Burnt Out? Here’s How to Regain Your Inspiration

Small business ownership is work – and hard work at that. You’ll spend days, weeks and months with your nose to the grindstone and sometimes you’ll have very little to show for it. It’s no wonder that so many entrepreneurs find themselves totally burnt out within a few years of starting up.

How do you know if you’re experiencing burnout?

• Feeling like every day you have to complete work is a bad day.
• Feeling tired and physically exhausted.
• Feeling overwhelmed by everything that is on your plate.
• Feeling no joy in work – or anywhere else in your life.

You can also be quicker to criticize others, see an increase or decrease in weight and even have panic attacks. On top of that, it could be costing your small business revenue. Fatigue has an estimated cost of $136 billion per year in the U.S. – all due to lost productivity from overwork.

When you are running on empty, you are in a constant state of stress. You’re making poorer food choices, avoiding exercise and probably getting dehydrated. It may seem like the only option is to shut your doors and give up on your dream. But burnout isn’t a sign that you should give up, just a sign that you need to give yourself some time to recover.

It’s only going to get worse until you take steps to make it better. And here’s how to care for yourself so you can regain your inspiration.

Invest some quality time in you.

As you grow your small business it’s easy to put clients, employees and the next deadline in front of your physical and emotional health. You become the last priority on your list – but this has to change! Take a real vacation but don’t go anywhere – just spend time focusing on you. Get a massage – or two. Not only will this help you feel better but it will relax your frazzled nervous system and help you recover from the outside end. Catch up on sleep, eat healthy foods and spend some time laughing with friends and family. Do your favorite things that make you feel better and you’ll start losing that constant feeling of stress and anxiety.

Reassess your goals.

Sometimes burnout results from a combination of working too hard and working on the wrong things. If your day to day tasks aren’t connected to an inspiring goal you’re going to approach them with dread. Take a step back and look at your life holistically. Maybe you’re trying too hard to launch a new product, enter a new market and remodel your home at the same time. Have an honest conversation with yourself and understand that when you choose to do one thing, you’re forgoing something else. This will help you reassess your goals and find out what’s most important to you so you can feel more satisfied about work.

Know the signs of early burnout.

As you dive back into work after self-care and re-evaluation, learn to see burnout when it’s on the horizon. An afternoon off here or there when you’re initially starting to feel stressed will prevent the problem from growing any bigger. Keep up a weekly self care routine so you don’t put yourself last. And consider finding a burnout accountability buddy – other small business owners are struggling with the same problems of finding the right balance. Band together to stay accountable on self care and goal readjustment so you can stay out of the burnout zone.

Have you ever experienced small business burnout? How did you get out of the funk?

About the author:

Mike Savory – Customer advocate and automation engineer
I operate at the intersection between technology and ease of use. I strive to make our customers’ lives easier through elegantly automating manual processes. Much of my time is spent listening to small business owners, making sure to bring their voice to the table in everything I do. My free time is spent with my kids, which includes being a Cub Scout leader for an energetic group of 10-year-olds where I’m lobbying for a Software Product Management badge.

Drop me a line at michael.savory@sage.com.

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