When it comes to running your own business, avoiding stress is not an option. Stress is an inevitable part of entrepreneurship. Unavoidable and inevitable. Yet, while we cannot avoid stress, we can manage it effectively and mitigate its effect on our minds and bodies so that it doesn’t cause us to burn out. A little stress, after all, can be good for us. It can sharpen us up and keep us alert and motivated. Left unchecked, though, it can lead us into a downward spiral that often leads to depression. Although managing our time effectively and maintaining a healthy work / life balance can keep us from entrepreneurial burnout sometimes we only have short bursts of time in which to relieve stress. Hence, we’ve compiled a list of activities that are highly beneficial for mind and body, releasing a stress-busting combination of endorphins and dopamine into the brain; giving us a healthier perspective on work and preventing stress from being the master of us.
No matter how jam packed your schedule, you can always spare a little time for…
Get on your bike
Whether you take to the road on the motorized variety or the peddle-pushing type it can do one good to get on their bike on their lunch break or after a particularly stressful board meeting. Both cycling and motorcycling involve physical exertion, speed and exhilaration which can be a stress-busting cocktail for the brain. Not to mention the added benefit of being outdoors and in close proximity to nature (a proven mood booster). Just don’t ever ride angry. Anger impairs our judgment and causes us to take unnecessary risks. You wouldn’t want a serious motorcycle accident to curtail your business endeavors. Nor do you have to ride like a daredevil to get the mood boosting benefits.
Start off your day with a trip to the gym
Granted, starting your day with a visit to the gym might be the thing you least feel like doing, when the skies are black, the mornings are cold and your head is swimming with the sheer volume of what you will need to accomplish in the coming day. However, getting up an hour earlier and starting your day with a gruelling pre-breakfast workout is not only great for fitness and weight loss it can also reduce stress and improve your mental acuity, enhancing both memory and cognitive processes.
Meditate on your break
Then next time you grab a 5 minute break, don’t join the herd headed to the coffee machine. While a jolt of caffeine can make you feel more alert, pounding coffee all day can only add to your intensifying stress levels. Instead, take a few minutes to meditate alone in your office. Just 5 minutes of meditation a day can not only help you to relieve stress, it can also aid concentration and help you to order your thoughts to facilitate better organization and time management.
Combined with a healthy diet, responsible caffeine consumption and abstaining from less healthy stress relief methods like taking yourself outside for a cigarette break, these 3 methods can help you to reduce stress, improve your health and boost your cognitive prowess… And all with a minimum of disruption to your busy schedule!
