by Mitchelle Uzorka
There are plenty of perks to owning your business — like being the boss, for one. You get to see your own plans and dreams come to life. And you can set the company track exactly as you see fit. But the downside to running a small business? All of the stress that comes with it. That’s why learning to manage stress is crucial for small biz owners.
“Managing stress is important as a business owner because typically, we tend to be sole proprietors or have few employees,” says Amanda Pratt MSW, LCSW, CPLC, The Chronic Illness Therapist, Imagine Life Therapy. “This means that if we burn out, it can ultimately slow business progress or momentum and when we aren’t well, our businesses can’t be well. We also know that if we cope poorly with stress, we tend to have worse physical and mental health outcomes overall, so business owner or not, this is an area that I feel should be a top priority for all of us.”
1. Remember what’s going right.
As you’re building your business, it is easy to only focus on the things that are going wrong. You can become stressed when you’re looking at all the things that are behind schedule, underfunded or need to be fixed.
You can improve your stress management in business by reminding yourself of the things that are going right.
2. Rank your tasks.
One of the causes of stress in business is having so many things to work on that none of them get done. If you try to do a little bit of each task, you will complete few of them. Don’t try to do everything at once. Try to focus on one or a small number of tasks at a time.
3. Purge your brain.
As a business owner, there’s rarely a separation between work and home. You’ll constantly think about your business and the things you could be doing. Sometimes, you can’t stop thinking about your business. Your brain is on nonstop, even when you’re trying to sleep.
It is advisable to write down your thoughts becausevit helps with putting your mind at rest knowing your thoughts are in a safe place and you can always reach to it.
4. Take systematic breaks
When you feel stress coming on, get up and do something else such as taking a brief walk or going outside. This short break can give you a different perspective on a stressful situation and at least provide short-term relief from the physical effects of stress.
5. Delegate to reduce your workload
Accept that you can’t do it all. Rather than micro-managing, pay special attention to delegating responsibility to employees and leaving them alone to do the job. Sharing the load can relieve stress.
