5 Ways To Stay Calm (When You Are A Busy Business Owner)

Being a business owner can be a daunting, everyday struggle for your mind and emotions. 

From making cold calls to new prospective clients to dealing with unnecessary requests at 2 am.

Here are 5 things I do daily that keep me productive and ahead of the stress. 

1-Workout 

Working out has been a staple of super productive people for a long time. 

Several studies show that working out helps with everything from a better heart rate to better sleep. 

I usually work out 4 times a week. I suggest you aim for a habitual workout routine rather than a "super extreme" physical transformation in one week. 

Working out should be something that should feel to you as mundane as brushing your teeth or watching TV. 

This means that in time, and with a moderate workout routine, you slowly see the reduction in daily stress as you simply habitually hit the gym every week. 

You will start noticing that you can mentally take on higher levels of work-related stress while feeling an "I can deal with this" attitude. 

2-Get up early

Getting up early is not to start work earlier but to engage in a morning "just for you" routine that, in time, will allow for better mental clarity throughout the day. 

Many successful entrepreneurs have said that getting up early is a big part of how they can tackle the day's stress more efficiently.

Early is subjective based on your life, but I suggest you give yourself at least 2 hours before the rest of the world wakes up. Of course, the rest of the world could be your kids, spouse, or family. 

I personally wake up at 5am every day. I feel like I am getting a head start on the rest of the world. By the time everyone else is up, I have already gone through my morning routine, which brings me to my next step...

3-Have an "inner peace" morning routine. 

Inner peace is different; early morning activities you take on that have nothing to do with your regular, stressful workday. 

For me, my inner peace routine is working out, meditating, stretching, and reading a book. 

Most mornings, when I wake up, the only thing on my mind is getting my mind and body ready for the day. 

Doing the activities I mentioned is like my body and mind warming up before getting going at the 8am workday start. And speaking of 8am...

4-Practice time boxing for time management

Not too long ago, I read an article on Timeboxing. It is defined as looking ahead of your work day, then assigning specific time frames to particular tasks. 

Timeboxing can be considered a cousin to the "to-do" list. However, I like time boxing better as I feel it really laser focuses me on what is truly important. This brings me to my last point, the 80/20 rule...

5-Practice the 80/20 rule for all your work or business-related tasks

The 80/20 rule is defined differently, but I think it is the "your time is important" rule. 

This means that, as humans, we only have a certain amount of time every day, and that time does not come back once it is gone. 

A challenge I used to struggle with at the beginning with this 80/20 thing was:

How do I know what is 20 and what is 80?

Step 1:

Write out all the items you feel you need to get done that day, i.e., emails, calls, meetings, etc. 

Step 2:

Ask yourself, if I could only work half the day, which of the items from the above list would I focus on?

Answering this second question immediately forces your mind to point out the most important things. 

Once you have that list of most of the important things, ask the question again:

What would I focus on if I could only work for 2 hours today?

Obviously, there are a certain number of things you will get done beyond your 80/20 list, but once you get your must-do items, the rest of the items you get done will feel like a prize instead of a duty. 

About the Author:

Pablo Espinal is a father, online marketer, and web designer based out of the Brooklyn NY area. You can see more of what he does here: Saaiconsulting.com