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Life is stressful, especially if you’re in a start-up or are an entrepreneur. The techniques below help force me to relax and chill out when I over-schedule, under-sleep and freak out.

Breathe.

Yep. We all do it until we’re dead. But most of us don’t do it right. Stress tends to make us shallow breathers. When you’re stressed, stand up and take long, slow, deep breaths – the kind you take before jumping into a swimming pool of cold water, or before giving your kids “the sex talk,” or asking your boss for a raise. Slow inhale, slow exhale. Do this at least five times. If you get dizzy, sit down. You’re probably not used to that much oxygen.

Laugh out loud.

If there’s nothing funny in your life or office, turn to YouTube. Search on “Cats, Fail” or “Epic Face Plant.” You’ll find lots to laugh out loud at. If you’re not near the Internet, think about something funny.

Put things in perspective.

I used to think noises and distractions outside my office were annoying and stressful. Then Hurricane Sandy hit and suddenly I was walking to a shelter every day and working at a table with six other people. It put a lot of things into perspective. So did going from a net worth of millions to a net worth of whatever coins I could find in the couch, my ashtray and my daughter’s piggy bank. Think of the worst thing that’s ever happened to you or someone you know, and put your stress next to that.

Change location.

Being able to teleport to a hot tub or a deserted beach somewhere would be awesome, but until that technology is available, the break room or bathroom will have to do. If that sounds depressing (and it does, doesn’t it?), then step outside instead. Walking to the vending machine or coffeepot, or taking the elevator to another floor and wandering around pretending to be lost, is an option. The point is to change locations and get away from the place (or person) stressing you out. The walk there and back, and even a different environment, can reduce stress in a matter of minutes.

Stretch.

Yeah, crazy, right? But it works. Stand up and stretch. Move to a doorway and push on either side of the door frame. Twist. Sit down and put your legs out in front of you and point your toes. Find a stairwell and do some standard runner’s stretches. Google “stretching” to find something if you’ve put your high school gym class behind you.

No technique is going to work if you’ve let stress build up. The minute you start to feel stressed, address it head-on. Then figure out what’s causing the stress and eliminate it as much as possible.

 

MIKE MICHALOWICZ (pronounced mi-KAL-o-wits) started his first business at the age of 24, moving his young family to the only safe place he could afford—a retirement building. With no experience, no contacts and no savings, he systematically bootstrapped a multimillion-dollar business. Then he did it again. And again. Now he is doing it for other entrepreneurs. Mike is the CEO of Provendus Group, a consulting firm that ignites explosive growth in companies that have plateaued; a former small-business columnist for The Wall Street Journal; MSNBC’s busi-ness makeover expert; a keynote speaker on entrepreneurship; and the author of the cult classic book The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur. His newest book, The Pumpkin Plan, has already been called “the next E-Myth!” For more information, visit www.mikemichalowicz.com/.