Avoiding the Entrepreneurship Burnout
When people talk about entrepreneurship, they tend to focus on the glamorous aspects of the job – being your own boss, setting your own hours, seeing your business truly take off.
And yes, these are the fun and exciting parts of being an entrepreneur. But often what gets forgotten is everything else that comes with being your own boss: the stress, the responsibilities, the great unknown…
These can all lead to Burnout with a capital B.
Don’t Get Steamrolled by Stress
Burnout is a reality many of us will face at some point in our careers. Toss in a pandemic for good measure, and even the calmest and most balanced of people will be tested to their limits.
Given the vast responsibilities of entrepreneurs, many of us don’t even realize burnout is coming until it completely steamrolls us.
The good news is there are ways to have your cake and eat it too (without being sidelined with a stomachache). Here are a few ways to stay on top of your mental health while still achieving your business goals.
- Ask for help – This goes for both your personal and professional life. You simply cannot do it all, and one of the best ways to maintain balance and sanity is to outsource some of those tasks to someone else who can do them just as well as you.
Maybe this means hiring additional staff, automating time-consuming processes (yes, help from technology counts too!), or simply eliminating some of those tasks altogether. Knowing your limits – and stopping yourself before crossing that line – is key to managing stress and minimizing burnout.
- Embrace flexibility – As an entrepreneur, you’ve been successful because you’ve set goals and achieved them. But how you define those fixed metrics of success may need to be modified in order to alleviate some personal pressure.
- Pursue outlets outside of work – Find a new hobby, take a vacation, commit to more family time, and exercise. You are more than your job, and maintaining an active life outside of work enables you to recharge and give more when you do go back to the office.
- Remember your “why” – You started your business for a reason. It can be easy to forget that when pressures mount and responsibilities intensify. Frequently step back and reflect on why you pursued this passion in the first place – you know it was not simply to just get rich.
Entrepreneurship burnout is a very real thing, but one you can keep at bay, especially when you strive for balance in your life and ask for help when you need it.
