Entrepreneurship is stressful. If you’re going to survive with your sanity and or family intact, you are going to need to learn a few coping strategies, the most paramount of which may be mindfulness.
The following are seven ways you can keep stress at a minimum and prime yourself for success.
1. Don’t skimp on sleep
Getting no sleep does not make you the greatest of all time. It doesn’t make you the greatest anything. In fact, it makes you a tired, miserable business owner with poor time management skills. The heralded anecdotes of successful people who sleep just 5 hours are mythology. There are those who are an exception and can function on such little sleep, but for most of us, eight hours is the required amount of sleep to function at a high level.
Don’t become a coffee addict. Don’t push beyond your physical limits. Eventually, your body will push back, and you can’t get much done from a hospital bed, now can you?
2. Unplug
Email and smartphones are the worst things that have ever happened to humanity. Okay, okay. That’s a bit of hyperbole, but the pair have definitely taken a toll on the overall mental health of entrepreneurs. It can be really hard to unplug and not obsessively check your inbox. So, set a cut off time. Each night, decide that you will not answer emails nor look at your inbox after 9 p.m.
3. Set-Aside Time to Think or “Meditate”
Sit back. Relax breathe. A lot of really great ideas are birthed in moments of relaxation and contemplation.
4. Bolster Self-Growth
Belief in what you’re doing is key to success in any business. That’s the first element. But the next is expertise. How do you continue to learn and grow when you’re already overwhelmed with work and family obligations? It’s simple: read or listen to one book per week. You have to learn before you earn.
5. Get Centered and Practice Gratitude
Focus. It’s all about your mindset. Take time each morning to focus on your goals for the day and to create a list of things you’re grateful for.
6. Do Not Make Emotional Decisions
Everyone has a grumpy day, moments when they feel angry, overly stressed, anxious or generally emotional imbalanced.
As a practice, these are the moments when you most need to take a break, breath, get some fresh air, do a five-minute stretching or mediation session—anything but making decisions that may impact your business.
7. Keep Your Office Tidy
It may seem like a small thing. But your outer world actually mirrors your mindset. When your space is neat and tidy, it’s easier to be more productive. When things are messy and cluttered, you’re going to feel bombarded with chaotic energy which is anything but productive. A minimal, organized workspace is conducive to strategic, critical, creative thinking.