How to Reduce the Stress of Running a Business

Whatever your field, running your own business is one of the most difficult career steps you can take. Knowing that you’re responsible for not just your own livelihood, but potentially your employees’ too, can put unimaginable pressure on an individual. There are various different signs that you’re suffering from stress, or “burnout,” such as becoming less productive in the office, procrastinating with tasks, or even becoming short-tempered and aggressive.

Here we discuss practical ways to reduce the stress of running a high-pressure business.

Understanding Your Own Limits

No matter who we are, we all have our limits. The culture of the workaholic is inherent in the successful startup, but very few companies can keep going at such a pace long after they’ve become established. Many of us start to treat signs of physical and mental fatigue as simply consequences of being productive, but in reality it doesn’t have to be this way. If you start to feel the strain, it may be time take a short break. If the signs don’t improve, then you may have to consider how you could scale down your workload.

Learning How to Delegate Power

One of the ways you can do this is to outsource certain areas of your business to a third-party. Companies such as LEO run a virtual assistant service that can take care of time-consuming, yet non-essential, tasks. Since starting your own company was a risk, learning how to delegate responsibility to others can become difficult for business owners. However, if you took the time to make sure that you only employed smart and creative individuals, you should also ensure that you’re allowing them to flourish themselves. Otherwise, it will become increasingly difficult to retain or attract the right talent to work for you.

Stop Defining Yourself by Your Job

It’s great to have passion in what you do. We spend so much of our lives working that we’re fortunate to be doing something that we have a real connection with. This doesn’t mean that you should forego your other responsibilities or hobbies though. Balancing your professional and personal life is the key to avoiding burnout. Sometimes, it can be simple adjustments that make significant, real-world differences. Try turning off your phone at night, or signing out of your email account while you’re having a day off with your friends or family.

Many of us will suffer from the common signs of stress at one point or another. Most often, these are fleeting, but they can stick around if you don’t address the root of the problem.