Five stress relievers for Canadian business owners

As a business owner, chances are you need to balance your business demands with personal and family needs, which can be stressful.

Follow these five tips to help you reduce stress and keep your work and life in balance.

1. Take a break

Invite some “life” into your “work.” Every couple of hours, schedule a 10-minute break. Go for a walk. Chat with a friend. Laugh at an online video. There is business value in these quick breathers. In fact, taking short breaks throughout your day can improve your mood and make you more productive when you’re working.

2. Build a buffer

Give yourself breathing room between work and home. If you don’t have a commute, clear your head by doing some gentle stretches, listening to music or reading a few pages of a book. Taking time to transition can be a big stress reliever.

3. Let some things go

You don’t have to do everything yourself—though business owners often try. Identify tasks at work and at home that you can delegate. Even better, eliminate unnecessary steps and tasks so no one has to waste time on them.

4. Tackle money stress

Money is the number one cause of stress globally, and a challenge for 37% of Canadians. Business owners have two sets of finances to worry about—business and home. In both cases it can help to:

• Understand spending patterns and stop money drains by creating a budget
• Manage health costs with health and dental insurance
• Ease concerns  about the future by considering how to save for retirement or other big expenses through a workplace retirement savings plan

5. Have a contingency plan

Determine what will happen if you can’t go to work—whether you have the flu or something more serious. Having back-up plans allows you to relax and stress less. These may include:

• Finding solutions to bridge cash flow gaps with an emergency fund or line of credit
• Getting insurance that will help replace your income if you become disabled or if you’re diagnosed with a critical illness
• Protecting your business and your partners with buy-sell life insurance and buy-sell disability insurance

To help you succeed in business and keep your life in balance, access resources available to you including talking to a financial advisor.

Note: Since each person’s situation is different, you may want to speak to an advisor who can help you with your insurance and investment choices before you make a decision. This article is for illustrative purposes only.

Read more on this topic:

• Key Small Business Statistics - June 2016, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
• 15 Responsibilities Small Business Owners Can Delegate, Small Biz Sense
  
• Money Is The Biggest Cause Of Stress In The World, Huff Post Living Canada