3 Types of Burnout Faced by Business Owners
Posted on 10th September 2021 at 13:37
3 Types of Burnout Faced by Business Owners - and How To Remedy Them!
Running your own business is an amazing experience. That’s why so many choose to do it! You make all the decisions and choose the direction you head in, and it can be incredibly fulfilling.
But when the chips are down and all the responsibility falls ultimately on your shoulders, things can get difficult. Burnout can make you feel depleted and exhausted, but it can also make you work inefficiently. You may spend all day spinning in your desk chair and not accomplishing much.
In short, you are not moving forward in your business when you have burnout. Read on to learn about the different types of burnout that can affect business owners. You will also find tips on how to climb out of that rut and get your wheels rolling again.
We’ll start with this one because it’s perhaps the simplest to solve!
Physical burnout arrives when you’ve been burning the candle at both ends for far too long and not really taking care of your health as well as you could. Late nights, irregular meals and stress can all wreak havoc on our bodies and, in turn, our ability to do our job optimally.
The remedies are simple: getting more sleep, square meals, exercise, and finding moments to get fresh air and sunlight. The actual implementation of these remedies is a lot harder.
Making a schedule and sticking to it (either by pure willpower or the help of an organised friend) is usually the best way of making sure you are taking care of yourself. Several apps now exist that allow you to set alarms to remind you to drink/eat/sleep/move around.
Think of yourself as a houseplant that will wilt without proper care – your business will thank you for it.
There’s only so long you can keep coming up with great ideas before you’ll eventually grind to a halt. When your well of inspiration runs dry, it can be a symptom of burnout.
If you are feeling low on inspiration, there’s little point in returning to the same sources of inspiration you’ve used before – those aren’t working for you now. You may have to look outside your typical realm to look for new ideas.
Consulting with experts, taking a seminar or reading up on new developments in your industry can all help in finding a way forward.
Sometimes taking a break can also be beneficial. If you don’t want to take your foot completely off the pedal, schedule a shorter break or limit your responsibilities for a couple of days to help clear your mind. A creative solution to a problem or new idea might suddenly appear!
You can’t maintain the same level of momentum forever. It takes a burst of energy to get a business off the ground (think of a plane taking off) but it can’t stay up in the air forever. Every now and then you must refuel.
Taking a real break means unplugging – literally. A genuine break from the pressures of your business can hopefully allow you to address your emotional imbalance and feel more energised when you go back to your business. However, there isn’t much point in taking a break if you are then going to head back into the same level of pressure and as you were in before.
We’ve gone through the different types of burnout that can affect business owners, so now it’s time to address how you can prevent it from occurring in the first place.
Burnout (of all kinds) can be a sign that you’re taking on more than any one person can handle. It can mean you’re being stretched too thin and sometimes the only way to handle this is to delegate some of your workload.
At ExecProVA, we’re always happy to have a no-obligations chat as to whether a virtual assistant could be for you. A VA works seamlessly alongside your existing team, bringing their expertise and skills to wherever you need them most. Our experienced team of VAs can help with business admin, organisation, sales, social media and more, taking some of the pressure off your shoulders.
If you would like to discuss whether a virtual assistant would be the right move for your business, please get in touch using the ‘Contact’ section of our website. A member of our team is always on hand to discuss your options!
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