Growing a business can be stressful. Trying to secure financing, managing staff, and improving products and services requires an enormous amount of effort. Many entrepreneurs feel overwhelmed and like they’re only just able to make it through the day.
Mainstream publications rarely acknowledge the high levels of stress involved in starting a firm and building something that thrives, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there. Founders can sometimes feel burnout in as little as six months, wondering why they are doing what they’re doing.
Fortunately, you don’t have to be among them. While building and growing a business is never easy, it doesn’t have to be something that completely wipes you out.
If you’re struggling with stress, here are some of the things that you can do.
Prioritize Tasks Everyday
When you have the world on your shoulders, it can feel like you have a million things to do. At any given moment, there are five people demanding your time.
The key here is to prioritize your tasks and stick with your schedule. Many bosses get sidetracked by minor issues and then have to rush at the last minute to put out major fires.
Don’t be like this. If there’s a small problem, delegate. If there’s a large problem, focus your attention on it. Always dedicate your time to the most mission-critical task. Avoid the temptation to procrastinate or avoid making difficult decisions. Confront issues head-on, as they arise.
Draw A Line Between Your Personal And Business Life
Many entrepreneurs get into difficulties when they fail to draw a line between their personal and business lives. They start to believe that their start-up is their life, which causes ongoing stress and tension, seven days a week.
As the boss, drawing a line between work and play is an inner decision that you need to make. You might appear to be resting, relaxing and having fun. But if work is at the back of your mind all the time, you’re not really taking any time off at all.
To avoid burnout, give yourself permission to relax and fully switch off when you’re away from the office. If you catch yourself thinking about it, recognize that as a bad habit and discard it.
Find A Hobby
Do you sometimes feel like your work is your life? Does that realization make you feel depressed? If so, you might need a hobby. Gardening, fencing, sports, and hiking are all viable options.
The value of hobbies is that they take your mind off work. They tend to be so engaging that you’re not thinking about what you need to do next or who is waiting for a response in your email inbox. When you’re cycling down a mountain or playing a game of squash, you simply don’t have time to worry about what’s happening at the office.
What’s more, hobbies can focus and ground you, reminding you that there’s more to life than your business, ambitions and money. For example, hiking is a great way to be more present in nature. It trains you to be more focused and alert.
Surfing is a little different. It’s more about teaching you the value of humility, patience, and practice.
Don’t Attempt Tasks You Can’t Accomplis
Many firms attempt to perform tasks in-house that they can’t realistically do themselves. Digital marketing is a good example. As sites like https://tessa.tech/dc-marketing-firm/marketing-firm-dc/ make clear, it’s something that’s best left to the experts. That’s because there’s a tremendous learning curve involved, and to really make it work, you need a lot of experience. Without that, you’re spinning in circles, not going anywhere.
The same applies for small business accounting. Don’t try to do it yourself – that’s just asking for trouble. Instead, get a professional to do it for you. While there’s a small fee for this, the overall effect is to save you time, money and aggro.
Meditate
Meditation sounds like a strange spiritual practice for monks in temples. But it’s actually something that anyone can do to return to the source of their being.
The idea of meditation isn’t necessarily to “empty the mind,” although that can be helpful sometimes. Instead, it’s to bring “the real” into your life and connect with it. It’s the idea that there’s something mysterious, powerful and fundamentally blissful that underlies all of existence. If you’re stressed, you’re cut off from that, according to https://tinybuddha.com/blog/8-tips-to-feel-at-peace-with-yourself/. But if you are in connection with it, stress ceases to be a part of your life and you can live more fully in creativity.
According to popular wellbeing surveys, around 45 percent of entrepreneurs feel chronically stressed. Furthermore, around 72 percent may have psychiatric disorders, such as ADHD, depression, bipolar and substance abuse.
Meditation helps you master your inner game. It changes the calculus entirely. It allows you to get rid of the ego drives that are leading to your dysfunction and become “one with heaven.” The concept sounds weird to Westerners, but some of the greatest people on Earth use it to ground and center themselves.
Exercise More Often
Entrepreneurs often pay lip service to exercise, without really taking it seriously. They imagine that they just don’t have enough time to squeeze it into their day and, therefore, don’t bother with it.
Avoid this attitude if you can. Exercise should take precedence over work. It should be the number one priority in your day, not the other way around.
If you struggle to take this attitude, think of it this way: exercise supports your capacity to do effective work. If you’re stressed out, you can’t work effectively. But if you are calm and relaxed, you can be productive and get more done.
Even top CEOs make time for daily exercise. Microsoft chief Satya Nadella goes out running every day at lunch time.
Conclusion
Growing a business is challenging, but there are plenty of methods for combating the stress that it brings. Mostly, these techniques relate to your inner game – how you approach each day emotionally and psychologically. If you can master it, nothing can stop you.
