Owning a small business has many benefits, including flexibility, being your own boss, and financial benefits. But it is no secret that challenges also exist. Small business owners have also had a particularly difficult few years, with the global pandemic, various lockdown restrictions, staff shortages, rising raw material costs and high inflation.
Our report, published last week, Global state of well-being for small business owners, It revealed that In five of the seven countries we studied (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States), small business owners reported lower overall life satisfaction than the general population. South Africa and Singapore.
I also discovered that taking time off from work was far from guaranteeing rest. For small businesses, addressing the root causes of work stress and ensuring acceptable work demands, role clarity, agency and positive relationships is imperative.
Short regular daily breaks, stress management, and mindset all play a huge and underestimated role in positively impacting the well-being of small business owners.
With this in mind, it may be beneficial for small business owners to focus on strategies that help them achieve rest and relaxation each day. , we have compiled a few strategies that you can implement while on the job.
- Engage in mastery activities. There are ways to relax that are more effective and others that are not. Research shows that for many people, engaging in a mastery activity such as chess or painting is more restorative than just rest. People are more energetic and enthusiastic when they return to work.
- Take breaks throughout the day. You probably already know the importance of taking time out at work. But did you know that even a small break of less than 10 minutes is enough to reduce fatigue and improve your health? Get into the habit of drinking alcohol and spending time outside.
- Detach yourself psychologically from work. Do you take work stress and frustration home with you, or do you find it difficult to stop thinking about work in order to truly relax? You can switch off at the end. The third space is what we do when transitioning between two different roles/environments, such as work and home. Taking time to rest, relax, and reset during this transition can help you achieve a better work-life balance.
- You can also incorporate a “third space” into your working hours. When you leave the meeting and move on to another task, take a moment to pause and reset your mindset. Or, if you’re on the phone with a client, create a third space for her between each one to relax and set your intentions for the next call.
- Please change your environment. One area that can have a big positive impact on your health is making small changes to your environment. Consider implementing physical cues that remind your brain that you are not working. Get out in nature. There are many studies on the impact of the natural environment not only on reducing stress, but also on the ability to restore attention.
- Sleep is essential. Sleep is as important to overall health as good nutrition and exercise. Improves brain function, emotional health, physical health and daytime performance. A good night’s sleep helps you cope better with the demands of running a small business and improves your overall health.
- Practice good sleep hygiene by setting a consistent sleep schedule, establishing a good night routine, and making sure your daily activities support good sleep. Small changes like spending less time looking at screens before bed or having a book by your bedside instead of your iPad are very simple and practical changes that can help you sleep better.
- If you wake up at odd hours and can’t turn it off, try creating and maintaining a system that keeps all your work-related tasks in one place. After work, spend five minutes clearing work-related tasks from your mind and putting them down on paper. Your brain is less prone to waking you up in the middle of the night, worrying if these tasks are out of your head and in the system you believe will act the next day.
- Perhaps most importantly: You cannot recharge yourself from bad situations. If the demands of your job are burning you out, or if you have stress at home affecting your health, the above strategies may make you feel better temporarily, but they’ll take care of the underlying problem. Clearly identifying your job demands and taking action to communicate them to your business advisor, mentor, or counselor can help address these issues and put you on the road to recovery. may help. Check for locally available programs. For example, in Australia, the program is: beyond the blue Providing knowledge and resources to support mental health and wellbeing.
We hope that by implementing these strategies you will recharge your batteries better and improve your health overall.