By Susan Guillory
It happens to the best of us: one day we’re eagerly checking work email before dawn, happy to labor in this business we created. The next, it’s all we can do to get to noon without escaping into a Facebook black hole.
What gives?
Entrepreneurs get burned out. It’s completely normal. After all, you’ve dedicated years of your time, energy, and emotions to building this business. It’s understandable that you’d feel frustrated and tired as a result.
I’ve been running my marketing firm over 10 years, and let me tell you: I’ve suffered plenty of burnout. But rather than letting that take me away from the business I built, I use the following tactics to get back on track.
1. Step Away from Your Business
Have you ever gone on vacation with a loved one and gotten to the point where you couldn’t. Stand. To. Be around. Them. Another. Minute? It’s the same with your business. The more time you spend with it, the more time you need away from it to counterbalance.
Look, I’d love to tell you to take a 3-week vacation to have some space from your company, but maybe that’s not possible for you right now. That’s okay, because even taking an afternoon or long weekend to do something other than work on your business can help.
This is imperative! You need to shut off your phone and not check your email in order for the rejuvenation to work. Try to unplug from worrying about what’s happening in your absence. I promise your business will survive without you for the day.
2. Outsource What Stresses You
You may be burned out because a certain task is wearing on you. Maybe you’ve been trying to write content for your blog, and it’s like pulling teeth, you hate it so much. This is an easy fix, actually: hire someone to take over that task you despise. It will be a small investment, but consider it an investment into regaining your sanity and freeing you up to work on the areas of your business you enjoy.
3. Get Out of the Home Office
If you work from home like I do, it can be pretty isolating. You might not talk to another human all day. This is your opportunity for you to pack up your laptop and head to your nearest coffee shop to set up a temporary office.
Doing so gets you out of the familiar environment of your home office, and change is good. And who knows? You might meet other work-at-homers that will expand your business network.
If you do work from a coffee shop, consider if you’ll be productive in that sort of an environment. Because I write content all day and need utter silence, this isn’t always conducive for me to work well, so I save coffee shops for days I have administrative work.
Above all, be gentle to yourself. This bout of burnout will pass if you acknowledge it and take care of yourself as you experience it. Get plenty of sleep. Exercise. Eat well. Treating your body right will in turn help your mind get back on course.
