Whether you’ve just started your business or have been at it for years, there are some days when it feels like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. The stress can be overwhelming, but there are ways to manage it and stay effective. Here are seven tips that will help get you through the day.

1. Create a schedule and stick to it.

The more you can plan out your day, the better you’ll be able to manage your time and energy levels. Start by writing down all of the things that need to get done in a given day (or week), then prioritise them in order of importance. Creating a To-Do List is one of the best ways to get organised. You can use an app like Todoist or Google Keep, or simply make a note on your calendar each morning with all of the tasks you need to complete that day. This helps you stay focused on what needs to be done and frees up your mind so that it doesn’t constantly worry about forgetting something important.

2. Take care of yourself physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Make time for your personal life

For many business owners, work is their entire life. While this can be beneficial when you’re starting out and trying to get your company off the ground, it can become detrimental over time. If you’re constantly working and don’t make time for yourself, you’ll become exhausted. You need to take vacations, spend time with friends and family, or do whatever else makes you happy. This will help keep your mind fresh and prevent burnout. (this leads on nicely to point 3)

3) Set boundaries in your schedule. It's ok to say NO!

While it’s important to be flexible with your schedule, setting boundaries can help you stay productive. For example, have set working hours or days, and if you know that you have a meeting at 2 p.m, don’t book anything after that time. You could even set aside specific days of the week for different types of tasks—say Mondays for marketing and Tuesdays for accounting or design. If something doesn't fit into your schedule remember it's ok to say no. Saying yes when you're under pressure can fuel anxiety and stress.

4) Keeping a positive mindset

It is so important to stay positive, not letting negativity and impostor syndrome trigger your emotions, because this can then lead to lack of confidence, self destruction and de-motivation. Find ways to help keep you focused and in the zone For example; meditating, yoga, listening to podcasts, watching Youtube videos, reading.

5) Set realistic goals

Setting goals is a great way to stay productive. But it can be easy to set goals that are too lofty, unrealistic or far off in the future. Make sure your goals are clear and measurable so you can see progress as you work towards them.

6) Get help from others

Working alone makes it easy to get bogged down in the details of your business. It can be tough to see the big picture when you’re working day in and day out on the same tasks. Getting help from others can help you stay productive by giving you fresh perspectives on your business and outsourcing those tasks that you don't enjoy or find difficult, can in return free up time that you can then spend on the activities/tasks you do enjoy.

7) Getting everything out of your head

Our minds are constantly full of ideas and tasks that we can do going forward in our businesses. One way to clear your mind and create clarity; is by doing what we call a Brain Dump! Putting pen to paper. This allows you to free up the space in your brain, which increases productivity and makes you calmer and feel more in control. A good time to do this is before you go to bed.

Stay in your own lane, you are not in a race, go at your own pace!