Studies show that changes in our working conditions are overwhelming our traditional coping mechanisms. Psychological demands are growing as we increase productivity and work longer hours. The need to gather and apply greater amounts of information is also putting on the pressure.

"The two biggest contributors to our chronic stress are time and technology," says Leslie Charles, author of Why Is Everyone So Cranky? The Ten Trends Complicating Our Lives and What We Can Do About Them (Hyperion, 2001). "Our pace of life is continually accelerating, and we keep trying to catch up by moving faster. To further complicate the picture, cell phones, pagers and high-tech devices allow us to be interrupted anywhere, anytime. This constant accessibility fragments what little time we do have."

Dan Stamp, chairman of the worldwide training company Priority Management, agrees. "Technology has accelerated the pace of work, contributed to long working hours and generated high levels of stress," he says. "The result is tech stress."

But we can't blame technology for all of our stressful woes.

"Blurring social boundaries have also complicated our lives," Charles says. "The lines between our professional and personal lives have nearly disappeared. In our culture, chronic busyness is equated with success. But chronic busyness brings an overburden of anxiety. In our chronically busy world, we simply need to stop and get a grip."

Our minds and bodies are like machines -- they can't work in turbo mode all the time. If your days are all about deadline pressures, office hours and cell phones, it's time to decompress. For some entrepreneurs, nothing but an exotic vacation truly reduces stress levels. For others, a 15-minute break three times a day does the trick. Find a playful activity that brings you joy and takes you away from work. Then, as they say, just do it. Your life will improve. So will your business.