions and sales… It’s not easy.
But we’ve got some good news.
Recently, on a Twitter Space, Dr. Emily Anhalt—a psychoanalytic psychologist and co-founder of mental health startup Coa—gave advice for founders working on their mental health.
— Shahed Khan (@_shahedk) July 28, 2022
You don’t have to be a founder to benefit from her advice. Here are three key insights:
- Founders—and marketers, too—need to make mental health a priority. Emily says believing you don’t have time to focus on your mental health is like an Olympic athlete believing they don’t have time to eat anything but McDonald’s. If you don’t prioritize mental health, you’re doing a disservice to your career.
- If you get a coach, watch out for pseudo-therapists. Coaching is common for marketers and founders—but be careful who you hire. There are many coaches out there who masquerade as therapists without the proper training, which can be dangerous. If you want therapy, get a trained therapist.
- Watch out for your warning signs. Figure out what your “tells” are—signs you’re not in a good place—and recruit your friends and family to watch out for them. You’ll avoid burnout this way.
An insight: We’ve found that working asynchronously and allowing our team flexible schedules has helped us feel less stressed about work.
We often perform better when we can be more selective about how and when we work. Maybe that’s something you can work out for yourself, too.