Being an entrepreneur, running business on your own is a very stressful job. To add to this. the holiday season can bring in more stress as there are deadlines to meet, family events, buying presents and so much more to do. This can be over whelming, especially for first time entrepreneurs. In order survive the holiday season here are our 5 tips that every entrepreneur can use to manage holiday stress:

1. Breathe

As Peter Gasca mentions in his article, “When people get stressed, they tend to take short breaths or hold their breath all together. The problem is that improper breathing causes your blood pressure to rise and your muscles to tense, all of which just complicates your stress.” Whenever you are stressed, focus on your breathing. It is even better if you learn some breathing exercises which can help you in reducing stress and also improve your health in long term.

2. Take Time-Out

Gwen Moran quotes Scheinman in her article, “One of the most powerful ways to ward off stress on a daily basis is to engage in some sort of regular contemplative practice.” This can be meditation or just sitting alone quietly for 30 minutes. You can start by taking out 10 minutes initially and then increasing it slowly to reach 30 minutes contemplative time.

3. See Your Loved Ones

Holiday is a time for having fun with your loved ones, and that is what it should be. With the phone buzzing all the time with emails and reminders, it does become difficult to focus on anything other than work, but you should use this time to connect with family and friends and let go of your work concerns (unless it is an emergency). As Zach Cutler suggests, “Leave work behind and disconnect from technology to focus on time with loved ones.”

4. Get out and exercise more

As Carrie Smith puts it, “It’s been proven that more exercise will not only relieve stress but help you make more money … It’s also an excellent way to clear your mind and get the endorphins flowing”. If you dont have time to hit the gym for a proper workout, you can always take a walk. The point is so get some sort of exercise away from work to relieve stress and stay healthy.

5. Ask For Help

Asking for help is not a bad thing. In fact it can help you in getting things done on time without getting stressed. Adam Toren suggests that you can “ask some people you trust to assist you if get inundated with work. Having a quality pool of go-to employees is a wise move.” If you don’t have enough budget, you can always go for hiring a VA firm like Perssist to take care of your time consuming administrative tasks and reduce your workload.