Dear Stress, let’s break up!

Sometimes, when people think you’re a successful entrepreneur, they picture you on a yacht drinking Moet, having people work for you and living the stressless life! Well, I like to be present in my company, be a good leader to my colleagues. Life is not all rainbows and sunshine, there will always be days when you are feeling stressed. Being stressed can cause mental illness such as depression, decrease productivity in the long run and affect personal and professional life. So I gathered some tips on how I usually tackle and response to stress .

Well, one has to recognise what triggers are causing the stress. This can be done by asking yourself ‘What is really stressing me out?’ ‘How am I reacting to it?’ Unless it’s really harmful, you should think of the outcome — ‘Is it really worth it?’ ‘Will it ever go away?’

The first thing on my list is to disconnect, switch off your phone to escape from your work because as soon as you receive an e-mail or call you have a relentless need to answer. So get off your phone and go for a walk or bury yourself in your favourite hobby. I tend to spend my free time sketching, taking my dogs out for a run or even playing my piano.

Another important factor to avoid stress is to maintain a healthy lifestyle, staying away from starchy food, exercising at least three times a week and getting a good night sleep is essential. I love to start the day early with a good workout listening to some music, followed by a healthy breakfast before responding to any e-mails. In the evening I usually take a stroll with my dogs, where mostly I reflect on any executive decisions I took lately and also tend to come up with new ideas.

Nowadays since it’s a fast-paced world, receiving e-mails and calls anytime of the day, one tries to multi task. Juggling two things at once can be stressful which might lead to a serious threat to health if persistent. Week days get very hectic due to meetings, schedules, business lunches , so I make it a point that in the weekend I spend some quality time with my family to recharge and relax. Moreover, I tend to reflect a lot and contemplate the successes achieved that week. Reflect on what you can do better in the coming week, to avoid being stressed at that given time.

I also like to get organized , as disorganization can be a trigger to stress.It gets frustrating when you cannot find something you’re looking for. Therefore, organization should be a ritual at the office as well at home. Speaking of the office, sometimes there might be employees who irritate you. This can be due to their bad habits which might stress you out or not being on the same page with them to reach a decision. I believe that you will meet these type of people throughout your life so you just have to cope and accept people for who they are, no matter how much they add to your stress level, unless it’s causing an obstacle towards your company’s goal. This can be another stressor; not having a goal in mind. This is why your mission and vision statement should be clear to all employees so they can focus on something motivating which brings excitement. It’s important that goals do not have impossible standards such as insufficient time to complete a task, as this might stress the employees and have an unsuccessful product.

Recognition for a job well done doesn’t have to be a raise or a promotion. A simple ‘Well done’ or buying lunch for the company makes the employee feel important and appreciated for his hard work which can release some tension. So do not wait for performance appraisal week to praise an individual’s recognition.

Nowadays people work harder and longer, so try and give yourself regular breaks to refresh and rejuvenate. Same goes for your employees, since projects and competition needs more determination from your employees .

Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.