7 Entrepreneur Stress Management Techniques

For people who are at the top of the success ladder, stress is an everyday experience. It follows them around like a shadow, tracing their steps and waiting to pounce. If not carefully managed, stress will become all consuming and have a ripple out effect.

Stress affects the mind, making even the most successful entrepreneur unable to work efficiently. Stress also affects the body. Sleepless nights, weight fluctuations, upset stomachs, bowel irregularity and even ulcers are signs you are under stress. When the entrepreneurial mind gets clouded, the body begins to deteriorate. Even worse, your stress begins to affect others. Your close friends and family may be the first to notice you are under stress, but when the boss is unhappy, everyone starts to feel it. The tension is felt throughout the workplace and soon your employee’s work performance will decrease.

The following are 7 entrepreneur stress management techniques to keep your stress in check and performance high.

1. Be grateful for what you have.

A good way to not sweat the small stuff when things do not go as planned is to remember what has gone right. Failure or setbacks do not negate the positive things that happened, nor does it take away your accomplishments. A healthy, positive attitude is the best barrier against stress. Keep things in perspective, remember how far you have come, what’s gone right and keep going forward.

2. Keep focused on the right things.

Remember you don’t have to be perfect. Take a larger perspective: Is it more important to be moving forward or to get every tiny detail right? Does the why matter more than the how? I tell my clients this all the time: Perfection is a unicorn. As much as we all might want for it to exist, it doesn’t. Perfection is mythical and therefore an illusion. (For those readers who fancy themselves perfectionists, even if something is literally perfect I guarantee your brain can finding the smallest things “wrong” and desire to change it.) Perfectionism is an exhausting process that leads to burnout, and if you are building an empire, you and your employees don’t have time for perfectionism. Failure is a part of life because nobody is perfect. The important takeaway is to learn from your mistakes and remember what matters in the long run.

3. Delegate, delegate, delegate.

Having a good team is an excellent foundation for success. Invest in relationships by acknowledging hard work and success and remember to stay out of the way and let those high achievers do their job. You cannot control every little detail and nor do you have the time to try to control every little detail. If you are reading this and you think you DO have the the time to control for every little detail, then you are not doing your own job and your company is going to feel it. Trust goes a long way. If you hired this person, then you must trust them. Unless this employee is flat out not performing, get out of their way and let them do the job they were hired to do.

4. Take care of yourself.

If you are not physically well, you cannot hope to be mentally well. Start with the basics: Sleep, eat and exercise. Exercise especially helps with stress management. Develop a routine for exercise so all that your pent up energy has somewhere to go. Yoga or meditation will help open and calm your mind, but do what feels right for you. Yes, yoga is fashionable, but if you prefer to run, box or lift weights then go for it. Do what you love and what helps you discharge stress. While we are on the topic of exercise, I also recommend having sex regularly. Sex gets your heart rate up, releases feel good endorphins like serotonin and helps clear stress from your body. Regular sex is just as important as having a regular exercise routine, eating a balance diet and getting adequate sleep. Together, all of these things will help improve your concentration, sharpen your memory and clear your mind.

5. Escape from the everyday.

Take time to get away and go on vacation. A change of scenery can give you a new and refreshed perspective. Whether you travel to meet new people and have new experiences or choose to shut off your phone for three days and have an isolating experience with yourself at home, shutting out the distractions of everyday will give you much needed rest and relaxation, not to mention the opportunity to revisit your business goals.

6. Maintain a support network.

Outside of your coworkers, keep close with people. Talk with them about your life and don’t keep your stress to yourself. If necessary, go to a support group or a therapist for one on one time. It is perfectly okay to have a sacred place to talk about your stress, your dreams and your goals in a confidential manner. Build trusting, lasting relationships with people you know you can talk to. Don’t forget to return the favor and listen to their problems in return. Even writing down your feelings can help. Get the negative thoughts out of your head or else you will find yourself caught inside your own mind and unable to get out.

7. Have a plan.

Whether a plan for stress relief or a plan for your business, make one and commit. With a business plan, share it with others so that they can help support you. Work together towards a shared goal. If you are worried about not having enough time to take care of yourself, factor it into your schedule. Planning for things will keep you on course. You will know exactly where you are and where you are headed. Worried about forgetting something? Write it down. Stay organized to stay stress free.

Just because stress is common doesn’t mean it has to be normalized. You do not have to simply lie down and accept that you will be overwhelmed and stressed your whole life. Stress will weigh you down and make you miserable. Don’t get bogged down. Find happiness in small things. Laugh. Laughter keeps your mood lifted and makes things look better.

As an entrepreneur stress management is incredibly important. You are constantly running, eventually you will get tired and need to stop. There is a lot of pressure on you, whether it is put there by yourself or those around you. It may feel daunting, but it does not have to be. A big difference between successful entrepreneurs and less successful ones is their ability to manage stress. Who do you want to have the power, stress or you?