Managing Stress While Running a Small Business
Stress Awareness Month is recognised in the UK every April, and the lasts two Aprils have, during the pandemic, have been embraced with both hands by many with heightened awareness. There’s been a very sad cloud hovering over many many people during the pandemic and it’s been difficult to manage, and coming out of the pandemic to a return to an uncertain ‘normal’ has been equally as challenging.
Major Contributors to Heightened Stress Levels
These have been lack of certainty, especially running your own business; and
Lack of community, something many of us have taken for granted until now. We humans are definitely pack animals!
These two factors have resulted in a feeling of loneliness and isolation, which in turn has affected people’s well-being and mental health which could then lead to mental illness.
Social isolation is a big risk factor for both mental health and suicide. As things have returned to the new and very uncertain ‘normal’ way of living it’s vital that the community support continues as experienced by many people during the challenging time the pandemic caused, and as we all know still continues to be a struggle for many. Although most restrictions have now been lifted across the world, people will still need support now more than ever as we all adjust to this new way of living.
The pandemic has had a detrimental effect on the world’s mental health and sense of community. It has disrupted social lives, the cancellation of large gatherings, travel restrictions, and working from home have kept us in one place for long periods of time, with a lot of time to (over)think. Not to mention those small business who either disappeared during the pandemic, or hung on for survival by a thread. However, one positive to emerge from this has been the community spirit and support shown by so many to so many.
The pandemic hasn’t quite gone away (just yet!), so stress levels still need to be managed.
6 Ways to Manage Stress While Running a Small Business
Stress is a disruptor and, even if it doesn’t go away completely, any reduction in stress levels can only benefit you.
#1 Practice Gratitude
Not enough people practice this, and those who do see and feel the benefits. Practicing gratitude is a game changer when it comes to shifting attitude and mindset into a positive space. The truth is, challenges and difficulty don’t necessarily disappear, but what you can control is how you respond. You can respond with how much stress you’re going to throw at negative situations. Fighting with stress and negativity doesn’t necessarily work, but placing your energies elsewhere absolutely does. When your mind is in the positive space of gratitude: being grateful for everything you have and have achieved, for the little things that actually are going right, the negative things become a little less terrifying, thus reducing stress.
#2 Identify your Stress Triggers
Take time to figure out what triggers your stress response. Running your own small business demands a lot from you and it’s easy to just get on with it and operate in an auto-high-stress mode without even knowing. Taking a step back and mapping out all the things you have to do yourself is a good place to start. Then, when you approach your many tasks, be mindful of your stress responses to each them. Options might be to delegate stress inducing tasks to someone else or, if not financially possible, approach the situation with a different attitude. Believe it or not, there’s even power in taking deep breaths before you approach, and tell yourself that you can do this, and you’ll succeed at it.
#3 Get Help and Support from Others
Our friends and family are usually willing participants. It’s common among us small business owners to believe that those closest to us may not be as supportive as we’d like. But the truth is, life just gets in the way and they have busy lives too; and they may not appear to be supportive or hit the ‘like’ button often enough. In times of need though, you might be surprised at who comes to the rescue. So don’t be afraid to reach out and let people close to you know how you feel, what you’re worried about and need help with. This is free help too!
#4 Manage your Time Well
When we’re stressed we can end up in a vicious cycle. A cycle of busy, being worried, working in a mess, not prioritising, making us busier, working in more mess.
Your time is best spent to take stock of what you have to do and shuffle it into order of priority.
This is such a powerful and relieving exercise, giving you space to breathe, refocus and approach your workload in order.
You don’t have to do everything at once! Set yourself some SMART goals and objectives and you’ll feel very different.
#5 Make Time for Self Care
Stress takes its toll on our bodies physically. What starts out in our minds ends up in our bodies. So the best place to manage stress is from within our bodies, reducing physical consequence. There are many ways to reduce the effects of stress on our bodies, like
Reducing alcohol, caffeine and smoking. If you can quit these, happy days, but any reduction is beneficial.
Get into the habit of daily meditations with affirmations.This brings about mental and more importantly physical calmness.
Taking regular, easy to manage exercise increases the secretion of endorphins into the body, the brain's feel-good neurotransmitters.
Get fresh air from the great outdoors. This will help the skin to produce Vitamin D, and also boost production of serotonin and melatonin, improving your mood, increasing your energy, and helping you get better sleep.
Get rest and sleep, this is vital for reduction of stress and overall health.
#6 Laugh
Laughter is said to be the best remedy, but it’s difficult to muster up when we’re feeling sad. What’s to laugh about when you’re feeling stressed right? A great place to start is to consider surrounding yourself with happy people, people who would normally make you laugh. If you’re isolated, use the internet or watch TV. There are so many light hearted comedies out there. So grab half an hour, sit back and fully immerse yourself in a comedy episode or two.
Take up these 6 great tips and see how you get on, it’ll make all the difference.
If you haven’t already done so, join the FACEBOOK GROUP with members who are setting up or running their own photography business. In the group you’ll get continued support to help you stay on your pathway to a successful photography business.