Avoiding Burnout as an Entrepreneur

There’s a story my dad loves to tell about this time our family went on a hike when I was four or five. I don’t remember where the trail was, but it was a relatively easy one, only 1-2 miles and not overly steep. Regardless, my little 5-year-old legs got tired halfway to the end and I made my dad carry me the rest of the way, and back to the car; this earned me the nickname “lazy hiker” for the entirety of my childhood (and sometimes still now).

Now, let’s be honest, I never stood a chance. The number of five-year-olds that can walk 1-2 miles without needing a piggyback has got to be in the single digits. That amount of work was simply unrealistic – I was bound to burn out and need a long break. And since we’re being honest, we entrepreneurs do the same thing to ourselves all the time, piling on the hours of work until we’re exhausted and on the verge of a breakdown.

Obviously, your therapist wouldn’t recommend continuing that pattern, and we can all admit the burnout cycle is unhealthy and impractical. But what’s a girl (or guy) to do? The work has to get done somehow and you’re the one responsible. It’s all good and well to suggest taking breaks, but sometimes it feels like that will never be an option.

Right now we’re a little over halfway into the year, looking at our goals and planning our strategies to accomplish everything we want by the end of December.

This means there’s no better time to talk about burnout prevention for small business owners! Here are my five humble suggestions:

1. Get good sleep → This might seem small, but being well rested can make a world of difference. Establish a bedtime routine, use the white noise machine, or whatever helps you stop overthinking and start dreaming.
   
2. Set boundaries and keep them → Work is important, it’s your livelihood, but it shouldn’t be your whole life. It’s important to set aside time specifically for not working, and stick to that.
   
3. Build your community → You’ll need people to rely on in your personal life. Those 30-minute coffee chats with friends can be a breath of fresh air, but it’s even better to build a support system that can be with you for things like grocery shopping, coworking, play dates with your kids, etc. Those social interactions can be life-saving support.
   
4. Create realistic goals → A great way to prevent burnout is to understand your limits and expect a reasonable amount of work from yourself. Not every goal is achievable within a one-year time frame, especially if you’re working solo. Map out all of the steps to better plan for how long your goals should take you.
   
5. Know when to ask for help → If your business is growing, but so is the workload, your current processes may not be sustainable. Be honest with yourself about when it might be time to invest in new tech, systems, or an employee.

At the end of the day, you pour so much of yourself into your work because you care. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have become an entrepreneur and built a business. This means you’ve got to take care of yourself enough to avoid burnout and keep caring for your brain.

(source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/pernellquilon/quinta-brunson-abbott-elementary-appreciation)

If you find yourself drowning in work as your business grows and unsure of how you’ll keep managing the struggle of success without burning out, it might be time to update your operations systems to better support you. Check out our business audit to learn what your business needs and how you can build well for future (and sustainable) growth.