Positive Stress Management Strategies For Teacherpreneurs

How do you handle stress?

Are you familiar with the symptoms of chronic stress and how to recognize them in your day-to-day life?

Have you thought in detail about your approach to stress management and what strategies might serve you better than the ones you use now?

As a teacherpreneur, it's vital to think carefully about these things. 

Running a teacher business + an amazing life may be biting off more than you can chew. That is, unless you understand how you naturally respond to stress and practice better stress management strategies when needed. 

When you learn to combine practical stress management and time management strategies, they’ll work together to create the life of your dreams. 

Stress management is a learnable skill. You can develop and use it to create a more sustainable work-life balance. In that spirit, this article will guide you through a stress audit. 

This audit won't catalog your sources of stress. Instead, it will help you identify your most common reactions, or strategies, to stress - both positive and negative. 

We'll also look at a "menu" of positive strategies that might suit you and your business better. 

Let’s get started.

How Do You Normally Handle Stress?

Being a teacherpreneur is stressful, right? 

But when you know how you typically respond to stress, you can spot ineffective or undesirable patterns and behaviors. You have the power to assess if your go-to strategies are working for you or if they need a little tweaking. By recognizing any not-so-healthy coping mechanisms, you can make changes that enhance your life and business. 

Let's dive into the audit and level up our stress management game!

Common Negative Stress Management Strategies (H3)

While it's crucial to develop positive and proactive strategies to manage stress, it's also essential to be aware of negative or reactive ways that you may resort to when handling stress. These methods may provide temporary relief but can ultimately harm your well-being. 

Here are some examples of unhelpful or reactive ways of handling stress. Think about your life over the past 2-4 weeks and see if any have come up.

1. Avoidance or Denial: Ignoring or avoiding stressors and pretending they don't exist may provide temporary relief, but it often leads to unresolved issues that can compound over time. Do you use avoidance to deal with stress, minimize, or dismiss a stressful event when it happens?
2. Substance Abuse: Turning to alcohol, drugs, or other substances to escape or numb stress is a harmful and unhealthy coping mechanism that can lead to addiction and further complications. Remember, substances can include cigarettes and even sugar. Do you ever rely on substances when you're stressed?
3. Emotional Eating: Using food as a source of comfort or distraction from stress is prevalent. As we know, it can lead to unhealthy eating patterns and weight gain, negatively impacting your physical and emotional health. Is emotional eating one of your coping mechanisms?
4. Aggressive Outbursts: Reacting to stress with anger, aggression, or lashing out at others will strain relationships and create a hostile environment, exacerbating stress levels in the long run. It usually happens when you've bottled up your feelings for too long, and they burst out. Anger and aggression can also be part of your "fight" stress response, which you can read about here.
5. Procrastination: Putting off tasks or responsibilities to avoid stress can lead to increased pressure and heightened stress levels as deadlines approach. There are many ways to procrastinate as well. Scrolling, over-cleaning or organizing, over-planning, taking the dog on a "field trip," napping, watching TV . . . the list is endless. Do you procrastinate when you're stressed or overwhelmed? If so, how?  
6. Isolation and Withdrawal: Withdrawing from social activities, relationships, or support systems when experiencing stress prevents opportunities for connection, understanding, and support. Do you ever withdraw so much that you lose access to social support or resources?

Do you recognize yourself in any of these? If not, familiarize yourself with other unhealthy strategies in this Harvard Medical School resource. 

As an entrepreneur teacher, ensuring you're building the business and life you want is up to you. 

This is why it's essential to recognize your negative or reactive coping mechanisms and work towards replacing them with healthier, more constructive strategies. Developing positive stress management techniques, seeking support, and engaging in self-care activities will help you cultivate business success and long-term well-being.

6 Positive Stress Management Strategies You Can Incorporate Into Your Daily Routine

It’s important to replace your unhelpful reactions with positive ones. 

Remember, you don't have to fix everything all at once. This is your journey. Choose one stress response from the list above that you'd like to work on. Then think about a healthier stress management strategy that could replace or reduce it. These are like the healthier "menu options" you can choose from at any given moment.

Here are some positive strategies to inspire you:

First and foremost, prioritize self-care. Make it a non-negotiable part of your routine. Set aside dedicated time for activities that recharge you and bring joy, such as exercising, reading, practicing mindfulness, or engaging in a hobby. This doesn't have to be a long amount of time. Think 5 or 10 minutes. Taking care of yourself is crucial for managing stress and sustaining balance.

Use effective time management to maximize productivity and minimize overwhelm. Prioritize tasks, set realistic goals, and create a schedule that allows for dedicated work and personal time. Learn to delegate or outsource tasks when possible to alleviate workload and create more space for yourself.

Setting boundaries is essential. Protect your time and energy by establishing clear work and personal life boundaries. Define specific work hours and avoid bringing work-related tasks into your personal time. Communicate your boundaries to others and learn to say no to requests that don't align with your priorities. Remember, you can prioritize your well-being and run a teacher business.

Don't hesitate to seek support. Consider collaborating with virtual assistants or collaborators who can help manage certain aspects of your business. Sharing responsibilities can alleviate stress and free up time for other vital areas of your life. Additionally, building a support network of like-minded individuals who understand your challenges can provide valuable guidance and encouragement.

Incorporate mindfulness practices into your daily routine. Take moments to pause, breathe, and bring awareness to the present moment. Mindfulness can help reduce stress, enhance focus, and promote overall well-being. Integrate mindfulness techniques such as meditation or guided breathing exercises into your day to foster a greater sense of calm and clarity. Could you use an app? Take a moment in the morning or at night? Or, set a reminder?

Taking regular breaks is vital. Allow yourself moments throughout the day to rest and recharge. Step away from your workspace, take a short walk, or engage in activities that help you relax and rejuvenate. These breaks can boost productivity, prevent burnout, and provide much-needed mental and physical refreshment. I have many easy-to-use resources for breaks in my stress relief toolkit and newsletter!

So, which of these ideas resonate with you? 

Which would you like to explore or deepen first? Or, do you have another idea for a positive strategy you could use?

Remember, creating a sustainable work-life balance is an ongoing journey. Be kind to yourself and embrace flexibility as you navigate the unique challenges and rewards of being an entrepreneur. By implementing these proactive strategies, you can cultivate a healthier, more fulfilling work-life balance that supports your personal and professional growth.

Want more support?

Work alongside a community of other super-committed entrepreneur teachers as you build positive stress management strategies and your teacher business in my monthly membership for teacherpreneurs.

You can also begin working on stress right now by downloading my free Stress Relief Toolkit. You'll get this when you sign up for my Newsletter, which includes oodles of support, education, and stress management resources!

July Newsletter Sneak Peek: Receive a free Brain Breaks Checklist on the first Tuesday of the month.