6 effective ways you can avoid burnout as a business owner

In today’s “always-on” culture, business owners can often suffer from exhaustion and stress as a result of the day-to-day responsibilities of running a successful firm.

Between meeting your clients’ needs at the highest levels and keeping up with everything needed to run your business, you may well have suffered from burnout from time to time.

A survey by Indeed highlights just how common burnout can be for people at work. In fact, their 2021 survey revealed that 52% of respondents reported experiencing burnout that year.

So, keep reading to find out six ways you can avoid suffering burnout as a business owner.

1. Set office hours and stick to them

Many business owners believe they need to be “on” 24 hours, seven days a week to succeed. They fear that doing less may make them seem less committed and worry that they could lose business.

However, if you set specific work hours, and stick to them, you’re actually likely to achieve more with your day. In fact, humans are known to work optimally when they follow a rest-run cycle. Essentially, this means giving it your all during work hours and then taking time off to spend with family and friends.

2. Make time for activities outside work

Doing nothing but work can often eat away at the creative part of your mind. This can eventually lead to burnout.

Although your business should be the focus of your attention between 9 and 5, or whatever your working hours are, do what you can to integrate fun external activities into the week. For instance, you could consider taking up a new hobby or spend more time with friends and family to truly relax and give your mind a break.

3. Care for yourself

While your business will no doubt be incredibly important to you, it’s not worth burning yourself out in the process of running it. Indeed, from a health and wellness standpoint, burnout can have a negative impact on the human body.

It’s important that you take better care of yourself by leaning into the principles of health. For example, you could try and improve your eating habits, aim for a minimum of seven hours of sleep a night, or do some exercises shortly before going to bed.

4. Establish the right priorities

As a business owner, you probably have a huge number of tasks on your to-do list. As a result, you can sometimes lose sight of what matters most.

To achieve what you want to, make sure you take time to figure out your true priorities and develop a roadmap to get you there. This will allow you to:

• Establish better habits
• Manage your energy and time more effectively
• Understand your priorities so you can achieve all you want to.

5. Delegate tasks

The beauty of running a business is that you can hire people who specialise in certain areas to look after aspects of the firm for you. With that in mind, don’t be afraid to delegate some tasks to other senior members of the team.

Doing so will allow you more time to focus on the things that are important to you and the business may well run more smoothly as a result.

6. Take breaks

It may sound obvious, but it’s important to take regular breaks, whether you run the business or you’re an employee. Doing so will allow you to continually recharge and reset.

For instance, you could take a brief walk to stretch your legs and get some fresh air. Alternatively, why not check in on other members of the team? This will help you feel more focused and energised and it could benefit them, too.

Get in touch

If you’re looking to sell your business and already have a lot on your plate, speak with experienced exit specialists. We will help you through the entire process, including determining the true valuation of your business. Email hello@melo.co.uk or call 0113 4656 111.