Jenny Barnett
You’re in luck! This article will NOT discuss yet one more time how you can harness the power of social media to promote your home-based business to the ends of the earth.
But there’s more to success than hum-drum affiliate marketing, right?
At Barnett Writer, we’ve discovered a few practices that improve our effectiveness because they make us healthier and more content. And yes, well-being really does translate to greater productivity, improved client relations, and the overall determination necessary to get the job done. One way is to adopt a pet, preferably a dog or a cat.

So how can our furry, four-legged friends make us more creative? As it turns out, research shows, in several ways.
Our business partner, Aslan (for a profile of Aslan, visit our ”About” page), prefers a mid-morning play session each day. Often, he’ll place his paw on my shoulder to let me know he’s bored (uh . . . I mean that he thinks it’s time to discuss business strategy).
Sounds more like a distraction than a contribution, right?
Just the opposite. In fact, these breaks may actually boost our mental acuity.
An article in Psychology Today cites the benefits of taking breaks in the workplace. Fatigue sets in rapidly as we try to plow through our daily workloads. Predictably, this leads to brain drain.
To combat brain drain, most of us reach for something sweet or caffeine-infused. This causes our bodies to yo-yo. According to experts, we need to detach our minds from work completely for a few minutes at intervals throughout the day.
No one knows exactly how many breaks equals work nirvana, but a Health.com study shows that workers who take breaks early in the day excel throughout the day. Delaying a break to get more done actually creates a situation where we achieve less.
Remember, your brain is a muscle. Would you lift weights or run a marathon for eight hours without taking breaks, and staying hydrated?
So how exactly does rescuing a pet specifically help home-based businesses?
We of the increasingly self-employed variety don’t usually have colleagues with whom we can solve a problem or relate in a positive way. And it’s pretty obvious that we’re driven personalities or we wouldn’t be running the show.
That often adds up to grinding away at our computer screens for hours on end. Sometimes, we do this for six to seven days a week. After all, we don’t have a team of people to help us. We don’t clock out for lunch, plan leisure weekends, or take PTO (personal time off).
So rescuing a pet is a win-win. Fido gets to sniff out the neighborhood leaf piles while you increase oxygen to the brain by literally getting out of your chair.
You’ve probably heard of sitting disease. Yes, one more thing that’s going to kill us. Let’s face it: without your furry best friend, you’d be far less likely to take as many breaks as you need to recharge your batteries.
Aslan is not only helping me combat sitting disease, he’s literally making me healthier. According to recent studies, (https://mom.me/pets/19946-cats-purring-proven-help-human-health-numerous-ways/), when cats purr, people breathe easier. And their owners are 40% less likely to experience a heart attack. Our rescued companions even help us heal from infection and injury with their purr.
Two weeks ago, I came down with a terrible cold. I think Aslan could tell it was going to be a struggle for me to type out a few emails, let alone write a blog post. So he took matters into his own paws and hummed a deep tune while curled up against my chest. Guess what? I felt better!
Miraculously healed? No. But I was comforted knowing this furry guy “got it” more than my former coworkers who would hold their hands up to their faces as I walked by their cubes.
Harvard Medical School revealed that dogs have a similar effect on their owner’s overall health. Since dogs calm our nerves, they probably contribute to lower blood pressure. There’s a direct correlation between owning a dog, and having a decreased risk of heart disease.
That’s great news because, as business owners, we know that we have to be calm under pressure. Some days things don’t go so well, and even our greatest plans fail. But a rescued pet is always eager to listen.
Your pet will also help establish and maintain a daily routine. Ever try to sleep in while a hungry cat or dog sounds the alarm for breakfast? If you try to ignore that, a lick on the face or a paw to the nose will provide sufficient incentive to start the day.
Schedule maintenance continues throughout the day. Your dog needs to be walked 2-4 times a day, and is usually fed twice. Cats need to have litter pans raked and would prefer to be fed at least 3 times a day. Add time to romp and cuddle, and you will come to appreciate quiet time to work. Productivity will zoom!
To sum up, rescue a pet to
- Improve your emotional health,
- Calm your nerves,
- Exercise,
- Stay on schedule, and
- Get more done!
For a list of pet rescue resources, visit: https://bestfriends.org/resources/for-shelters-and-rescuers/help-save-pets.