When you start your entrepreneurial journey, you’re very excited, motivated, and feel like nothing can get in your way. However, you need to be careful and plan to manage stress as an entrepreneur because no matter what, you’ll experience it at some point in your journey.
I remember when I first launched my passion business, I was full of energy and excitement. I was finally living my passion and was going to make a difference in the world.
I didn’t know that I had to learn a list of other skills that I had no idea were crucial to me making a living online and supporting myself.
I had to DIY everything because I didn’t have the resources to build a website. So I learned:
- How to create a WordPress blog.
- How to make graphics with Photoshop .
- How to edit videos in Adobe Premiere.
- How to market and sell my coaching business.
- Learning search engine optimization.
- Setting up all the plugins and software my website needs to operate.
In addition to continuing my own education and skills so I can serve my clients.
I had to do everything myself, keep up with the daily tasks and have a strategy to also grow my blog. Because if no one finds my blog…no one can hire me.
It started to quickly feel like a struggle.
I enjoyed the process, but I was impatient to make it work, and I felt like I was chasing time. I started skipping fun activities and focused all my energy, time, and resource on growing the business.
And this is how burnout starts to creep in and why many people fail.
Entrepreneurship stress is distinctive and different from job stress.
The biggest thing that differentiates it from other life stresses is that you’re trying to be everything to everyone, and you lose balance.
When you have a job, you can undoubtedly experience stress dealing with coworkers, managers, deadlines, and challenging projects. But, you’re not worrying about if you’ll make the month’s rent at least.
You come home and get to relax for a bit and forget about the day.
When you’re building a business, your brain is working 24/7 from the moment you wake up until you go to bed…and maybe even dreaming about solving the problem.
(I had so many dreams and nightmares about problems on my website or trying to solve issues I had that day).
Below is a list of tips that helped me personally manage stress as an entrepreneur.
You’re not going to eliminate stress, but managing it and implementing these tips can help you stay healthy in mind and body so you can operate from an empowering and energized standpoint.
1. Morning Routine
A morning routine will help you first get into the right mindset before tackling the day’s to-do list.
I always put my phone on flight mode before going to bed and don’t turn that off until I’m done with my morning routine.
This allows me to not get distracted by emails or anything that will steal my attention before taking care of my mental energy first.
If you wake up feeling stressed, you should set 15 minutes in the morning to get your mind in the right headspace before starting work.
I like to start my days with a cup of ceremonial cacao (instead of coffee), a 10-minute ocean sounds meditation that helps me get into a positive headspace as I tune in with the sounds of nature.
I visualize how I was to successfully end this week, what I’d like to accomplish, then write in my planner what I’d like to achieve this week, and then I review my goals.
This has been a staple in my life, and I can’t imagine starting a workday before this ritual.
2. Evening Routine
An evening routine can help you reduce stress and avoid burnout. This can be as simple as taking a nice warm shower and reading a book before bed to relax the nervous system.
Allow yourself to stop work entirely after a specific time (for example, 7 pm), so you can let your body slow down.
I totally understand times when working long hours has to happen. I had many days where I stayed up working until past midnight on a program launch…but that is not the norm. I always recognize when I need to deviate for a short amount of time, and I make sure to allow myself to relax for a day or two.
3. Workout Routine
The movement will certainly help you manage stress.
I love working out, and I’m so passionate about fitness, health, strength training. But if that’s not your cup of tea, you can also do anything that you enjoy…as long as it moves you.
You can go for a walk, do yoga, dance, swim, etc.
Anything that moves your body will help you release stress and also benefit you in so many ways.
4. Prioritize Time In Nature
Humans are becoming more and more disconnected from nature.
The increase in technology is making it worse. If you have an online business, you’re probably spending most of the time glued to your computer and phone.
You need to disconnect from technology and connect to nature at least once every 2 days.
I try to go for a walk in the park every day. It’s so helpful and relaxing to just listen to the sounds of the birds and trees and disconnect from technology.
If you can’t get to nature, you can listen to it.
I love to listen to ocean sounds because I love the ocean, and we live in the middle of the continent right now. I crave the sounds of the sea every day, so I make sure to listen to them. I feel so much more relaxed and peaceful.
5. Journaling
If you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed, journaling provides fantastic relief from stress. You can write down all your thoughts, worries fears on paper and let it all out.
One of the things many entrepreneurs suffer from is loneliness. Many times, we have to be on this journey on our own. Our family and friends are mostly not entrepreneurs and may not understand the struggles we’re not going through.
So having a journal can help fill this gap.
6. Being in an online group or forum
Joining an online entrepreneurial community helped me immensely in my business journey, especially in the beginning.
I found a place where we all spoke the same language. We all connected and had the same struggles and fears. It was so amazing to see these people vent, ask questions and get help.
One word of caution here…make sure to not waste a lot of time on online groups asking and answering questions…they can really take so much of your time.
Check in twice a week or so if you need to get feedback or connect with other like-minded people and log out so you can focus on building your business.
7. Therapy
Don’t hesitate to get therapy if you feel very overwhelmed or you’re suffering from chronic stress.
Sometimes stress can get really bad that it starts to trigger intense anxiety or panic attack. Please seek help as soon as possible.
Getting therapy can have so many positive effects on your personal and business life. Being able to chat with someone who can support you is a fantastic investment in your health.
Stress and burnout are actual when you’re an entrepreneur.
The thing is…the type and level of stress will change depending on your level of success.
You’ll have different kinds of pressures, and it’s essential to realize that you need to manage stress as you grow so you can stay healthy to enjoy the fruits of your labor.