Sure, Fortune 500 company CEOs have plenty of quotes on how to achieve success or enjoy life, but what about some real advice for all the regular people? You can feel happier amidst the herculean task of running your small business by making small and simple changes to your daily habits. Here are the top 7 secrets of happiness from everyday small business owners like yourself.
1) Associate with a Good Cause
When things get hectic or frustrating around the office, it will help your mental state to remember you are also working to make the world a better place. To feel the most fulfillment, do more than just donate money. Participate in charitable events, lunches or meetings. You'll meet great people, become more connected to the cause, and experience increased levels of happiness. The human brain releases a pleasure inducing chemical after altruistic actions -- it's that simple!
2) Work & Life Balance
However much you may love your job or business, it can't truly replace the psychological fulfillment of family, friends or fun! It may sound cliche, but having a work and life balance will make you a happier worker. The happiest small business owners make ample time for family and entertainment, even if it's just on the weekend. Not only will your family dynamic be improved by your presence, spending time with family is proven to lower stress levels and increase one's overall happiness. The trick to making quality family and friend time work, however, is to avoid talking about your job or business! For those without families, you can experience the same effects from pursuing a hobby that interests you, even if it's as simple as reading a book!
3) Disconnect & Recharge
Similar to maintaining a healthy work-life balance, small business owners who describe themselves as "happy" agree that taking time to disconnect and recharge every day greatly contributes to their sense of well being. You should take a midday break, and disconnect in the evenings. Walking around (hopefully outside) at lunch actually helps get your creative juices flowing. Once you get home, giving yourself a break from emails and app alerts in the evenings will lower your stress levels and improve the quality of your sleep. After all, you're the brains behind your small business operation, don't you want to give the ole' cerebrum a chance to rest?
4) Get to Know Your Team
Water cooler chit chat may seem like an unproductive use of time, but getting to know your employees well will dramatically increase the quality of your work life. Not only will you be able to decipher who your most trusted and valuable assets are, but when you have a good relationship with your employees, you'll find that you derive pleasure and happiness from their individual successes right along with them.
5) Be Your Own Biggest Fan
There's no way around it: words of encouragement make you feel better. While it's important to remain grounded in reality, don't hesitate to give yourself a pat on the back when you deserve one. Being cheered on makes you feel great, but there might not be someone around to give you kudos for many of your accomplishments. It may seem a bit silly at first, but trust us, you'll experience the positive mental boost even if you're congratulating yourself.
6) Open Communication
Don't let frustrations or innovative ideas build up -- that sort of stress can take years off your life and dramatically impact your day-to-day happiness. Instead, develop workplace strategies to clear the air, and open up the communication channels amongst your team. Small business owners rate "good intra-team communication" as one of the key factors to an improved quality of work life. So long as you're respectful and constructive, there is no reason to keep your thoughts and feelings hidden. Try holding weekly retrospective meetings, or giving the Kaizen philosophy a try! It's a great idea to not only express your constructive criticisms, but also your hopes and dreams for the company. Being heard and understood simply feels great!
7) Focus on Accomplishing Small Tasks
It can feel daunting and overwhelming to work for months on end to accomplish a major business goal. Instead, visualize longer-term objectives as a series of individual tasks that you must accomplish. This way, you'll get to enjoy the encouraging sense of achievement more often. Accomplishing tasks (and then giving yourself kudos for it!) more frequently will help you stay motivated and increase your overall feeling of job satisfaction.
Small business owners can also increase their happiness and make their lives easier by utilizing new technology to conduct business in a more efficient and productive manner. Consider moving your business records to cloud services, or using automation software like MailChimp for marketing, SalesForce for sales, and F|G Receivables Manager for your Accounts Receivable.