For entrepreneurs, long workdays and little rest tend to accompany the title. However, failing to appropriately manage stress and avoid overworking can be detrimental to your health. It can be easy to become overwhelmed when you have a lot of responsibility and authority, so taking measures to effectively manage your time and limit your stress can be beneficial.
Assess
Some days, your agenda may feel like it is a mile long. Instead of dwelling on the number of tasks you’ve assigned to yourself, determine which items on your list are the most important. Highlighting and prioritizing those tasks can help you limit the stress you might feel at the end of the day if you realize you’ve neglected to address an issue at least you got the most important things done.
Similarly, tackling the most challenging tasks first is an effective way to eliminate items you would otherwise procrastinate and dread working on. Managing your agenda requires discipline, so you should be prepared to benefit your future-self by handling high-priority, difficult tasks sooner rather than later.
Unplug
For many entrepreneurs, detaching yourself from your phone or computer can be nearly impossible. Even so, distancing yourself from your inbox and silencing your phone can help keep you focused and minimize distractions. Most messages you receive will not be urgent, so you should feel comfortable turning off notifications and limiting the number of times you check your email each hour. Hard to do at first, but this has helped me a great deal. Ive recently gone to working a great deal on a laptop. I don’t take emails on my laptop and it has turned out to be my productive tool. But if you are anticipating an important message, you may not want to “unplug” completely. Instead, simply set aside periods of time each day to make yourself unavailable. You can also set an auto-responder on your email and change your voicemail to inform individuals that you will respond by a certain time, giving yourself more flexibility and preventing soured relationships with coworkers or clients.
Sleep
Too often considered a precious rarity, sleep is essential for every individual who wants to be healthy and achieve success. This fact is especially true for entrepreneurs who tend to prioritize work over rest. Managing your employees, orchestrating effective plans, and running a business cannot be done if your mind and body aren’t operating as they should. Sleeping gives your body time to relax and repair itself; depriving yourself of sleep hurts you in the long run.
Avoiding burnout may seem like a challenge for entrepreneurs keen on working hard, but it is important to recognize how important it is to manage your time and stay healthy. Without these measures, you increase your chance of illness and ultimately put the success of your business at risk.