Many people don’t realize that self-employment usually means working significantly more hours, not less. While an employee can clock out at the end of the day, a business owner must constantly attend to every little detail. This can quickly lead to burnout. Below are 10 tips provided by current business owners on the best way to avoid this scenario.
1) Get up early to exercise
Even if it’s just a 15-minute walk, it helps to clear your mind and get you energized for the day ahead.
2) Take time for small breaks and big breaks
Perhaps you can relate to sitting at your desk in your home office unable to produce another thing. Stepping away to get a glass of water, take a short walk, or call a friend can work wonders for your motivation. When this no longer works, it’s time to at least take a three-day weekend.
3) Engage with others during the day
Working alone at home can be both wonderful and isolating. Be sure to schedule a few breaks into your day to check in on networking or customer groups or even spend five minutes on social media. However, avoid anything that could make you feel even more stressed.
4) Unplug from everything at least a few times a year
There’s no sense spending money on a vacation if you’re constantly going to check email or complete work from your laptop. We recommend taking at least a mini-vacation every several months where you completely unplug from all distractions.
5) Create new goals for yourself
Self-employment can become routine like any other job. To keep yourself motivated, keep setting new goals and post them in a place that’s easy for you to see during the day.
6) Get out of your routine
When you feel like you’re doing the same thing over and over, it’s time to reach out to someone in your business network to see if he or she could use your help. The two of you could even swap projects to change things up a bit.
7) Don’t be afraid to seek help
It’s impossible to do it all. You must be willing to outsource some tasks and focus most of your attention on your strengths while allowing employees and contractors to focus on theirs.
8) Schedule time for yourself
You keep a calendar for everything else, so consider penciling in time to do something you enjoy away from work. Writing it down is important because you’re unlikely to follow through otherwise.
9) Evaluate what’s next
Burnout can come from boredom as much as from overwork. We recommend evaluating the products or services your business offers at least once a year and adding new ones or deleting what no longer fulfills you.
10) Give yourself permission not to drive so hard
Your driven nature is what lead you to start a business in the first place. Unfortunately, working all the time can ruin your health which can eventually ruin your business. Work hard to accomplish your goals each month, but also give yourself permission to have a few days where you don’t drive yourself quite so hard.
Whatever your business launch needs are, we’re here to help. Lowcountry Business Advisors in Greater Charleston, SC strives to use our experience and passion to help those who are starting a business achieve their goals. Let’s meet for coffee and see how we can work together.
