8 Tools for Mompreneurs with Anxiety

Hey Mamas,

Have you ever had those days where anxiety takes hold and doesn’t let go?

When it seems no matter how hard you shake, jump, or dance like a madwoman, it doesn’t go away? Me too. 

For the last four or five days, my anxiety has been so high. You know the type I’m talking about — the tight-chested, hard-to-breathe-sometimes kind of anxiety. The real kicker? I don’t even know why.

I have several little things in my life that seem stressful or that I keep chewing on, but there is no big, looming anxiety-riddling thing in my life right now. And that drives me crazy. 

Let’s be serious. If I am going to feel anxious, it at least needs to be about something big. Not huge, but big. Feeling anxious over nothing seems pointless. And that leads me to get even more worked up because I don’t even know what I’m stressed out about in the first place.

***Inserting a laugh here, because how silly is it to get frustrated over an unproductive anxiety attack? Oh, mamas, send prayers.*** 

Well, when I am struggling with anxiety like this, one of two things usually happens:

A.) I throw myself into an overwhelming amount of work.
B.) I shut down and don’t want to work at all.

Often, I start with A—overworking—and end with B—not working. It’s an exhausting cycle, am I right? 

I’ve spent the last several years learning how to better handle times like these. Am I perfect? NO. But, I’ve been blessed to find tools that help me quiet the chaos. Any tool I can use to create peace and better serve my family is worth having in my back pocket. Figuratively, that is. What moms wear bottoms with back pockets these days?

So, below you will find eight of my favorite tools for ditching chaos and creating calm as a mompreneur.

Relocate mornings

When I take my coffee mug outside in the mornings, my day starts more peaceful. Sun on my face, toes in the grass, and fingers wrapped around a warm mug are all great grounding techniques. Ideally, I incorporate some of the other tools I share below in this quiet coffee time, but if I can’t, just taking the mug outside helps.

If you don’t like coffee, you are out of luck. Also, we can’t be friends. Just kidding—kind of. I’d try this with whatever your favorite beverage is.

Wake before kiddos

This tool is shared by many but is hard to implement as mamas. When you have crazy little humans depending on you for survival, you have to sleep whenever possible.

However, this habit helps me be a better mom, homeschooler, and businesswoman. So, how do I make it work? It depends on the season of motherhood I am in.

Am I pregnant? Then I’m not likely to get up as early in the last trimester.

Do I have a newborn? I’m never leaving bed unless I have to. Throw me in mompreneur jail for even thinking about waking up earlier than the baby.

However, if my baby sleeps through the night, I practice rising before my kiddos again.

Even as my children are older, I still evaluate this based on my body and what I need. During a thunderstorm the other night, I was up for two hours with my six-year-old, trembling in fear. Do you think I got up early that morning? Nope.

I was exhausted and needed sleep to be a better mom for my kids that day. If early rising isn’t in your wheelhouse, try starting in 15-minute increments. Even if it takes weeks or months to get this down, the benefits outweigh all the efforts. When I have time to work and prepare my home before the little ones awake, I am a less anxious mama.

Spend time in the Word

As a Christian mom, this probably seems like a no-brainer. But it is easy to get caught up in laundry, diapers, and deadlines and not spend time in the Word. I’m far from perfect at this, but I am trying to improve. It’s pretty convicting to realize that God is the reason I’ve chosen this lifestyle, but sometimes I get so caught up in living it that I neglect time in His word. 

My favorite is pairing this with coffee time outside. It doesn’t get much better than the Bible and coffee, does it?

Eat nutritious food

Don’t get me wrong, I love boxed mac-n-cheese as much as the next mom. But my body is the biggest and best tool to serve my family and others. Taking care of it is important to me, so I try to be very careful with how I fuel myself. Take the time to create a go-to nutritious menu for the week. It helps you make the best choices you can. I’m talking seriously simple here; I don’t know any mompreneurs who have the bandwidth to spend more time in the kitchen!

Lower self-expectations

As a recovering perfectionist, I tend to set the bar too high. Thus, leading myself to cycles of disappointment, anxiety, and shame. I have to work daily at setting realistic expectations in my home and business. Productivity is important, but unrealistic expectations that lead to beating myself up are not helpful.

Spend time honestly evaluating how much time you have to work and what you can accomplish in that amount of time. Write out three tasks you want to get done for that day to be productive. As a mompreneur, this list often contains both business and homemaking tasks.

I find the most peace in my business and motherhood when I don’t try to separate them like two different lifestyles, but remember the purpose of each and allow them to intertwine. 

Evaluate systems

Take the time to review the systems you have in place for your family (work, home, school, etc.). Are they working well? I’ve found that I’ll try to keep systems in place out of habit, but they no longer serve our family. While I have almost a decade (whoa, did I say decade?!) of experience, I feel like I’m just now giving myself the freedom to discover what works best for my family.

Give yourself a lot of grace and have fun learning what works for your household and business. Don’t get caught up in what you “should” do according to your friends or the internet. Focus on what pleases the Lord and best serves your family. When your systems are actually working for you, it can remove a lot of stress from your day-to-day.

Keep rhythms simple

Raising little ones well is not for the faint of heart. Leave room in your schedule for snuggles and corrections. If your children are anything like mine, they never learn something the first time. And they probably never will. You are their mama, meant to shepherd and teach them. Don’t let housework, business, or extracurricular activities take that away.

Trust me, I’m talking to myself here too. I think this is something we mompreneurs have to work extra hard at. But we mustn’t get so caught up in giving our children a better life or financially affording to stay at home; we miss the entire purpose of why we decided home was the best place for us. 

Evaluating how you go about your day is key when running a business as a mama. Use your time wisely.

Whenever I get discouraged about being a SAHM and a small business owner, I like to remember the Proverbs 31 woman. She looked to the ways of her household and prepared fine garments to sell. It won’t be easy, and it won’t be perfect, but I truly believe that with God’s grace, we can do both. Keep things simple, mama.

Incorporate small joys

When I am feeling anxious, sometimes I just want comforting things. And that’s okay. I don’t like to use them with the intent that they will “fix everything." I know I need to look to Christ and give my anxieties to Him. However, there isn’t anything wrong with material objects that bring us joy. When I feel anxious, I like to listen to relaxing music, drink a hot cup of tea, shower, read a book, and light candles. Discover what small joys help and incorporate those into your day. 

Whew, that’s a lot of information, mama. Please, take what serves you and leave what doesn’t. Some days are just rough, and that’s okay.

The other night, I was struggling, and everything felt like it was going wrong. Do you know what I did? I chopped sweet potatoes and sang children’s church songs very loudly. My kids thought I was crazy, but they joined in. By the time my husband was home supper was ready and I was in a much better mood. Take time and learn what works for you when anxiety strikes.

You are killing it as a small business mama. I am so excited to be along for your journey! If you don’t already, follow me on Instagram, @dotsandcommasllc, where I share many real-life tidbits of my day as a mompreneur!