CEOs like you know how stress can often build quickly. Tension starts to mount and then it reaches a certain breaking point where you literally cannot go on.
The problem with being CEO is that you can’t really take a break. You have to continue working in the best interest of your company. Taking two weeks off because of burnout just isn’t an option
So, if you are working from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. every night and have lots of employees to manage, how can you reduce stress and be your best? Here are some of the highest return on investment options that are available to you right now, according to the science:
Use tactical 2-minute resets
One of the most powerful methods you can use to beat stress is to use tactical two-minute resets. These are where you take two minutes out of your day, especially during a stressful period, to relax, unwind, and reset your mind.
Neuroscientists have developed something called the physiological sigh, and it’s one of the fastest ways to hack your autonomic arousal in real time. All you need to do is:
- Perform two inhales through your nose.
- Immediately follow it with a sharp inhale.
- Take a long, slow exhale through your mouth.
Repeat the process three times. When you complete this process, you’ll notice that you suddenly trigger the parasympathetic nervous system, and you begin to relax. It feels almost as if you haven’t been at work for the last 10 hours.
Another option is to do something called the 90-second cognitive offload. Instead of rushing from one high-stakes meeting to another, you spend 90 seconds typing out all of your intrusive thoughts and worries and then dump them on a piece of paper. When you do this, you’re giving your brain space to externalise these issues, so it doesn’t feel like it has to carry them all with it internally all the time.
Calendar armour
Implementing calendar armour for your week is another idea. The idea is to schedule a specific time that’s just for you to do the things that you know you need to do. For example, you could hardwire a 5-minute non-negotiable buffer between meetings instead of arranging to see people back-to-back. Novices often put meetings one after another without thinking about how they’ll feel afterwards. Consequently, they become more and more tired with every meeting that occurs, eventually leading to exhaustion.
The way to avoid this is to put structural gaps in meetings. For example, if you have a 30-minute slot, make the meeting 25 minutes and leave 5 minutes to recover. If you have a 60-minute meeting, make the meeting 50 minutes and leave 10 minutes to recover. You should also look at strategically blocking your day. If you’re multitasking, it actually increases your cortisol level by an estimated 60%. Set aside parts of your day for different activities.
For example, make sure you have:
- One part of your day to focus on work
- Another part where you focus on meetings or talking to contacts
- The third part of your day can be for socialising or responding to emails and text messages
Whatever it is, make sure you split it up so you’re only focusing on one thing at a time. If you try to focus on everything, you’ll get nowhere.
Get an on-call therapist
Another option for CEOs is to get an on-call therapist. This is a friendly person you can talk to at any time of the day who’s strictly outside of your company. If you’re experiencing emotional issues, you can go directly to them without revealing what you’re experiencing internally.
This practice offer secure and convenient online therapy so we think it’s worth checking out. Online therapy is an excellent option for CEOs because it means you don’t even have to leave the office to get the help you need. All you have to do is book an appointment, and you’re ready to go.
Use high leverage lifestyle changes
As a CEO, you probably already focus carefully on your lifestyle and optimise it to meet your daily work demands. Sometimes you can get things wrong, so it’s always worth reviewing your options. When your time is your rarest commodity, sleep is often the first thing to suffer. Start with non-negotiable anchors:
- Go to bed at exactly the same time every night.
- Wake up at the same time every morning.
Not only does this teach people who want to communicate with you when to get in touch with you, but it also gives you the recovery you need to achieve the results that you want. Focus on movement. Many CEOs like the concept of exercise snacking. The idea is to take 10 minutes out of your day to perform some sort of Zone 2 cardio or bodyweight movement. This blunts cortisol spikes in the afternoons without having to go to the gym.
Finally, you’ll want to look at your nutrition. If possible, you should outsource and automate it. Instead of thinking about what to eat every day, somebody else should be making these decisions for you based on the brief you provide them.
When you have proper nutrition, it blunts plus sugar levels and helps you concentrate more throughout the day. You’re far less likely to fall asleep, and you’ll often find that you’re significantly more productive.
As an executive, it’s worth remembering that burnout doesn’t make you a martyr. Instead, it turns you into a bottleneck for your enterprise. You need to be fresh and ready to make decisions at any time of the day or night, so taking care of your schedule is critical to this end. You don’t want to be one of those CEOs who’s constantly busy in meetings and nobody can contact you. If you are like that, then create some space and give yourself some room. Where possible, delegate more and get other people to take on responsibilities for you, including major decisions for the company. Providing your staff with more autonomy will actually help you get more done and be more successful in the long term.
