Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff

Have you ever had one of those days where it feels as if every single bit of your business is conspiring to make you panic? Your internet connection goes down and you can’t e-mail anyone. You have a deadline looming for a customer, and you lose all of your work mysteriously even though you’re sure you saved the file to the right place.

It’s raining, so you can’t even break out of the office for a while to get a decent break from it all. The phone keeps ringing, and half of the calls are from pushy sales people who are trying to get you to claim compensation back for an accident you never had.

In times like this, the tension which can build up inside feels powerful enough to power a small nuclear plant for a good few hours.

It can sometimes seem as if nothing is going your way, and everything you do to try and regain control of your day, your business, your life, seems to fail.

This is the point which every business blogger gets to at some time or another during the course of their work, and believe it or not, it can be managed.

A sense of perspective is invaluable when it comes to getting your feet firmly planted back on the ground and seeing your business, your day, and the stress you are feeling in a different light. While many people advise ‘stepping back’ when you feel overwhelmed with small hiccups and setbacks which have mounted up, how do we actually go about doing that? Here are some tips that I have learned along the way, about how to run your blog without sweating the small stuff…

Walk away

When things start to get on top of you, the best possible thing you can do is simply turn your back on it all for a while. Go and watch TV, take a walk, cook dinner or do anything at all which is unrelated to work. The chances are, after a few minutes, you’ll have a new perspective on things and be ready to approach your task list with new energy.

Remember where you’ve come from

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, step back for a moment and remember where your business began. The chances are, you now have a successful blog, and a pretty good income. Not bad, hey? Remembering your beginnings makes it easier to deal with your current stresses, as you will gain a new energy and renewed enthusiasm for moving your business forward.

Laugh in the face of adversity

When it all feels as if it’s becoming too much, turn around and laugh in the face of your issues. If you stand back from your situation, it can actually seem quite funny how life can transpire to pile on the hassles one after another. Remember that in a few days, things will have changed and moved on, and you’re going to feel fine again.

Eat, drink, sing, dance – anything but stay immersed in work

If you’re one of those people who have a favorite song that lifts your spirits, try doing something new when stress hits. Walk away from the office, make a coffee, eat something decadent and then play music so loudly that your ears vibrate. Sing along to it like an idiot, dance, wear yourself out acting completely differently than you do with your customers. Nothing helps a sense of perspective as much as acting like a complete and utter idiot for your own amusement. Try it!

Of course, I could be much better at this too, so please let me know your tips below!