10 Helpful Ways To Reduce Stress On The Go

Women entrepreneurs need practical ways to reduce stress when they’re on the go.

When I’m away from home, I’m also away from my usual routines and self-care practices. There may be more rushing, back-to-back meetings, multitasking, noise, and trying to keep up with endless emails. I may hyper-focus on a project, neglecting my body’s signals or skipping meals.

By the time I get home, I’m more likely to be wiped out and unable to relax. When these patterns are chronic, they diminish our well-being and our ability to perform at our best. Burnout or low productivity are the inevitable side effects.

The good news is that you can destress on the go by carving out time for yourself. Quick stress-relief activities only take a few minutes.

Restorative breaks won’t happen unless you prioritize them. When prioritizing yourself feels hard, remind yourself that you and your business are worth it.

Below, you'll find:

• Stats about how stress impacts you as a woman entrepreneur
• A menu of 10 easy activities to manage stress when away from home
• Four of the most common stressors of being on the go
• And suggested stress relief activities for each stressor

Proactive stress management keeps you resilient, creative, and productive. It's also among the best investments you can make in yourself and your dreams.

Stress Stats for Women Entrepreneurs 

• Entrepreneurial women are twice as likely to experience extreme stress and anxiety compared to men.
• After COVID-19, stress among female entrepreneurs increased significantly, making mental health strategies more critical than ever.
• Daily stress for online business owners rose from 38% pre-pandemic to 62% post-pandemic.

These numbers highlight the critical importance of stress relief for women entrepreneurs.

4 Common Stresses of Being on the Go

Being out in the world is a legitimate stress trigger. Here are four common stressors we face when we’re out and about:

• Time Pressure: Managing things like tight schedules, deadlines, and unexpected delays that feel rushed or overwhelming.
• Routine Disruption: Travel or commutes that disrupt basic routines like eating, sleeping, and workflows.
• Decision Fatigue and Overstimulation: Constant decision-making and information overload resulting in mental fatigue and fogginess.
• Physical Exhaustion: Long hours or physical demands that drain your energy and can lead to burnout.

Of course, experiencing these stressors sometimes is normal. But there are simple and effective ways to prevent or offset them.

A Menu of 10 Ways to Reduce Stress

These quick stress-relief activities are appropriate for any of the four stressors discussed above. 

In a later section, I’ll also suggest some activities to try when experiencing a particular stressor.

• Recognize and Acknowledge Your Stress
• Deep Breathing
• Audio Therapy
• Make a "Stop-Doing" List
• Take Self-Care Moments to Refresh and Decompress
• Nature Therapy
• Carry A Personal Stress-Relief Travel Kit
• Silent Affirmations
• Journal
• Focus on Hydration and Not Skipping Meals

Check Out the Stress Relief Toolkit

Quick Stress Relief Activities by Stressor

Overscheduling and Time Pressure

Deep Breathing
Deep breathing can help you reset in just a few minutes. You can track how activated (fight or flight) your nervous system is by how easy (or hard) it is to take a few calm and even breaths. 

• Try a few rounds of square breath: Take a deep exhale. Then inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, and exhale for 4 seconds. The Mayo Clinic reports that repetitions of box breathing can regulate your nervous system, calm your mind, and lower your blood pressure.
• Use apps like Breathwrk or Calm for guided breathing exercises.

Audio Therapy
You can use various types of “sound” to retreat from a stressful environment and recharge.

• Listen to audiobooks, calming playlists, or guided meditations.
• Motivational podcasts can inspire you while on the go.
• Apps like Spotify or Insight Timer make it easy to access audio content anywhere.

Make a Stop-Doing List
Instead of focusing on what’s next, consider if there’s a task you may be able to let go of:

• Are there non-essential tasks or meetings you can skip or reschedule?
• Could you shorten or refocus your daily workout? You could do a 30-minute workout instead of a 60-minute one. Or maybe you could do slower or more restorative movement.

