When you’re a mompreneur, you’ve got a lot on your plate. Kids to raise, a business to build, your own health and wellbeing to look after – it’s a lot for one person! As such, a lot of the stress you might feel can build up, especially when you’re on the clock in the workplace.
You don’t mean for the pressure to send you over the boiling point, but you’ve already had a busy week and it’s only getting worse! So, to stop these moments from striking, it’s best to put some stress busting practices in place, especially when you work from home.
The more you know about reducing stress in the workplace, the less you have to bottle up and take into other areas of your strictly scheduled life. With that in mind, here are some of the best solutions for keeping frustration to a minimum when you’re your own boss.
Work Somewhere Unusual
If you’re getting sick and tired of seeing the same four walls every day, work somewhere else! Take your laptop and some headphones and set up in your local cafe, or even on a park bench for an hour.
This is excellent for mental health as it gets you up and moving, which is something both brain and body enjoy immensely after sitting all day long. If the kids are at school and you’ve got the house to yourself, get out of your home office and breathe in some truly fresh air.
Take Mental Health Days
Mental health days are very important. What used to be seen as unfairly taking a day off is now given the respect it deserves, and your own workplace should follow suit. Having a mental health day at least once a quarter helps you to stay focused on what you’re doing by allocating time towards stress busting techniques.
Use these days wisely to ensure you rest and recuperate, and make sure your employees are afforded the same. You can even insist on them taking time off to avoid paying into the increasingly widespread issue of ‘crunch culture’, or asking more of someone than they’re being paid to do or are contracted to even consider.
Keep Track of Remote Employees Using Software
If you’re not the only one working within your organization, it’s best to get a clear idea of what your employees are doing. Project management skills really do pay for themselves in the long run!
Start by downloading some software that’ll keep you updated on operation progress. For someone with a construction or mechanics company, using a Field Service CRM to track workers as they’re available will cut back on a lot of communication trouble! The less you have to chase someone up, the more productive everyone involved is going to be.
Mentally Work Through What’s Happening
So you don’t become overwhelmed in a state of confusion, talk yourself through what’s happening right now. To start: what’s triggered the stress? Instead of the worst case scenario, what’s likely to happen if you can’t complete something? And ultimately, what can you do to calm down?
Work through a problem step by step in this manner, use breathing exercises to help you focus on your internal state, and step away from the desk for 5 or so minutes. Stress mounts when we’re not sure what’s going on or how we can process what’s being thrown at us, so it’s important to be rational during these moments. The more you give yourself perspective, the easier it’s going to be to stay calm about the day’s proceedings.
Be Honest About Your Feelings
You can easily talk about your worries and concerns in a professional manner. Hold a meeting with those concerned present and lead from the front. If you want to point out a certain issue regarding time keeping or project progress, be polite and professional about it.
Ask someone directly if they’re having some trouble or need extra support, and remove blame from the conversation. Don’t just sit in your office and watch the clock, waiting for them to bring essential data in on time. Get in contact and be honest.
If you’re getting stressed out about everything you have to do, don’t let your business suffer. When you’re the boss, you can easily reduce the pressure piling on at work. Use some tech and your own communication skills to your advantage. A little bit of stress can enhance performance, but it shouldn’t crush you under its own weight!
