Just Say NO!: How to avoid work at home stress

Working from home is sort of like Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities – it can be the best of times, and it can be the worst of times. At the best of times, being a work-at-home mom is empowering, liberating, profitable and stressful. At the worst of times, working at home is anxiety-ridden, stifling, and stressful. Notice a common denominator?

It’s the stress.  Stress can – quite literally – kill you. Stress during the best of times and stress during the worst of times is still stress.  Knowing how to recognize and be proactive in dealing with stress is an important part of a successful career path for any work-at-home entrepreneur.

This stress relieving blog post is a series written to address some of the greatest sources of stress for work-at-home “preneurs”, and to share with you what you can do to alleviate, and learn from, your stress.

Whether you’re anxious because you’re struggling to establish yourself in your industry, or you’re stressed because you’re so much in demand you’re being pulled in too many directions, I hope you’ll find in this stress relieving blog post series as a way to make your life less stressful. After all, it’s impossible to enjoy success – or your path to success – if you’re constantly strung out, wringing your hands, and suffering from stress-related exhaustion or illness.

Take a deep breath, relax, and read through this material. Wherever you are in your business and professional life, I can help you figure out where you can make some adjustments to make your life  better and to minimize stress.

When you work from home, stress is everywhere. It’s in your success as you become more in demand, it’s in your lack of success as you try to figure out how to make a go of your venture. When you’re stressed out, you become less effective as your energy is zapped away from your goals and diverted to fighting fires. If you could minimize these stressors, you’d be better able to focus on your long-term business goals.

In my experience, there are nine main stress points that home-based entrepreneurs face:

1.You’re stressed because you don’t set priorities.

2.You’re stressed because you don’t manage your time efficiently.

3.You’re stressed because a lot of what you do is outside your control.

4.You’re stressed because you can’t say no.

5.You’re stressed because you don’t set boundaries for your family.

6.You’re stressed because you get sucked into the TV/e-mail/blog-reading trap.

7.You’re stressed because you don’t delegate.

8.You’re stressed because you don’t take care of yourself or your health.

9.You’re stressed because you don’t have a support system.

If you were to rate yourself on each point, you’d likely score higher on some than others. You may be a great at delegating, but you’re not so good at setting boundaries. Each of us has our own strengths and weaknesses, based on our experience and personality. Even if you answer “yes” to only one of these stress points, you may suffer from more anxiety than someone who has answered “yes” to numerous stressors. Each of us responds differently to outside pressures and stress.

Let’s take a look at each one of these in greater detail, to see where some of your personal stress points are. We’ll also take a look at how you can make adjustments and get on the road to increased productivity and a more enjoyable work life. The first stop? Taking a look at your priorities, stay tuned…