Working in and on a business that you love is an incredible gift. When your work lights you up inside, you can start your day excited to get to work. This excitement and love will inevitably reflect in the work you produce for your audience.
Unfortunately, when you love what you do, it can be difficult to draw those boundaries between your personal life and your business. If you’re not careful and don’t take the time to practice a little self-love and self-care, you can quickly spiral into burnout and overwhelm leaving you feeling uninspired or losing passion for your work.
Luckily there are steps you can take to keep this from happening. Implementing these six steps can help you avoid burnout and love yourself more so you can show up as your highest self for both your business and your loved ones every single day.
Take Breaks
To stay on top of the business game, sometimes the best action we can take to recalibrate is to just walk away. Give yourself a breather and think of other things besides business.
Set a special alarm to go off in mid-morning or early afternoon that tells you to stop what you are doing and focus on something you need. Use this 30 minute (or an hour) break to go for a walk, meditate, practice yoga, journal, or whatever you need to refresh yourself. When a break becomes a scheduled part of your day, it will become second-nature for you to take a step away from your business and rest your mind.
Get Organized
One of the easiest steps you can take to reduce burnout is to get organized. Because let’s face it, having an unorganized office, desk, drawer, folder, file or business model is a distraction if not downright stressful!
Whether it’s distracting you as you go about your workday or whether it’s keeping you up at night because you are losing track of documents or tasks, I encourage you to take the time to get everything organized so you can avoid the stress and overwhelm that comes with disorganization.
Acknowledge Weaknesses
There are going to be parts of your business that you don’t love. That’s the reality of running a business and it’s 100% okay. Whether you dislike social media, tech, design, or copywriting, you’re probably stressing and procrastinating when it comes time to complete these tasks. So why are you doing something that you don’t love?
Make sure the tasks you do in your business light you up and outsource the rest. If you aren’t waking up every day excited to get to work, you will quickly lose passion, lose inspiration, and start feeling burnout. So make sure you are getting to work on the areas of your business that you love!
Say No
It can be hard to say no when work comes in, but I encourage every entrepreneur out there to avoid taking on work they don’t want to do. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, your business should light you up every day. When you take on work that doesn’t align with your beliefs or bring joy to your life and your business, you are adding extra, unneeded stress into your mental space.
Start by creating an ideal client checklist that highlights what you are looking for in a client based on parameters that bring you the most joy. Measure all incoming work against this list before you commit to taking it on.
Set Boundaries
Working from home can make those work-life boundaries a little blurry, I get it. That’s why it’s important to set boundaries and keep to them. Setting specific hours for work time and sticking with them will be beneficial for your spiritual, mental, and physical well-being.
When you call it a day, stop working. Don’t answer your emails, don’t take client calls, don’t work “overtime.” Yes, there will be launch periods that need all hands on deck, but outside of this time, set a work schedule and stick with it.
Maintain Your Community
Maintaining connections and creating a sense of community in your business can work wonders for your morale during workdays. Humans crave community and connection, so it’s important not to skip or overlook this primal element.
If you work on a team, schedule call times with your coworkers. If you are a solopreneur, set up lunch dates with your friends and family. Instead of sending an email, hop on a phone call, Zoom, or Facetime. Discuss a project or just have a chat about a topic that’s come up during your workday. You’d be surprised how critical connection and simple communication can be for your mental health.
Avoiding Burnout
Many business owners don’t realize they are on the path to burnout until it’s too late. I encourage you to implement these steps into your daily routine so you can find harmony and balance in your business and avoid the burnout completely before it ever gets a chance to start.
If you are starting to feel irritable, anxious, have trouble concentrating, lack motivation, or have a loss of enjoyment – it might be time to step away, give yourself a breather, and prioritize your own well-being.
