Business owner stress management normally goes out the window. But then your family and employees get negatively affected. Here’s a list of 12 strategies to decrease stress.
Business Owner Stress Management Strategies:
- Grow your business, not your inbox
- Read your 5-star reviews
- Get help and delegate tasks
- Create your ideal week and try to follow it for a better work/life balance
- Do a braindump of all your ideas and to-dos
- Know your symptoms and triggers that lead to negative emotions
- Take more breaks
- Have a productive morning routine
- Fix your diet
- Exercise outside more
- Manage finances better so you always have a great buffer
- Be okay with saying no
Grow your business, not your inbox
How many times have you looked at your inbox, or the number of emails in your inbox on your iPhone, and been overwhelmed at the sheer amount of them? They can add up fast. Those landing pages that get your email information are no joke! They ask for your email for a reason, and then suddenly, you have an influx of thousands of emails you don’t want to deal with.
I’ve done this twice a year (unscheduled) for a few years now. It does take some time, so be prepared for that. Grab your coffee on a morning when you’re not being pulled in a bunch of directions at once, and clean out that inbox.
Specifically, be sure to unsubscribe from all those companies you never shop with. There’s no reason to keep them if you don’t use them. Plus, if you find you need them again, you’ll be able to grab whatever offer they currently have for a percentage off if you subscribe. So, we’re officially into spring now, and it’s time to do some cleaning!
Read your 5-star reviews
Okay, this can be tricky. But, that is the point. Hear me out…
I used to run an events center in Los Angeles and the owner was a bit overly sensitive. She hated when there were any negative reviews and was never able to get past that initial ‘ick’ factor. Look, I get it. It’s awful to read a bad review about your business. I handled this by telling her not to read any of the reviews. I know that’s a bit strange but, wait…
The thing is, that if you put too much emphasis on your own negative press, it’s not good. Same thing with positive press. It can make you feel like you’re conquering every point. However, if you are the type of person that can just read the positive reviews and take them at face value, then read them. If you’re not in danger of becoming over-inflated and in love with your own reflection, then why not use this as a type of therapy?
Seriously though… be careful and honest with yourself. This one can be dangerous.
Worried about any not-so-good reviews? Here’s an article from RebelFishLocal to add to your weekend reading list.
Get help and delegate tasks
You don’t have to conquer the world by yourself. You need a team. Do your best to add team members that can and will support you in the ways you need. Make that your goal when you’re hiring. This is your business and you need what you need.
Then the hard part… you have to learn how to delegate. This can be tough. Especially for a type A. Trust me, I know all too well. But, I also know that there is nothing quite more valuable than a trusted and capable associate. Making the time and putting in the effort to build a reliable team will end up being your best spent time. They’re out there just waiting to have tasks entrusted to them.
We’d love to hear from you and find out how we can help you delegate your SEO, schedule a call with us today!
Create your ideal week and try to follow it for a better work/life balance
This can be a fun exercise to get you thinking of ways you would rather be spending your time. Think about it… how many times have you been working on the same old mundane tasks only to wish you’d rather be ______________ (fill in that blank). You know you’ve done this!
So, take the time to think about this and write it down. This will be fun to visualize and then to try to execute. I think you’ll be happy and surprised at the results and possibilities that come from this one.
Do a braindump of all your ideas and to-dos
This is just like cleaning out your email inbox and it feels even better. It can be difficult to think clearly when you have a ton of backed-up ideas floating around in your head. It can be very freeing to dump them all out onto paper where you can brainstorm more clearly. You may find that new ideas start to flow after you do this and that is the point. Take some time and make it happen. You’ll thank yourself!
Know your symptoms and triggers that lead to negative emotions
If you know what triggers you, you already have the upper hand. You just need to focus your knowledge and have a plan. Take the time to identify your triggers and decide what you’ll do when these things happen. Triggers and negative emotions are like avalanches of crap. It can be easy to get stuck under a mountain of fallen crap.
Do you know who doesn’t get stuck in an avalanche? People who know what to look for. People who know how to identify the cracks in the ice and snow. People who know what it looks like and feels like with just the slightest change in the ‘weather’.
It’s not just about your personal ‘cracks’. It’s about the outside forces that can have an effect on your hill.
Take more breaks
I have found that one of the best things I can do is to schedule a nonnegotiable work time frame. I will work for one or two hours at a time before I have a scheduled break. This is when I do laundry, make a snack, do some pushups (not really), or get some fresh air. I love walks and I’m a kinesthetic learner through and through, so movement is key for me. Knowing that has made such a dramatic difference in my ability to complete those scheduled work blocks.
Have a productive morning routine
This goes along with general planning. It can be difficult to get into a solid and productive routine, especially if you have a family and any other pressing responsibilities. However, if you take some time to focus on getting down to the nitty-gritty details, you’ll be able to at least have a better picture of how your time could be better spent. This will give you power, whether you hit every point or not. Don’t worry, none of us hit all the points all the time, and anyone who pretends to is full of it.
Fix your diet
Okay, I know. Nobody wants to hear this. I get it! But, hear me out. I am so bothered when my pants are too tight. I’m always so much more confident when they fit well, and seemingly more capable. But, here’s the thing… I’m not actually any different. My capabilities haven’t changed. Only my self-perception has changed. I think we all know how much better we feel when we feel and look good physically. This makes a huge difference and shouldn’t be discounted.
Of course, it can be a challenge to remember that when we’re hungry and staring at a box of tasty donuts. So, this will take some planning. Do the planning. The other great trick I’ve found is to think about the positives as opposed to the negatives. I think of how good I know I’ll feel in five days if I take it day by day and stick to the process. It works every time I focus this way!
Exercise outside more
Take a hike! I’m not trying to be smart here, but we all know how important fresh air is for our health. It’s healthy for the mind too. Get out there and take a walk or a hike. Listen to some relaxing music. Here’s a playlist I found on Spotify with 100 ‘most relaxing’ songs. Of course, this can mean different things for each one of us. Sometimes I like classical, sometimes I like Eminem. It really depends on my mood. The most important thing to focus on here is to just BREATHE!!
Manage finances better so you always have a great buffer
This past year has been very eye-opening for me and my husband. Ever since we started our company we’ve been very disciplined to put away money. We tithe a percentage, put a percentage away for taxes, and put a percentage away for our savings. When the pandemic hit we were nervous just like most other people. My husband’s work completely dried up and other than unemployment, we had nothing coming in for several months.
We didn’t realize just how much of a buffer we had put away for a rainy day. I mean, we knew what we had, but we definitely were surprised at how far it was able to stretch during this challenging time. I can’t tell you how grateful we were to have been diligent and disciplined to save. We really were able to see the fruit of our labor help us over this past year and it was so nice to be able to still have some fun while there was so much darkness all around.
It can be hard to save but if there’s one thing I know, it’s that you can always save. If you don’t currently have a savings plan, learn how to implement one. You’ll be so happy you did!
Be okay with saying no
Do you know those movies that are all about people saying YES to everything? Like Jim Carrey in ‘Yes Man’. These movies are funny because the hero is always the type of person who never says yes to anything. It’s fun to watch them outside of their comfort zone!
Do you know who needs to have a movie made about them? The hero who always says yes but that needs to say NO! I’d like to see that movie! Maybe I’ll write it someday. For now, I’m just going to tell you that you don’t have to be everyone’s hero. As a matter of fact, you’ll be better for yourself and everyone around you if you learn to be selective of the things you take on.
You’re already an entrepreneur. It’s time to be your own hero!
A few of these have made a huge difference in lowering stress. I’m going to go into more detail about what books, sermons, podcasts, and strategies helped me to decrease stress.
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