Running a therapy business is exciting, busy, challenging, and at times stressful, and it is important to look after your well-being and to manage your stress levels as much as possible. Doing this will help you to take care of your clients better, be more efficient, achieve your goals, and help you to feel great.
Enjoy my top tips to help beat stress.
(1) Write things down – when running a business, we have so much racing through our head; emails to reply to, ordering more couch roll, doing our taxes…. these thoughts that float around in our mind can easily cause stress and distract us.
A great tip is to write lists – I LOVE a list. Daily lists are best, as you can start each day with things you need to achieve, write them down and feel satisfaction when you cross them off. This helps to purge your brain of any unnecessary thoughts, making us feel calmer and more focused.
(2) Celebrate the wins – there’s a tendency to focus on the negatives when running a business, which is why it is so important to identify three positive things that happened at the end of each week; a lovely testimonial from a client, a full day of bookings, that you made a difference to someone’s well-being. This will allow you to focus on the positives keeping you happy – and your clients will respond to this positive energy too – bonus!
(3) Learn to say ‘no’ – running a business can mean that we feel we must see every client we possibly can, but that won’t do us, nor them, any good.
Set your limits from the outset and don’t be afraid to say you’re fully booked, or you are not working that day, etc. Doing this allows you to value yourself and your time.
It is also a good way to set boundaries between yourself and your client, and enjoy more ‘down-time’ with family and friends.
(4) Unplug when not working – once you’ve finished for the day, switch off – literally. Don’t be tempted to keep checking emails, bookings or creating content for social media.
A good way to not feel guilty about this is to set an ‘out of office’ message that lets people know you’re ‘offline.’
I know some therapists post a Friday video message on their social platforms wishing everyone a happy weekend and that they are switching off until Monday, when they will pick up on any messages.
If you’ve made it known you’re unplugging, it makes it easier to do so – you’ve also publicly made that commitment to yourself. A double win comes from staying away from phones/laptops/iPads in the evening to avoid that ‘blue light’ that can affect your sleep.
(5) Get enough sleep – this is something we talk about with our clients, so we need to practise what we preach.
A good night’s sleep allows us to function both physically and cognitively the next day. Without it, our cortisol levels are much higher the following day, hence we feel stressed and anxious.
Having a regular night-time routine, avoiding caffeine after midday and using aromatherapy are just some ways to achieve this.
Article Photograph Credit: Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash.
