You, like everyone else, are doing more with less, working harder than ever.  However, too much work makes for a stagnant, burnt out business owner. To remain fresh, energetic, and enthusiastic — all necessary attributes for those serious about competing in this tough market — you must create time for yourself and take the focus off of business.

I asked the members of our Remodelers Advantage LinkedIn Group to share their strategies for sloughing off stress and maintaining their equilibrium.  Here they are:

• Neil Meiskey, CAPS I enjoy skiing and motorcycling, but my setting aside time for
  exercise is probably the best stress reliever I know. Weights 3 days a week and some type of aerobics 3-4 days per week.
• Greg Antonioli (Regular blogger for Remodeling magazine) Any exercise. For me it’s bicycling. A few hours alone on the bike letting my thoughts wander….even about business….is a great stress reliever.
• Debra Lellbach About a year ago, I started doing Bikram (Hot) Yoga. I have found this exercise & moving meditation to be my life saver- clears the mind, great for toning & it sweats all the day’s stress away!
• Mark Nowotarski Cycling, cycling, cycling!!!
• Lori Coultrup Cycling helps alot! Also running. The more stressed you get, the less you want to exercise. But, the more you need to exercise. It makes the stress go away!
• Victoria Downing I take ice skating lessons, I have to concentrate so much on not killing myself that I feel like I’ve been on vacation afterward! Feels wonderful.
• Radu Rusu I agree — any exercise; it is all different for everyone but mine is ping-pong. I get to concentrate on the game and brake away from thinking about business.
• Dan Rosenberg Going to the gym, long walks with my dog, and reading fiction. No news!!
• Neil Meiskey, CAPS Almost forgot a great one, started taking voice lessons…love to sing. Very relaxing due to the concentration required.
• Debra Lellbach Now that the summer grilling season is over, Doug & I are back to cooking a couple nights a week together. It helps us focus on something else besides our business!
• Tom Reavey Making a gratitude list is a great tool for me. It is all positive, it is all real and it is all in the present. I’m sure we can all make a decent length list of things we are grateful for, small or big things, that would make us wonder what the heck we are worrying about. We’ve got it pretty darn good. Some people I know do this daily before retiring at night; I think they get a better nights sleep that way. No exercise necessary, though exercise is highly recommended and beneficial. My wife and I love to go sea kayaking together, I traded in my surf board as a result, it still gives me that same oneness with nature I so enjoyed when surfing but with added bonus of sharing it with someone you love.
• Betsy Collins My husband and I also have a gratitude time, usually on the way to work since we work together. It all started one morning when my husband was particularly grumpy. I started giving him a list of what we had to be grateful for. The next time, we called it “gratitude time” and alternated with his mental list and mine, which had the secondary effect of clueing us in on what each thinks about or values. For us, it’s a quick way to get perspective and our feet back on the ground. You also get to relive a moment of joy when it’s something difficult one of the children accomplished, or thanks for the recovery of a friend.
• Tom Bannister I do martial arts, and I also do a little cycling. Both activities are great exercise and stress relievers.
• Doug Dwyer As mentioned about Gratitude. We have a Code of Values at our company (DreamMaker Kitchens and Baths) that states “We believe in counting our blessing everyday in everyway”. During the depths of the Recession we took our entire team through the exercise of each making a list of all our blessing. The lists were very uplifting and meaningful to each person. Having a larger perspective does make a difference.
• Michael McCutcheon My wife and I have been practicing Transcendental Meditation for many years and it has been a life saver. Lots of scientific research backs up the effectiveness in reducing stress and improving mental and physical health. Anyone who does TM regularly will tell you it works! It’s like taking a 20 minute vacation twice a day. Awesome!
• Joe Ratto I’m a classical musician. Been playing since I was 12. Playing and learning new pieces takes you a million miles away, to other places and other times. A beautiful way to spend a few moments out of the present. For me, it’s easy to relax to this type of music.
• Jeff Abrams Fly fishing is the greatest getaway for me. Imagine the focus necessary to gear up, scramble down the embankment without killing yourself or soaking up the river, then searching the waters flow for just the right spot for just the right float over just the right holding water. Then there’s the concentration required to tie on that “little sucker” with your special flipdown magnifier glasses hopefully secured. Now your ready to pursue your prey. Watch that little bugger float over that perfect lie, maybe for hours and hours. And suddenly your heart’s in your mouth as that 8 incher steals your fly and you better reel him in. Now I forget why I’m even writing this . . . . . . .

Thanks so much, folks, for sharing your tips and techniques for staying upbeat and positive.  Dedicating this time to yourself makes you  a much happier, confident person to be around, for your employees, your clients AND your family! If you have other creative ideas, please share!

Remodelers Advantage believes strongly that your business is a tool to help you build a financially secure future and a balanced, happy life.  Join our community of smart, motivated business owners and learn how to create this reality today. Give us a call at 301-490-5620.