Anyone running a small business knows that it can be overwhelming at times. Truthfully, it could feel overwhelming most of the time. The reason that owning and running your own business is so stressful is that everything tends to fall directly on your shoulders. Fortunately, there are business stress management tips that can help you.
As a business owner there seems to always be an endless number of tasks and actions that await you throughout the day. Executive Image Building Services is a task-oriented business that uses the strategies discussed below to run a successful business.
Many small business owners remark that they experience twice as much stress from running their businesses than they experience maintaining healthy relationships. They also claim that running a small business was much more stressful than both managing their personal finances and raising their children.
That is a lot of stress!
Ultimately, the stress tends to be worth it if you are living your dream of being your own boss and providing a service to customers that you truly believe in. However, that does not mean that there is nothing you can do to manage everyday stress a little better.
Your health needs to be prioritized above all else. High levels of stress on a regular basis can have very negative effects both mentally and physically. Stress can also damage relationships with family, friends and business associates who make up your circle.
If you deal with high levels of work-related stress every day, here are some actions you can take to help reduce stress and stay healthy.
Automate
Technology is a beautiful thing. Modern small business owners are incredibly fortunate that today we have the latest low-cost software and apps that can help manage businesses. Newer technology is being developed every day.
Apps offer a variety of systems to invoice customers, collect payments, and maintain communication with customers. In fact, there is probably a software solution that can help you simplify just about any business process you can think of from posting on social media to running your payroll.
While you might not have the time to research every app you’d like to, picking up a few that you’ve prioritized as being most important to your work could certainly make life a lot easier for you and reduce the stressors of many of your day-to-day tasks.
Delegate
Small business owners often believe that hiring help is not a realistic option in the early phases, however, most times that is not true. There are plenty of tasks that can be outsourced to part-time workers who do not cost as much as your time to complete the same tasks.
For example, are you writing and curating social media content for your business by yourself? You probably know a college student who can perform that job to save you valuable hours.
There are freelancers and part-time workers who can perform administrative tasks such as scheduling meetings or even bookkeeping.
You can also ask other people to help you out when it comes to putting together strategies and answering some of the important questions you face as a business owner. You most likely know people who have started their own successful businesses. Do not be shy. Ask them to mentor you. Ask questions and delve into solutions you had not thought of. Get advice occasionally instead of trying to figure everything out on your own.
Exercise More
Studies have proven that increasing your daily physical activity is a great way to reduce stress. This does not mean that you need to be in the gym two hours a day. Any type of physical activity can help in reducing your stress levels.
If you have 30 minutes before your next meeting, do not sit around looking at your smartphone, go out and take a brief walk and/or stretch every other hour to get your blood flowing.
There’s always room to grow.
Improving your skill set and best practices in workforce management is investing in yourself. When you feel you are moving forward and taking control of your situation, your confidence grows and your business will improve. Listening to others who have similar experiences helps us feel that we are not alone. Expressing your concerns with a trusted confidant helps to reduce stress. Business coaches, industry experts and advice from peers are good ways to manage stress.
Take a Break
Studies have shown that your employees are more productive and happier at work when they use all of their vacation time. It should then be no surprise that the same goes for business owners.
The fact that you never take time off is completely understandable. You have invested everything in your business and it is a very important facet of your life. The more tired and stressed you are, the less value you are providing to your business.
It is important to recharge. Get away with your family or friends for at least a week, and while you are away, try not to think about work at all – no matter how impossible that sounds.
Taking a break does not even have to mean going on vacation. Going out for lunch every day and taking an hour to eat in peace and enjoy a walk around town without checking your emails can do wonders for your stress level. Another good idea is designating one day each week to spend outside the office with your loved ones and to make a rule that you will not be taking any work-related calls or engaging in any business-related tasks during that day.
Any tasks you have lined up are going to be completed more effectively after you have refreshed your perspective a bit and taken a break from the daily grind.
Fix Your Diet
One of the worst things about being constantly buried in work is that you tend to stop paying attention to your diet. Many believe that they do not have time to eat properly, which sometimes leads to their diets consisting of nothing but coffee and fast food.
The truth of the matter is that eating healthy does not take that much time. It simply takes a little more attention. There are certain foods that you should eat if you want to decrease stress levels and regulate hormones related to stress.
Try to seek out foods that are low in fat, high in fiber and make sure that you are eating a good amount of fruits and vegetables.
And it is not just what you eat, how you eat is important. On your most stressful days, you are better off eating smaller meals more often. By doing this, you are stabilizing your energy levels so that there are less energy peaks and valleys during the day.
Most importantly, starting the day off with a healthy and balanced breakfast is one of the best ways to make sure that your body is getting what it needs, especially in the crucial morning hours.
Prioritize Sleep
Business owners are often chronically tired because they just do not get enough sleep. Whether you like it or not, getting enough sleep is an absolute necessity, not just for business owners but human beings in general.
Take a look at exceptional athletes, for example. Their work regimes are crazy. They work on making their bodies stronger for hours every day. They keep diligent records of what they eat and they study videos of their performances every day, yet they always make sure they get enough sleep.
Why? Because no matter what other steps they take to improve their performances, it is not going to matter if their bodies and minds do not get the rest they need to recover. Sleep deprivation affects not only your judgment and memory, but your mood as well. A good night’s sleep can truly do wonders when it comes to reducing stress levels. Not only does more sleep equate to less stress, it is also helps you to better manage the unavoidable stresses of running a small business. Tired people tend to lack the patience and clarity of mind needed to properly function in high-stress work environments.
Have Faith
Faith is important because it affects the decisions we make, the way we interact with others, and the way we react to the situations that confront us. The more we practice faith the more we develop. Take time out to practice your faith.
