Feeling frazzled? You’re not the only one.
After a year like 2020, many small business owners in Australia are feeling increased levels of stress.
Lockdowns, health worries and economic uncertainty have contributed to this heightened level of stress
In 2020 and the first half of 2021, small business owners not only faced the stresses experienced by the community at large, but also experienced the pressure of maintaining their business, paying their employees, and predicting the market for their business plans.
At the best of times being an entrepreneur is not easy. That’s why it’s so important to find actionable ways to manage your stress and conserve your energy for what matters most in your business.
Here are top 5 tips to stress less and continue to thrive in your business.
Create a night-time ritual
We all know it’s important to get a good night’s sleep. That’s not news. But how do we make our brains shut off and actually get some decent ZZZs? One way to set yourself up for a relaxing night of hitting the hay is to create a night-time ritual.
Start the ritual about one hour before you want to sleep. Get a nice cup of relaxing herbal tea – chamomile or sleepy-time works well.
Keep your bedroom a couple of degrees cooler than the rest of your house. And create nice warm lighting in your room that is dimmed but not too dark to see. Turn off your phone or put it on airplane mode so you can’t lie there scrolling through Facebook. Either read or listen to a relaxing podcast, or try ASMR sounds to put you to sleep. Once you get into the habit of this night-time ritual it will start to regulate your sleeping hormones. Your body will know when you have that cup of tea and read or listen to that podcast it is your cue to sleep.
Keep a bullet journal
Small business owners generally have a lot of competing priorities. They worry about business planning, accounts, stock, time pressures and clients. Combat the overwhelm with a bullet journal.
The great thing about bullet journals is you can design them to fit your needs.
Instead of a weekly spread you can have a daily spread. You can add habit trackers or pages that outline your to do lists for projects.
Keeping a bullet journal allows you to plan ahead and track your progress while fitting in all the little miscellaneous items that fall through the cracks.
Knowing what you’ve accomplished and having a plan to track your projects will help you feel less stressed.
Take a day off
It might sound impossible, it might be scary, but you need to take a day off.
Pick one day a week or fortnight and set that as your special day off.
Don’t do any work, don’t do any errands, just schedule some ‘me time’. Tell your staff in advance not to call or contact you and set an out of office email for this day. If someone needs to be able to answer for you, elect a staff member you trust and set boundaries for their scope of power for the day. Get out of the house or the office and go see some friends or take the dog to the beach. While it might be hard to switch off, you just need to remind yourself there’s usually nothing so important it can’t wait until tomorrow.
Try meditation
While it can be hard to learn to meditate, it is one of the most rewarding things you can do. Anything from 5 to 15 minutes a day can have powerful effects on your life including better sleep and increased focus. Download the mindfulness app or just watch a couple of the free meditation videos on YouTube. You’ll be surprised how quickly you see benefits from 5 minutes of concentrated breathing.
Outsource
When it comes to your business, you’re pretty organised and know when to outsource something that isn’t worth your time. But have you considered outsourcing in your personal life? If there are errands that you never get to or little jobs in your life that just take up your time and stress you out, think about outsourcing them. If paying someone $20 a week to pick up your laundry is going to leave you with an extra hour of time and be one less thing to worry about, it’s well worth the cost.
Life is stressful enough, and it pays to find the little hacks that make it work for you. After all, you made it through 2020 while running your own small business. You deserve a break!
“The opinions expressed by BizWitty Contributors are their own, not those of BizCover and should not be relied upon in place of appropriate professional advice. Please read our full disclaimer."
