Strategies To Stay Organized and Productive When Stressed

As a business owner and entrepreneur, I’ve experienced the pressures and difficulties that come with running a business. Difficult times are impossible to avoid, but if we can learn strategies to manage our stress, we can get through these hard times with more clarity and confidence. Consider some of these options for stress management below:

1. Try a self-compassion break and consider these thoughts:
You are good. You are doing your best and things are hard right now. It’s okay to make mistakes. It’s okay to feel how you feel. No one is mad at you, no one is disappointed with you - and if they are, that’s for them to deal with today, not you. First things first, honey you need some care. Give yourself permission or push yourself a little to - take time off and do something relaxing, connect with a friend and have an honest conversation about what you’re going through right now, get in the shower with some music on, go for a walk and pay attention to the flowers. Something to take off the sense of pressure and overwhelm and remind yourself and your body that you are more than just your difficult feelings right now.

2. Reduce calendar/schedule anxiety by having a visual weekly calendar that you frequently see and update (see download below). Commit to looking at your weekly calendar daily, to refresh your brain on anything that might be missing. Important times/dates and appointments will be clearly marked, but also include things like self-care and socializing as important appointments to keep with yourself. You can include the calendar as part of your morning and/or evening routine to give yourself a sense of clarity when you go to bed and when you wake up.

3. Notice what you’re avoiding that requires your attention most urgently, and acknoledge the fear behind the avoidance.
Then you can check in with your capacity to commit to working on that task (checking emails, following up on payments, doing a report, etc.) for a set amount of time. Set a timer for 5, 10, or 15 minutes (whatever feels approachable to you) and commit to doing the task for that amount of time only. When the timer runs out, check in with yourself - if it still feels like it’s adding stress and you want to quit: quit! At least you got 5 minutes done instead of continuing to avoid it and build up anxiety and guilt. Often you’ll see that when the timer goes off, you feel like you have some gas in the tank and want to keep going. When this is the case, allow yourself to be productive and progress on the urgent task. Be careful you don’t just dive in blindly and spend hours tunneled into that task - take breaks regularly and check in with your capacity for the job, and re-evaluate how much time you feel comfortable committing to it. 

4. Sleep Hygiene - it’s boring but it works.
Going to bed and waking up at the same time can make a big difference in our mental health and cognitive function, especially when undergoing stress. Limit intake of alcohol, caffeine and other substances that disrupt sleep. Practice restricting screen time an hour or two before bed, and practice getting sunlight and movement within the first hour out of bed.

5. Consider checking in with your counsellor, or if you aren’t working with someone yet, consider starting therapy with a trained and reputable professional. Therapy can help you to both build strategies to manage your stress, and also navigate your responses to different issues that may come up in life. In many cases, emotional distress and unprocessed trauma or life stressors can build up over time and contribute to the development of significant stress and productivity issues — issues that a trained therapist could help you with.

Click here to download free handout on sleep hygiene and free weekly calendar templates.