Burnout: The Biggest Fear of the Modern-day Entrepreneur

burnout

It’s a term that wasn’t necessarily around a few years ago, but regardless of the industry that you operate in burnout is real. It happens to sports stars and as the title of today’s post might have already suggested, entrepreneurs are not immune from it either.

Of course, when it comes to entrepreneurs the repercussions can be slightly more concerning. After all, this is their business, and if they suddenly stop working on it their livelihood (and perhaps that of others) is at stake.

Bearing this in mind, today’s guide will take a look at some of the steps that you can take to protect yourself from burnout, and protect your business in the process.

The art of delegation

If you were to attend an online MBA course, this would be something that you would find out pretty quickly. In short, delegation is absolutely crucial for business leaders. The ability to shift tasks to another person who is equipped for the role is something that shouldn’t be underestimated. Those of you who can do it will find that you have much more free time available to spend on even more important tasks, while those of you who struggle will notice that your workload starts to pile up.

Suffice to say, when this increase in workload occurs, burnout is a real possibility.

The ‘n’ word

Some might frown upon this suggestion, but if you are serious about avoiding burnout you really need to learn to say ‘no’. This might be to your colleagues, or it might be to prospective customers. The latter might sound ridiculous, but if you continue to accept work there will come a time where burnout kicks in.

If you really can’t get your head around the no-factor, at least grow your team so it can cover the extra work. Taking everything on yourself is the worst thing you can do.

Have set hours

One of the big reasons why a lot of people take the plunge and start their own business is because of flexibility. However, as soon as they are able to set their own hours, they don’t actually end up doing so.

Instead, they work every hour. Again, this is a recipe for burnout and while you might think that you are doing your business no-end of favours, you’ll be doing it more harm than good when it comes to the crunch.

Simply get your house in order

It might sound like a ridiculously simple piece of advice, but merely getting organized can help you immensely. If everything is all over the place, and you have unfinished tasks here, there and everywhere, it can wreak havoc with your stress levels. Ultimately, the more stressed you are, the more likely you are to become burnt out.

Bearing this in mind, stay on top of everything. This doesn’t include your regular, day-to-day activities, but also basic business administration which tends to become forgotten about once you take the leap and start your own organization.