Being an entrepreneur usually mean you have to always be on the grind.
There are so many information online that gives you ideas on how to relieve stress but some of them could be too much for you to take in because you just want something so easy to execute at the moment and not something that would require you to think so much over to implement especially when you're mentally stressed.
So today, I figured that it would be nice to come up with some fun activities you can do that works plus you will enjoy them and hopefully you'll notice a difference in your mood and body.
In this article, we'll be talking about seemingly silly fun activities that helps relieve stress.
So let's get to this.
1. Get Lazy
I'm guessing that you do not have the tolerance for laziness, cos you understand the value of time.
Before you sign out and say this is not an option for me, hear me out. Well, I'm going to tell you that laziness is not entirely bad especially when you are trying to relieve stress. It is a welcome idea.
I will spend more time on this point in this article.
Some suggestions you could try to do while being lazy.
Excuse yourself from work
I can imagine you thinking, excusing myself from work will mean I'll come back to tasks pilled up, which will stress me out more!
The thought of leaving your hustle for some time might feel like a setback. However, the reason for stress sometimes could be that you are mentally overloaded and taking time off could be the ONE thing to boost your productivity.
So, permit yourself to be excused from work for a few days. Don't do anything work-related throughout this break.
It's a peaceful place to be mentally. Just being in the moment, without any work-related stress, without any concern, without any deadlines, without any client deliverables, without all the craziness that goes into the day. Take time off for you.
Get on a Gist Call with a Friend
While you're enjoying this lazy time of your life, pick up your phone and call someone you haven't spoken to in a long time. Someone you enjoy a good banter with.
Do not rush off the call, because often time as entrepreneurs we dont have time for chitchats. We are very snappy about our calls because we have to get back to work.
This time, you want to be present and flow with the conversation.
Thing is, we need nurturing relationships for a balanced life and often what happens is because we are wrapped up with a lot of things to do, we don't have the time for friends or families as much as we should.
So enjoy the call, it's a form of mental break at the same time.
Cancel all your To-do list.
Set the time to say, okay, I'm going to have a day or two, or even if it's going to be a week, whatever the time would be, F.O.R ME!
Now, this will be a struggle for you. And again, we're talking about relieving stress. So, you must allow yourself to cancel all the To-do list.
Again the idea is to detach from your regular routines.
Remember It is lazy the time of your life. If Any comes calling for your attention, find a way around it, don't attend to them by yourself. Delegate it to a reliable person who can handle them.
It's going to be tempting to quickly attend to it and get bacl to lounging during this time off but dont cheat.
Lose consciousness of time
This is your time not to feel pressured about deadlines. Do whatever you feel like doing, don't worry too much about the time it's going to take you, or whatever.
When you lose consciousness of the of time, you can be whatever you want to be because you aren't feeling constrained and You're not answerable to anyone in particular.
This isn't the license to be irresponsible but to feel free regardless of the ticking clock.
Enjoy every single second.
2. Binge Nicely...
Busy entrepreneur are too busy for frivolities, but this time around allow yourself to do things without judging, without over analysing it, do things without feeling its a waste of time. The fact of the matter is, you want to enjoy whatever it is that you feel like at that particular time.
There are some things I suggest you can binge on ...nicely. You will notice I didn't include you binge on eating or alcohol cos at the end of the day you don't want to do anything that might become addictive. You can binge on:
Movies
You can do this by asking friends for some interesting movies or if you have interesting movies lined up yourself, maybe these three-four or five days free period will be a good time to watch them.
Again, the essence of this exercise is to relieve stress by getting your mind settled, calmer, and no overthinking.
Healthy snacks
Enjoy healthy fruits and smoothies, Get some tasty, healthy ice creams. Chocolates are a nice stress reliever.
You can have this suggestion the way you want or mix them all. You know, play with it, create something for yourself. The point is to have fun. Make sure you're enjoy everything you're doing.
Cleaning
For me, when there's so much clutter around me, it actually contributes feeling overwhelm. So, most of the time, I make sure my environment is clear and clean.
And that can be tough when you have two young kids, but I try as much as possible to keep track... cleaning is therapeutic for me. Whatever it is you can clean it doesn't have to be stressful, Cleanliness is a breath of freshness, so I say Yes, go for it.
