Most consultants are content with business and life

Most independent consultants are content with their businesses and their lives, according to a wellbeing-focused survey of 34,000 consultants by learning platform ConsultingSuccess.com.

Most consultants start their own business to realize their full potential and be their own boss – and potentially realize greater income and work flexibility. According to the survey, 52% said they were somewhat content with their lives, while 32% said they were very content with their lives. 

Carving out time for R&R and personal life was a big part of contentment. Forty percent of consultants who took quarterly vacations said they were very content with their lives, versus only 11% of those who rarely took vacations. Meanwhile, 44% of consultants who felt they had enough time for their personal lives were very content with their lives, compared to 17% of consultants who felt they didn’t have enough personal time. 

Forty-three percent of polled consultants were somewhat content with their business, while 17% were very content. 32%, meanwhile, were somewhat discontent, while 8% were very discontent with their business. 

In terms of mental health, 42% said they rarely felt depressed, while 8% said they never feel depressed. On the other hand 40% said they felt depressed occasionally, and 7% said they felt depressed most of the time.

The survey found that those who rarely used social media felt much less lonely, with over 50% rating a 2 or out of 10 or lower on a the loneliness scale; those who used social media every day tended to rate themselves as lonelier. 

Overall, the independent consultants were a motivated bunch, with 57% feeling motivated most of the time, and 23% feeling motivated every single day.

“Given that consistent action is critical when running a consulting business, it’s important that you feel motivated,” commented Michael Zipurksy, co-founder of ConsultingSuccess.com.

In the physical health category, 50% of consultants said they slept the recommended 7-8 hours a night, while 45% said they slept 5-6 hours. Seventy percent of 7-8 hour sleepers were satisfied with the time they have for personal activities, compared to 44% of 5-6 hour sleepers. 

Thirty-five percent said they were in good shape, while 44% said they were in somewhat good shape. Those who said they were in good shape reported higher levels of motivation and contentment with their personal and business lives. 

Most consultants polled in the survey (67%) said they had a moderately healthy diet, while 23% said their diet was very healthy. Those with a very healthy diet tended to be in better shape, slept more, and felt more motivated.

Overall, higher earners ($150k-$3m+) tended to be in better shape, were more content, and felt depressed less frequently.

Eating healthy, exercising regularly, sleeping enough, getting enough vacation and personal time, and having enough money – all of these factors have a big collective impact on wellbeing. They can boost productivity and ward off physical and mental afflictions, among a raft of further positive impacts. No wonder companies increasingly concern themselves with wellbeing programs. 

Though there’s likely going to be a degree of social desirability bias in these sorts of surveys, the general takeaway is simple enough: go for that run, eat those leafy greens, get your eight hours, and stay off Instagram. The tough part is actually following through consistently.