Creative Ways for Entrepreneurs to De-Stress and Stay Focused Being a business owner is like you're are stuck on an independent treadmill for life. As an entrepreneur, you are always swapping through new responsibilities, solving crises, and making hard decisions in a short timeframe.

Being a business owner is like you're are stuck on an independent treadmill for life. As an entrepreneur, you are always swapping through new responsibilities, solving crises, and making hard decisions in a short timeframe. Is it any wonder you sometimes feel like burning out or overwhelmed?

Sure, exercise, meditation, and other self-care 101 do help but you need more creative solutions to help you unwind/ refocus in this fast-paced world.

Let's dig into some out-of-the-box ideas for entrepreneurs to de-stress and enhance mental clarity and creativity.

Stray from Your Comfort Zone

Sometimes getting out of your bubble is the best stress relief and the best inspiration! Experiences that are completely unfamiliar to you force your mind to reset, to take another look at life from a different perspective.

Here are some tips to switch things up:

• Do something you've always wanted to try but never did, like going surfing, taking improv classes, or doing trapeze lessons. These new challenges will challenge you creatively in surprising ways.
• Take a trip alone to somewhere you haven't been before, whether that's a new neighborhood in your city or a new country to backpack through. The liberation and adventure are like a shot of vitamins.
• Satisfy your adventurous side with something out of the ordinary - sky diving, rage room therapy, or lying in a sensory deprivation tank, for example. Extreme experiences might sound odd, but they are perfect to help you get a clearer mind.
• Have an online psychic reading or tarot card reading. Even if you're skeptical, it's an eye-opening look at how others see the world that might change your view.

The idea is to shock yourself out of your daily habits and routines. Stepping into the unknown helps you return to your work with fresh passion and creative insights.

Design a Calming Workspace

Your physical environment has an impact on how quickly you get stressed or how quickly you get focused. Take the time to build a work space that minimises anxiety and maximises productivity

• Look at green spaces such as co-working offices or consider a professional virtual office which offers a flexible yet focused environment to boost productivity.
• If you find silence distracting, play soft instrumental or nature sounds. Peaceful background noise is composed of rainstorms, ocean waves or meditative music.
• Add your own touch by diffusing essential oils (like lavender or eucalyptus) to achieve a spa-like scent. Particular scents can instill specific emotions and can relieve stress.
• Crystals on a display, candles you light, incense that is burned can make your desk your little holy shrine. Repeat this ritual to have your mind begin to relax.

A well-designed workspace provides you with a space to retreat from the stresses of the day. Be among things that bring you focus and peace as you work.

Live in the Present

We're entrepreneurs who often feel like we're being pulled in a million different directions at once. Instead, you find yourself stuck in the past or anxious about

the future, not where your feet currently are. Mindfulness practices get you to concentrate on today.

Try to incorporate these techniques into your day:

• Schedule reminders to stop and breathe a few times. Even one minute of following your inhales and exhales can immediately still the chatter in your mind.
• Take mindful walks, in nature and in your neighborhood. And notice what is around you rather than being caught up in your own thoughts.
• Listen to guided meditations using apps when you wake up or before sleep. Seeing calm images in your mind sets aside worrying.
• Keep a gratitude journal. Write down things you are grateful for so you can remember what is going well.

Incorporate mindfulness practices into your self-care regimen the same way you would with eating right or exercising. They will become second nature to you before long, and they will present an oasis of calm during moments when work may feel chaotic.

Unleash Your Creative Side

Creativity becomes stifled under stress and the everyday grind. But squeezing in time to do something artistic or playful is an important shot in the arm for your imagination. It's like a paid vacation for your brain!

Here are some ideas:

• Create or construct something - with your hands: pottery, carpentry, sculpture, sewing, painting, drawing, etc. As your senses engage with the tactile experience.
• Play something different like guitar, drums or even a piano or ukulele. Forget about talent – just have fun making music.
• Put on your favorite music and dance round. Grooving your body to the rhythm feels free.
• Try cooking new dishes or exotic cuisines in the kitchen. Cooking is your chemistry (art) set at work.
• Daily journal, every morning or every night. Write freely on the paper without self-editing.

Creativity routines stop your brain from getting too analytical or rigid. Those "aha!" moments then often do when you are playing.

Discover What Works for You

It's worth noting that the best stress-management solutions for you will be the ones that make you feel centered and re-energized. Keep experimenting until you find your magic formula.

• Pick things that interest you - glass blowing, trapeze, coding - and experiment with how it feels. Then listen to your intuition about what works for your own mind and body.
• Try making old hobbies you once had as a child, such as flying model airplanes, collecting stamps, or stargazing in a telescope. Going back to past joys gives a wave of nostalgia and creativity.
• Lean into whatever self-care techniques you already know are helpful - whether it's getting a massage, playing with pets, or listening to your favorite podcasts. If it is not broken, do not fix it!
  
  Takeaway

Of course, don't forget the classics: exercise, time in nature, therapy and connection with loved ones. Simple techniques ground you as effectively as more unorthodox ones.

Ask friends what they do for relief - you might feel inspired to indulge in some forest bathing, flotation tanks, or art classes yourself.