Coping with Routine Disruption

Stay Hydrated and Don’t Skip Meals
Maintaining hydration and eating regular meals is essential for keeping your mood and energy steady.

• Carry a reusable water bottle to stay hydrated throughout the day. Try to refill it at least once.
• Pack healthy snacks like nuts, granola bars, or fruit.
• Along with not skipping meals, try not to rush through them. Eating at a relaxed pace helps restore energy and calm the mind.

Carry a Stress-Relief Travel Kit
This is one of my favorite ways to reduce stress. 

A stress-relief travel kit is a collection of portable items that helps soothe you in noisy environments and chaotic moments - or through long days.

• Consider items like lavender essential oil, a stress toy, or noise-canceling headphones.
• Add comforting items like a nourishing herbal tea.
• Try an affirmation card to help refocus you.

Other items to consider:

• Facial Spray, lip gloss, or other mini-spa items
• A favorite book
• A journal
• Eye masks or earplugs
• Pressure point massage tools

Turn Breaks into Self-Care Moments
Create small rituals to decompress throughout the day. Hint: You could use your kit for this!

• Apply hand cream, stretch, and enjoy a nice drink
• Put your headphones on and journal
• Work on a playlist

Combatting Decision Fatigue and Overstimulation

Silent Affirmations
Affirmations ground and inspire us. The trick is to ensure they feel realistic and meet you exactly where you are. 

• Quietly repeat phrases like “I can handle more than I think” or “I always have ways to destress.”
• Try a guided affirmation app.
• Create a new affirmation that’s exactly what you need to hear.

Move Your Body
Physical movement will release tension caused by long periods of sitting:

• Walks whenever possible. If you can’t get outside, periodically get up and walk around a room, down the stairs, or through the hallway.
• Try simple desk stretches like neck rolls, shoulder shrugs, or seated twists when sitting.

Journal
Journaling can help with a myriad of things. I sometimes feel comforted just from knowing its near me whenever I need it.

• Write down your worries, make a stop-doing list, or express gratitude. Authentic gratitude always shifts your focus to positivity. If things are really hard, don’t leave that out! You can acknowledge that honestly and feel grateful about something simultaneously.
• Try a journaling prompt.
• Brainstorm quick stress relief ideas you want to try when you’re away from home next.
• Script a boundary that can improve the situation going forward.

Staving Off Physical Exhaustion

Nature Therapy
Nature is so therapeutic that even gazing at an image of it or watering a plant can rejuvenate you:

• Walk in a nearby park.
• Sit by a window with greenery.
• Spend a few minutes in the sun to reduce stress hormones and improve mood.

Acknowledge Stress and Exhaustion
Recognizing your stress is a huge part of relieving it. Tuning into yourself and noticing what you’re experiencing is deeply affirming. To provide solutions, you must first acknowledge your stress and feel how it's impacting you.

• Identify stress symptoms in your mind, body, or spirit. (Is your heart racing? Do you feel breathless or rushed? Are you overwhelmed, irritable, or drained? Are you numbed out or foggy?)
• Identify what may be causing the symptom.
• Address the stressor with a stress-relief activity as soon as you’re able.

Relieving Stress is a Strategy for Long-Term Success

Stress relief for women entrepreneurs is a business strategy. It can make or break well-being, work-life balance, productivity, and success. 

On top of running a business, being away from your home and routines introduces more stress triggers. Relieving stress when you’re out may feel a little harder, but it’s just a matter of creative problem-solving, prioritizing yourself, and taking a few moments for stress relief. 

If you’re ready to go deep with destressing, my comprehensive self-paced course for entrepreneurial women has everything you need. 

You’ll learn more ways to reduce stress, what stress actually is, and how stress relief helps you achieve work-life balance. You’ll create a plan with actionable workbooks, infographics, reflections, and implementation steps. Everything is laid out in a super-simple, step-by-step format.