Avoiding Burnout

As an entrepreneur there is a lot that you are responsible for: the business, the clients and the people. Often in the pursuit of the dream, the entrepreneur forgets the most important responsibility – THEMSELVES. In the hunt for success, they forget about the care and maintenance of - the entrepreneur. Those who achieve success read constantly, they learn as much as they can from many sources. Many read success stories of other entrepreneurs. The stories talk of the sacrifices, the challenges and the WIN. Many do not talk about such downers as burnout, except for an article read the other day in Pink Magazine titled: Beyond Burnout by Christina Boufis. Yes, it was about someone who’d made the sacrifices, worked the long hours and in the end had a thriving business. One thing this article had that the others did not was a discussion of how after all of the success the entrepreneur walked away – burned out. They talked about how the passion they had at the beginning gave way to dread and procrastination; some lost their creativity and some lost their drive.

Surprised? Not the ordinary article. Creativity and drive the indisputable factors that launched the business of one's passion. The thing that keeps them up at night, wakes them in the morning and moves them through each and every day. Once the creativity and drive are lost, the business suffers and the sacrifices made become meaningless. So how to avoid the lost of creativity, lost of drive – how to avoid burnout?

In a “normal” job where you work for someone else, you take vacation, mental health days or leave of absence. However, when you work for yourself, what do you do? Nights, weekends and holidays are the same as “normal” work days. The missed dinners, movies and playtime are all sacrifices that the entrepreneur makes with the goal of success. They are the masters of “to do list” and getting things done. On thing mentioned in the not so ordinary article was the creation of a “stop doing” list.

At first, seemed odd but think about it. In major companies, the high powered executive does not do certain tasks, they delegate to others. In that context the “stop doing” list makes sense, jot down those tasks that you should stop doing and reassign or cease all together. For example, if you spend hours working on personal and professional tasks, maybe you “stop doing” this task and hire a trusted accountant freeing yourself for downtime, playtime – time away from the “office”.

Another and problem the most important part of the “No Burnout Plan” is to make time for you, the entrepreneur to relieve stress. Exercise, meditation, spending time with family and friends, movies, music, whatever it is that you find fun and most of all RELAXING!

In an era of transparency it is only fair to to disclose My No Burnout Plan. So far it has three parts: competitive Ballroom/Latin dancing, downtime and asking for help.

I have integrated competitive Ballroom/Latin dancing into my life. It may not sound very relaxing – the competitive part – but it is great exercise and lots of fun. Dancing challenges me to let go and allow my partner to lead me through the steps, to trust someone beyond myself and to let go of control, at least temporarily, of every situation and decision.

It is not easy and sometimes I am not successful - just ask my partners - but in the end it is the best for me. With each new step and routine that I learn: I build strength both physically and mentally; I build confidence; and most of all I realize over and over again what I can achieve if I put my mind to it.

My downtime is when I disconnect from all electronic devices – I have quite a few. I sit on my couch where I read a fiction book, write a fiction short-short, watch mindless movies/shows, or SLEEP - which I always need. Being the driven person that I am, this doesn't usually last more than a two-three hours, typically occurring on a Sunday. What I find is that when I get back to work, things that used to perplex me, now make sense and my productivity returns.

The last part - asking for help, is a work in progress. I find it difficult to ask and even more difficult to accept. I look at as a challenge for me to overcome. Just as with dancing I have to learn to trust someone beyond myself.

Burnout is not a new concept, not even in small business. There are several articles, books and blogs on the subject. Some think it won't happen to them, if it can happen to those on top, why not you? What are you going to do today to avoid burnout? You are worth the time needed to create your “No Burnout Plan”, perhaps it is time to make it priority 1 on your to do list.