5 Stress Reduction Tactics for Freelance Writers and Solopreneurs
“Just work less, meditate, and work out!” was the advice every person on the planet gave me all my life. And I took their advice seriously: I trained for half-marathons, became a yoga teacher, meditated daily — I did it all.
And nothing helped. Not really.
That’s because reducing stress needs to go beyond a band-aid “quick tip.” To reduce stress, you have to get to the root cause and take advantage of strategies that unravel that tight ball of fear or anxiety that’s been building up somewhere in your gut.
So here are my top 5 stress reduction tips that actually help — especially if you’re a freelance writer or solopreneur who’s operating outside the norm and need additional support.
Strategy #1: Your Routine Sucks, Let’s Fix It
I say this with all the love in the world: if you work for yourself, your schedule is probably held together by duct-tape and Olympian-level flexibility as you bend over backward to accommodate everyone else’s scheduling preferences — except for your own.
If you’re burned out or under a ton of stress, the root cause is probably your lack of routine. In his book Atomic Habits,
"A habit is a routine or behaviour that is performed regularly and, in many cases, automatically."
When you don’t have some sort of routine, your brain has to work overtime to make hundreds of tiny decisions about what gets done, when.
Why not take that mental load off and instead create a daily success routine?
Here’s mine:
Morning:
Wake up, my partner Kyle makes me a matcha latte
We go for a walk (which is great to soak in morning sunlight — more on this in a second!)
I get to my desk and do some journaling and a 15-minute meditation
I go through emails and plan out the day
I do my first block of work before I stop for breakfast
Afternoon:
If it’s a meetings day, I take meetings. If it’s a deep work day, I write
Break for lunch
Break for 45-minute strength workout or 3-4 mile run
15-minute afternoon meditation before diving back into last work session for the day
Evening:
Last pass through emails
Walk around the block to close out the day
Cook dinner or go out to eat
Journal, reading, quiet time with my partner
Listen to ASMR, stretch/do yoga, go to bed
I do a version of this schedule every workday. If it’s a workday, my brain doesn’t have to make any micro-decisions. Everything is set out in front of me to do.
Reducing decision fatigue has been one of the most important tools I’ve used to beat stress.
So if you’re in a particularly challenging week, reduce your decision load as much as you can and prioritize routines, pre-made decisions (like setting your clothes out the night before or meal-prepping!) and get clear on what deadlines are coming up.
I like using my Sundays as a one-stop-shop for choppin’ up my week into time blocks. I put my to-do list on my calendar so I know exactly what I need to do, when.
Another mindset shift I’ll cover more in future posts is learning how to set boundaries. Someone else’s emergency is not your priority. That doesn’t mean you can’t shift your schedule to help your clients out, but it does mean that your priorities need to come first. (And that includes your mental health and well-being!)
I have rarely worked with potential clients who have pushed me to make time in my schedule to meet them earlier than my schedule allowed, so now if I say I’m taking a week off, I let my current clients know and stick to that promise I make to myself.
Strategy #2: Go Outside for Your Morning Walk and Vitamin D
People are just like plants: we need sunlight, water, and a lil TLC to thrive. (Unless we’re talking about orchids, god help anyone who tries to keep an orchid alive.)
Andrew Huberman has a great (but very dense and lengthy) set of podcast episodes about the importance of getting morning sunlight within hours of waking. His recommendation? Get outside and go for a walk without sunglasses or sunscreen first thing after waking up — and before looking at your phone! — to improve your mood, energy, eyesight, and focus.
When I started incorporating morning walks, I saw a huge improvement in my energy, so this totally works. I’ve also had holistic practitioners recommend to me the practice of “grounding” — aka go outside and touch some grass or other earth with your feet first thing each morning for at least 5-10 minutes.
I used to teach Sunday yoga sessions in the park by my house when I lived in LA, and I remember how much more calm I was when I was touchin’ grass every Sunday. There’s something powerful about this practice, so if you’re feeling all over the place consider getting a good dose of sunshine and a barefoot nature experience.
