How to De-Stress: For Small Business Owners

February 9, 2016 by Ed Becker

Owning and running a small business can and will be stressful. There is the constant mental and financial stress of running a business. But those that take the risk and choose to step out of the box into business ownership have a special drive that helps them succeed. Even so, some days can get overwhelming and stressful. Stress is proven to be unhealthy and unproductive, so reducing your daily stress is a definite must. Luckily, there are simple tricks that will help de-stress your life.

 

 

• Know what stresses you

Figure out what triggers your stress. Everyone has triggers; you have to be aware of when you are getting stressed to figure out what causes it. Once you learn what triggers you, you can learn to avoid them- or when to take a break or walk away.

• Prioritize

Most people have daily to-do lists that would take several days to complete. Although we know it is nearly impossible to cross everything out, we stress. The best way to plan out your tasks is to take strategy time, plan out what you need to do for the week, or several days. Write everything down. Then prioritize the most important tasks that you have to accomplish. This list is your strategic plan for the time period- but the time period is normally not only one day. The other tasks should be secondary if you have time, or left to delegate to someone else. Which we will discuss in the next article, “How to Delegate Small Business Tasks to Leverage Your Time”

• Take time out

Business owners are notorious for long working hours. And it is usually necessary, especially when you are just starting out. There are simple, quick ways to take time out that will help reduce your stress levels, without sacrificing productivity.

• Take time every couple hours to stretch, get up and move, get your eyes off the computer screen.
• Schedule a weekly massage. This will help relax your body, increase your circulation and reduce stress.
• Schedule family time. Time with family and close friends is a necessary balance in life. Life must have a balance between work, family and social relationships.

• De-clutter

Clean up your space. De-clutter your office, your desk, your email. Clutter is one of the worst culprits of causing stress. It may not even be a conscious trigger, subconsciously our minds create stress when we are surrounded by clutter.

• Take care of your health

Your health should be a top priority in your daily life. Eating healthy, exercising and reducing stress all work together to promote good health. When we are not healthy the stress is even more detrimental to our bodies. High stress can lead to physical illnesses; this happens more often if our bodies are not healthy to begin with.

• Remove distractions

Removing distractions and practicing focus must be conscious decisions. Learning to turn off or down your phone, shut off email and social media notifications while you are working. We have become so used to distractions and multi-tasking that we do not even realize how much time it robs, which causes more stress.

If you, as the owner, are stressed it will carry over to employees, customers and vendors you are in contact with regularly. When you are stressed you are not at your best; emotionally, mentally or physically. Stress negatively affects your whole life, that can carry over to your business, causing negative effects there as well. But there are simple ways to reduce stress to healthier levels, you just have to be aware and make the choices to incorporate them into your life.