Working for yourself can be overwhelming and running your own company or being an entrepreneur is stressful at times.
Almost half (45.8 per cent) of entrepreneurs struggle with high stress, a 2024 report from Founder Reports on Navigating Entrepreneurial Mental Health suggests.
And more than a third (34.3 per cent) experience burnout – all of which can have a major impact on mental and physical health.
April is Stress Awareness Month. So what better time for everyone to take charge of their wellbeing and discover effective ways to manage stress.
This year’s theme is #LeadWithLove and aims to empower people to approach themselves and others with kindness, compassion and acceptance, no matter what challenges are being faced.
In alignment with this, we spoke with five entrepreneurs who shared their one tip on how to manage a stressful day.
Owner of TOC Coaching, an online wellness and fitness company that was launched in September 2023, Therese O’Callaghan says brain dumping and then prioritising the most urgent and important tasks day-to-day helps to manage her stress levels.
“As an entrepreneur you wear so many hats and the to-do list can feel never-ending,” 23-year-old O’Callaghan. “Therefore, when I’m feeling stressed or overwhelmed, I take myself away from phones, screens and put pen to paper.
“I jot everything down that’s going on in my head, along with everything I need to do it. When I do that I can see things a lot clearer and I usually gain clarity. This then allows me to decipher through the day and create a traffic light system as to what needs done urgently and what can wait. Red means it’s needed today, whereas green means it can wait to the next day or even the next week.
“When I do this I’m no longer feeling overwhelmed and stressed. In the world of being an entrepreneur and having a business, there will always be something to do. You just have to kind of make peace with the fact you’re not going to be able to do everything on that day.”