How to stay stress free working from home
Top Tips To Stay Stress-Free
Running a business from home isn’t always the easy, relaxed lifestyle that we initially envisaged. All too often little things can build up and leave us feeling stressed and frustrated.
Follow these tops tips to stay stress-free as much as possible when running your business from home.
Keep your calendar organised.
When someone asks you to do something go check your calendar. If you already have something written on there, tell them you are busy. If you have work scheduled, do not double book! It is all too easy for friends and family to think we can drop everything because we work from home. Yes, this is the case if you are running a hobby, but if you are running a professional business, you will give it the time and dedication it deserves and control your calendar accordingly.
If you want to stay stress-free, you need to control your calendar and not let your calendar control you.
Exercise.
Be fit and healthy and always exercise. Remember, just a little is better than nothing and the endorphins that exercise releases can help us stay stress-free. Try simple walking, swimming, cycling, jogging, yoga or an exercise class/DVD. If you can fit this into a morning routine before you start your working day, then all well and good. If not, make sure you get up and move about at regular times during the day and get in at least a 20-minute walk at lunchtime. You will feel so much better for it.
Little and often
This applies both to your business and your home. Breaking your work down into small bite size chunks that you work on regularly can sometimes be better than trying to tackle a mammoth task that leaves you feeling stressed and demotivated. With your home, clean a little every day (I do a short 20 minute burst both morning and evening) to ensure your house is not too dirty which will then require a full day of cleaning at the weekend.
Oh, and if your other half comes in and asks why the house isn’t clean, just show them this picture which I saw recently and made me laugh.
Get work done!
This is a big problem with stressed people. How often have you put off that task that you know needs doing, but you are simply dreading doing? As in Brian Tracey’s book Eat That Frog, do your worst tasks first thing and get it out of the way. You will feel like a weight has been lifted and you will be able to focus on the rest of your work with a feeling of relief. As in the ‘little and often’ tips above, if you a large task to complete that seems overwhelming, stop worrying and start working! Set a timer for 20 minutes and do nothing but focus on the work required. You will be amazed how much you get done.
Don’t argue.
Learn to agree to disagree with your friends and family, or just anyone you are having trouble with. Getting into an argument rarely solves anything. Whether it is someone who is trying to tell you how to run your business, or someone disagreeing with your political, religious or moral views, state your opinion slowly and calmly and then agree to differ. The world would be a boring place if we all agreed on everything all of the time. Don’t waste precious energy trying to change someone else’s opinion to fit with yours.
Control your anger.
Accidents happen. It is not the end of the world if your laptop blows up or you spill coffee over your new notepad. Yes, it might cause disruption and a delay in your work but getting angry will blow it all out of proportion. As the saying goes, don’t cry over spilt milk. Learn to control your anger. Stay calm, count to 10 and deal with the situation. You will feel so much better.
Get on with life.
Breathe slowly and don’t rush your life. Take time to enjoy the here and now. We spend so much time focusing on what we want in the future that all too often we forget to enjoy the simple joys of life in front of us right here and right now.
What tips do you have to stay stress-free when running a business from home? Feel free to share in the comments below.
