Small business owners have a lot of responsibilities: they have to look out for their business’ profitability, ensure quality products or services, take care of their employees, handle the accounting and marketing for their business, and much more. This can quickly impact a person’s stress levels, which can lead to decreased productivity and negatively impact mental health. Small business owners end up so busy taking care of everything else that they forget to take care of themselves, and that’s where the issue lies.
Small business owners need to take care of themselves. Mental health is just as important as physical health, so small business owners need to take their mental health just as seriously as they would their physical health. Here are a few ways to do so.
Boundaries
It is far too easy for the boundary between work and personal life to blur, making it crucial to set clear boundaries. Not having a solid work-life balance can quickly lead to burnout, especially as people work from home or enter a hybrid work style. Working from home blurs the line between work and life even more since work is at home, so to keep these two lives separate, set certain hours that are committed to working and certain hours that are committed to personal life. When crossing into personal time, turn off any and all work-related devices and notifications and focus on personal hobbies instead. Doing so will set aside time for decompression and focusing on something other than work.
Journal
Another way to decompress and relieve stress is to keep a journal. Use this journal to write down any thoughts about work, stress, life—whatever it may be. Even just writing for five minutes a day can help people determine patterns related to various situations and become more mindful of their emotions. Journaling also helps people understand and control their emotions, which especially helps those with anxiety, stress, or depression.
Walk
Sometimes all a person needs to decompress is to spend time in nature. That time doesn’t need to be as intense as purposefully exercising; talking a walk through natural settings is sometimes all that’s needed to lower stress. The peace and composure from walks can get a person’s mind away from everything that’s bugging them, leading them to less stress and better mental health as a result.