Reducing stress in the workplace is the name of the game as a small business owner. You don’t want people to dread coming to work when they’re on your payroll! Nor do you want to feel that kind of pressure as the leader yourself; you’re in charge, yes, but you don’t need to feel the weight of everything on your shoulders.
This is why it’s so crucial to regularly think of how stress builds within your office. How are you coping as the one in charge? What’s going on when you’re not looking? How can you make things better for everyone under your guidance? As the boss, it’s up to you to lead the way and institute changes for the better. And because of that, here are a few ideas to consider.
Cut Back Your Working Hours
It might sound like the exact opposite of what you really need to do, but it’s something that’ll help you more than anything else on this list. When you reduce your working hours, you use your energy much more wisely. You’re not dragging things out, you’re not wasting your time, and you’re not pushing yourself to be productive when you’re really not in the mood to be.
So think about taking at least a couple hours of your weekly schedule. Maybe you go home earlier on Fridays? Or maybe you don’t come in until a bit later on Mondays? Think about when the stress really mounts for you and schedule yourself around these times, not in them.
Reduce Outside Noise
How many distractions are you dealing with day by day? Because this incessant stream of noise might be the one thing holding you back. Getting calls from people who don’t really need to talk to you, or answering emails when you should really be doing something else – these are both big-time wasters throughout the business day.
Put your phone on silent, exit out of your inbox, pop on automated replies to everything, and then get on with your priority list. Do this at least twice a day during your working hours and you might just notice your job gets a lot easier! When you’re not constantly interrupted, you can maintain your focus, and you’ll have a far more manageable time of getting home when you want to.
Use More Management Software
If you’ve got a lot on your plate, as all business owners do, make sure you’re using tech to lighten the load. The more software on your side, the easier it’ll be to get through the day. And seeing as we’re all getting more digitally savvy, you won’t have to worry about security breaches either, especially if you use strong password rules.
Try to pinpoint software that’s been specifically developed for your niche. A contractor would want to use something like BuildOps HVAC software to keep tabs on their customer data, relations, and employee movements but it might not be such a great fit for someone in the hospitality industry.
Assign Tasks Based on Value
It’s not a good idea to stress over little things, like making sure the filing is up to standard. Instead, you should assign tasks based on their value to your company, and rank them in the priority order they really deserve.
After all, you’ll want to focus on customer acquisition and following up leads, then focus on retaining customers that have worked with/bought from you before, and then the various admin tasks you’d really like to automate anyway. The better this list is ranked, the easier you’re going to find your job. You’re on top of things, you’re doing well behind the scenes, and you can direct your team far better.
Don’t Overanalyze Your Performance
It’s something all business owners do. They want to keep an eye on how well they’re doing, so they measure every little interaction against each other. If they don’t get the same response from each one, it counts as a mark in the wrong column. But doing this will only damage your confidence, and that’s never worth it! Everyone makes mistakes, but you don’t make nearly as many as you think.
Reducing business stress is good for your health. If you can, use ideas like these to stamp down on the burnout that could be approaching you. A good workplace culture places health and well-being above all, and as you work your way towards this ideal, feel free to experiment to find the balance for you.