Strategy #3: Batch Meetings on 1-2 Days Per Week
If you work remotely, you may be dealing with some Zoom fatigue. Whenever you can, try and batch all of your Zoom meetings on 1-2 days of the week. This is easier if you're a freelancer like I am, and it's a game-changer.
Batching meetings cut my anxiety in half because I'm no longer rushing to get through work before a meeting. I have full days for deep work at my own pace, and then a full day or two of meetings each week.
I’ve covered this strategy in other posts, so I’ll just briefly mention that this is inspired by Paul Graham’s “maker/manager” day schedule where you split your deep work on separate days from your meeting/admin work days.
As a freelance writer or solopreneur, it’s important to remember that you own your schedule: it doesn’t own you.
Strategy #4: Workout 5 Days Per Week and Walk 10,000 Steps Per Day
During the pandemic, I couldn’t do hard workouts. I had an iron deficiency and was newly diagnosed with an autoimmune disease which made doing any exercise other than walking, gentle stretching, and low-impact strength workouts a no-go. I walked 7,000 steps per day on average, but I didn’t feel at my best.
It was only until the end of this year I stuck to a 5-day/week workout schedule (3 days of strength, 2 days of running for high-intensity cardio) and a minimum of 10,000 steps per day.
It’s been an absolute gamechanger, and here’s why:
Exercise boosts your mood, staves off depression/anxiety/stress, improves your gut microbiome, and fights burnout by stopping your “fight or flight” response from cycling into oblivion. More about this in the book Burnout by Amelia Nagoski.
My mind is more clear and I have more energy, which allows me to get more done in a day without feeling groggy or brain foggy.
When something stressful happens, I go for a walk or hit the gym, which allows me to process my stress response faster and more efficiently.
I have never in my entire life felt so happy, energized, and stress-free — and I credit a big reason why this is to my new exercise schedule.
Having trouble staying disciplined when it comes to working out regularly? Try…
Working out with a friend. That way, you have a workout buddy and someone to hold you accountable.
Pay for a class package at a workout gym. This will incentivize you to use your class credits.
Work with a personal trainer either virtually or in-person. Because I travel so much, I’ve loved working out with virtual trainers and have recently just switched to the Future app, which is more affordable than traditional personal trainers, and you can do the workouts on your own schedule (but are held accountable as your virtual trainer tracks your heart rate during each workout to make sure you’re actually giving it your all!) I highly recommend it if you need that extra push!
If you're having trouble with discipline when it comes to workouts and mindfulness, you can also try stacking your habits so you have a sequence you do every day (i.e. wake up, journal, drink coffee or matcha, work out, meditate) and enforce that habit stack until it becomes automatic. Just take your daily success schedule and slowly integrate your new habits on top of your current ones. James Clear writes about this a ton in his book Atomic Habits which I’ll recommend forever ♥️
Strategy #5: Tap into the Power of Tea (…and consider ditching coffee!)
Coffee was my personality trait until I had to ditch it for good last year. I now have espresso as a treat, but start my mornings off with matcha lattes instead. No afternoon crash, just vibes. 🙂 If you’re a coffee fiend like I was, this might be a tough one, so just start gradually. Try out matcha one morning (or replace your second cuppa joe in the afternoon with it!) and see how you feel. For me, the clarity and energy (sans the jitters!) made the swap so worth it.
Matcha has a ton of other health benefits. It's anti-inflammatory, can help lower blood pressure (good if you're constantly stressed!), and has some anti-cancer properties.
I also sip on Nettle tea and Tulsi tea during the day, which helps me with my desire to drink Interesting Beverages — without the caffeine crash in the afternoon. These two herbs make great stress-relieving teas and also support critical functions in your body. I use Nettle to help manage inflammation and Tulsi for stress relief, and they work wonders for me.
If you're unsure where to start, pick up some Tulsi (Holy Basil) tea bags at the grocery store and brew with a little bit of honey. This isn't medical advice (just my experience!) so be sure to check with your doctor before trying out any new teas.
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