If you think of your business as your baby, you’re not alone. Especially if you love what you do. The problem with this mindset is we often struggle to get away from work and spend a lot of our ‘personal’ time working on our business too.
When we spend the majority of our time working, we are losing time for the other areas of our lives which could mean we aren’t spending enough time with our friends or family. It also means we could be ignoring what our body needs and not exercising, sleeping well, or eating well. All of these things can lead to business burnout.
Here are 13 warning signs that you’re heading for burn-out as listed by www.mindtools.com:
- Having a negative and critical attitude at work.
- Dreading going into work, and wanting to leave once you’re there.
- Having low energy, and little interest at work.
- Having trouble sleeping.
- Being absent from work a lot.
- Having feelings of emptiness.
- Experiencing physical complaints such as headaches, illness, or backache.
- Being irritated easily by team members or clients.
- Having thoughts that your work doesn’t have meaning or make a difference.
- Pulling away emotionally from your colleagues or clients.
- Feeling that your work and contribution go unrecognized.
- Blaming others for your mistakes.
- You’re thinking of quitting work, or changing roles.
Here a few ways to help avoid hitting the burn-out level in your business:
- Stay organised
Losing control of your day-to-day tasks can be a major source of stress so it’s important to stay on top of things. Take some time to organise your paperwork, computer files, desk, and office. After things are physically organised, look through your calendar and remove any unnecessary reminders and cancel any appointments you no longer need or want. I would also recommend you create a to-do list and stick to it daily.
- Schedule time for yourself
If you’re running around with a packed schedule all day, every day, there’s no chance you’ll be able to take time for yourself each day. The best way to ensure you’re getting that time for yourself is to schedule it into your day – literally. Block out an hour each day in your calendar and schedule it as “me time”. This hour should be non-negotiable and you can spend it doing whatever will make you feel good. You could call a maids https://www.swipenclean.com/ to help you out around a house.
Some examples are: exercising, getting your hair done, reading, meditating.
- Delegate
It takes a village to raise a child. The same thing can be said about a business! Delegate tasks you don’t enjoy and you’re not particularly good at so you’re able to maximise your time.
- Say no
Saying no can be difficult for business owners, especially if it’s turning down work however it is also crucial to say no to protect your own time and energy. If something doesn’t feel right or you simply don’t want to do it, you are well within your rights to turn down work opportunities.
Avoiding burn-out can take time and effort to begin with but if you stick to these points, you will reduce stress and start working at a new level of productivity.
If you would like to discuss delegating some tasks to us, please give us a call on (02) 4944 2000.