Many people think that working from home is a stress-less experience. After all, when you’re working from home you don’t have to deal with office politics, annoying bosses and coworkers… Plus, there’s no stressful commute to work or having to adhere to a dictated schedule. It’s no wonder people dream about working from home some day. 🙂
The truth is, it doesn’t matter where you work… You are going to experience stress. Stress is not the lone experience of office professionals. Everyone experiences stress as a result of many factors in their lives and business.
The good news is that stress can be very useful. It can act as a motivator or alert us to something that really does require our attention. But too much stress reduces your body’s ability to fight disease, it wears you out, and it can affect your judgment in a negative way. Therefore, finding reliable ways to reduce your stress are very important to the long-term success of your business.
Get organized. It’s about having a system you can rely on so you won’t have to stress about every problem that comes your way. Develop a decision-making procedure to handle your affairs, whether it be in shipping inquiries, handling dealers, answering customer questions, etc. You can of course improve your systems over time, but what’s important is that you implement a system that gives you some control and order.
Exercise. People who work out often report that they feel happier than those who do not. Increased heart-rate and metabolism, better digestion, and an all around feeling of lightness all work together to keep you in a lighter mood. The more you stay at your desk in front of your computer and see problems, the more you might get depressed. Sweat a little. Run. Go to the gym. Staying away from your work doesn’t mean abandoning it, as people who work out also tend to come up with new solutions to their work problems simply because they had time to think about the problem while being removed from it.
Listen to music. People who listen to music deal with stress by losing themselves in the music or by letting the music influence their moods instead of just thinking and worrying about your business challenges. Some people even have various playlists for different kinds of work they have to do. Think of it as a playlist for doing chores in the home. Create one for doing accounting, responding to customers and so on… Some listen to classical music because it helps them think.
Practice Meditation. While computers have a memory cache, people’s brains have limited capacities to actually remember and worry about every single little thing. While computers can erase their cache and get a fresh start, don’t forget that people can as well. Sleep is one way to refresh the mind, but modern meditation techniques allow a person to get the equivalent rest and recovery of several hours of sleep in 30 minutes or less. Learn to meditate, and practice regularly.
Also remember that the goal of working is to earn money to finance the other half of your life: living. Whether you work inside or outside of the home, developing reliable ways to de-stress your life and business will lead to greater productivity and personal satisfaction.
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