3. Get a good laugh.
Running your business can get you uptight easily without you knowing it. So what you want to do now is to try as much as possible, to allow yourself Laugh.
You can start up by even laughing at yourself, look in the mirror, make some cheeky face and laugh at your expression.
You can watch the lovely comedy films. Go for comedy shows, call someone that cracks you up like crazy (we have those kinds of people in our lives), Yeah, call them up and just enjoy a good laugh.
4. Try something new
When you try something new, you're giving yourself a mental break to do something different from your norm which can open more posibilities for creativity.
So think of those things you probably would have tried out but couldn't because of workload, Try them out.
Suggestions:
Get your paints and brushes out
You don't have to be a professional artist or painter. All you have to do is enjoy the colours on your paper or canvas and the stroke, the brush makes.
Paint whatever you want. Think about children, We give them a crayon they don't think too much about it, they just get on the paper, and enjoy themselves, and you can see the joy on their faces that they just created something.
And if painting on paper or canvas might be too much for you. There are resources online where you can download and doodle prints exercises.
So all you just need to get is crayons and just, you know, try to colour them out, get doodling and enjoy the time. Make something beautiful, something new.
Something new, you can try is baking
Yeah, it can also be fun to have the flour, eggs, coconut milk, etc. all mixed together to create something delicious and sweet.
Now, again, I'll say, if it doesn't come out well, have a good laugh about it and try again. The point here is enjoying the process and don't stress about the outcome. If it does come out, great. ENJOY!
You can also try stargazing
You can go with someone or alone. Nature, by itself, is beautiful.
I'm not into any woo woo trend around star gazing. From my own view. It makes me marvel at how God created something Shiny and beautiful in the dark clouds.
Stargazing brings up a feeling i can't put to words really. As much as possible to enjoy the sky, feel the breeze, on your face and everything.
5. Dance
When you dance, You're doing two things. You're relieving yourself of any mental block. And at the same time, you are exercising physically. However, this time it's in a fun way.
So, when you start dancing, you can try some new steps. We've got some trendy dance now so you can add them to spice your steps up.
And you can get some dance partners like your children; kids enjoy when we dance with them. so enjoy the moment
6. Take Directions
I know you are the boss of your business and you love doing things your own way but I'm going to tell you you dont have to be in control of everything. It is okay to delegate tasks to people.
This point is where you're trying to relieve stress, to relax and give yourself a break.
In fact, the inability to delegate and wanting to be in control most of the times is the reason why things can be out of control in our business and personal life.
If you always been in control of everything around your business, or you realise you're stressed, but you don't know why you've been stressed. This could be a reason.
I'm not saying lose control of your business, but It's okay to feel delegate. It's not irresponsible, you are simply letting go of things to focus on you.
Some suggestions
- Guided meditation.
- Guided stretching exercises.
- Guided breathing exercises.
Doing these three means, you are listening to someone telling you or directing you on what to say for your own good. You are not being forced to do so; however, you understand listening will give you good results.
7. Spoil yourself.
I have noticed most entrepreneurs, especially those who are just starting out, lose who they are to their business.
And that is understandable in a way.
But if you're going to try anything on this list - Spoil yourself a Lil'.
If you've gone without even checking in on yourself, this will work for you.
Enjoy a lovely bath at home. You can play some lovely music like candles.
This will help you a lot. I want you to see this as going on a date with yourself. Create whatever you want out of it. If you want to watch a movie while you're relaxing, go for it. Whatever feels right to enjoy a relaxing time. Do it.
Next, you can try some massage from your partner or the spa.
It's a good feeling.
Makeup
Suppose You haven't had time to really feel like a LADY. Get some makeup artist to give your face some touch, take some photographs. You'll love it.
Go shopping for yourself
If you enjoy shopping, and it's been a while you've done it, do it. I really don't see any problem with just stepping out to get something for yourself as a gift.
Final Thought
I hope that you understand these exercises is not to ruin your business by losing focus. The goal here is to take a few days to relieve stress for your wellbeing so you can be more productive.
You're deserving of being pampered. I hope you've realised that it's okay for us to get some guidance, it's okay for us to delegate. It's okay for you to lose yourself in the moment, enjoy a good time, to try new things and to get deliberately lazy to relieve stress.
Let me know which one you enjoyed most, and the one you're going to try asap in the comment section.