How To Prevent Burnout As A Business Owner

The key is to avoiding burnout is to rest enough to prevent it happening, rather than working tirelessly and then needing an extensive break to recover. New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern’s, resignation last month is a prime example of knowing when it’s time to stop. We’re not saying you should quit your job, but knowing when you can no longer do it as effectively is important.

So how do you prevent burnout before it actually happens? We’ve put together a list of the top tips we have for business owners.

Take regular breaks

When you have lots to do, you may want to get it all done as quickly as possible. But not taking regular breaks will mean you lose motivation and can’t concentrate as well. Taking regular breaks away from your desk will make you work more efficiently, and there for help you to complete work faster.

Set yourself realistic to-do lists

As a business owner, your to-do list never gets smaller. If you’re not working for clients, you’re thinking of ways to grow your business or make it run more efficiently. But a sure way to burn out is setting yourself unrealistic to-do lists and then feeling disheartened when you don’t get it everything completed. Consider how long these tasks will actually take you before writing your list.

Exercise

Yes, that old chestnut. But ultimately exercise releases a lot of feel-good hormones and will temporarily take your mind off your work, giving you a great rest. After a good workout session, you’ll feel refreshed and ready to tackle your tasks.

Make friends you can speak to about business owner burnout

Having a support network is very important. Why not find some friends or colleagues that you can speak to about this topic and gather their perspective? They may be able to offer your tips and strategies as to how they manage their time. These could be other friends who own their own business, or people who are part of a networking group.

Consider how often you’re making mistakes

We don’t mean when you’re trying something new in your business and it doesn’t work out. But how often are you making mistakes with your admin / day-to-day work? Do clients or suppliers have to chase you up? Do you make grammatical errors in emails? These can be signs of burnout. If you find yourself making minor mistakes on a regular basis, it could be time to take a break.

Ignore the hustle culture

Remember that there’s more to life than just your business. And enjoying these other aspects of life will help you look forward to and better enjoy your work when you go to work on your business.

Master your strengths, outsource your weaknesses

As a business owner you can do anything, but you can’t do everything. Whatever it is you most enjoy or are really good at, focus on that. Anything you struggle with, try to outsource to an individual or organisation whose skills are better suited to getting it done more effectively. At Everything Answered we offer a wide range of business support, admin and customer support services for businesses, to help our clients prevent burnout. Click here to find out more