Being an entrepreneur can be quite stressful! Sure, it’s fun and exciting to be firmly in control of your business and your success, but there’s a lot of responsibility that you’ve taken on your shoulders. Plus, you’ve got to be responsible for keeping yourself on task – there’s no more boss, other than yourself, telling you what to do.
You might see where we’re going here. If there’s one thing that robs an entrepreneur of the potential for success, it’s burnout. Every person, no matter how industrious and ambitious, reaches a point where they simply can’t do nor take anymore.
RELATED: 11 ESSENTIAL TRAITS OF AN ENTREPRENEUR
As an entrepreneur invested in your own success, you’ve got to do everything within your power to avoid reaching that point. Once you burn out, all bets are off! So, to help you avoid burnout, here are some helpful tips.
Think Long Term
You’re eating, drinking and sleeping your business day in and day out. For that reason, you may start to lose sight of the fact that there are long-term goals that you’re aspiring toward. Do what you need to do in order to remind yourself of where things are going. If you’re a person that likes to write, consider writing about your goals on a daily basis. If not, why not keep something on your desk that reminds you of what it’s all for.
Keep the Pressure Down
The most ambitious among us are the most likely to flame out early. That’s because they simply expect way too much from themselves. When setting goals, expectations and deadlines, be sure to keep things realistic. If you’re constantly trying to push yourself harder and harder, you’re going to reach a breaking point eventually. That might be great for a workout, but it’s not great for a business.
Don’t Go It Alone
Starting out, you may be spending a lot of days and nights by yourself trying to get your business going. That’s great for keeping overhead down, but it’s not great for your sanity. At the very least, try to involve someone else in the process, even if only as a sounding board. Better yet, though, try to surround yourself with likeminded people as soon as possible.
RELATED: 4 AWESOME PRODUCTIVITY TECHNIQUES FOR ENTREPRENEURS
Have Fun
You know the famous typewritten line from The Shining, right? “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy…” If you’re not trying to have fun here and there, you’re going to drive yourself nuts! Even if your idea of having fun is watching videos of cats on the Internet, make sure your setting aside some time every day to enjoy that fun. Otherwise, life is going to seem awfully bad awfully quick.
Seriously, Take a Break
In the end, there’s only one thing you can do to truly avoid burnout. You’ve got to identify it when it’s happening. When you feel that your sanity is beginning to creep over the edge, it’s time to take a break. It doesn’t matter how much you’ve got on your plate or how many emails you have in your inbox – you’ve got to unplug! Know your limits, take a break when you’re getting close to them, and you’ll be alright.
