By Meeky Hwang, Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer of Ndevr.
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There are so many things, people and situations that can trigger and promote your stress level. As an entrepreneur and a business owner, I stay busy wearing many hats, and with that comes various sources that could easily cause stress. Over the course of years, I have learned that effectively controlling the stress level dramatically improved my productivity level and helped grow my business. Here are the five tips that help me stay positive and better control my stress level that I hope to help other fellow entrepreneurs and business owners.
1. Start Your Day On A Positive Note
Busy entrepreneurs have hundreds of things they need/want to accomplish in a day which could immediately overwhelm them before they even start the day. I used to start the day this way and by the end of the day, I was completely burned out. The switch came from starting the day on a positive note. Before I start the day, I write down at least three positive things I accomplished the day before, including trivial things such as having a productive client meeting. To my surprise, doing so quickly switched my mood and perspective in the morning, and the rest of the day became less stressful and more productive.
2. Block Out “Me” Time
Many entrepreneurs find themselves in a cycle of busyness without enough time to meet demands from employees, clients, investors and even family and friends. Most of the entrepreneurs I know, including myself, are highly motivated people who seek to succeed in every aspect of their lives. With this, we often neglect to fulfill our own needs.
I started meditating in the morning for 20-30 minutes before interacting with anyone, making sure that during this time I focus on “me” only. This has allowed me to manage my mood, control my thoughts and slow down enough to form solutions to problems that may be plaguing me. Taking some “me” time in the morning gave me a chance to go into my day with a clean slate and a focused state of mind.
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Not taking time to yourself can cause stress to build up exponentially, potentially causing you to harbor resentment toward people and circumstances. Doing so could eventually harm both you and your professional and personal relationships.
3. Take A Break
Stereotypically speaking, many entrepreneurs are workaholics. They always feel they can squeeze in a little more and need to be going all the time, 24/7, and often forget or forego necessary breaks. In reality, both your body and your mind occasionally need to rest.
Making sure to take short breaks throughout the day helped me to step back to think things more clearly. Interestingly enough, I became more productive and efficient when I made sure to take breaks.
Pause once in a while to take a break. Your brain needs room to breathe, too.
4. Exercise
As a programmer, most of my workdays involved being in front of a computer. Not much has changed since becoming a business owner. Especially with remote work, most of my time was spent on virtual meetings, on the phone or reviewing code in front of a computer. There were days that I did not leave the home office.
Regular exercise brought not only the commonly known obvious benefits — staying fit, healthy body, etc. – but also stress relief. When stress affects the mind, the body also suffers. So it stands to reason that the mind-body connection works both ways, meaning that a healthy body can lead to a healthy mind.
5. Let It Go
Many things in life are simply beyond your control. Employees can leave with short notice, a client may drop your engagement or your laptop could die when you are in the middle of an important code release or a meeting. Some circumstances cannot be changed or improved, and a lot of stress comes directly from trying to change or improve these things.
Over the course of time, I’ve learned to just let it go. What has already happened cannot be undone. Changing my mindset to consider scenarios like these as valuable lessons, I have learned and try not to make the same mistakes again in the future without beating myself up over things that happened in the past.
Being an entrepreneur, it’s easy to get caught up with a busy life. Before you know it, you might get completely stressed out, unknowingly trading your health and relationships for a modicum of success. Instead, try implementing these five tips and find a balance that works for you.
