Revitalize Your Entrepreneurial Journey: 3 Effective Ways to Beat Burnout

As entrepreneurs we always feel busy, our to-do list is never-ending but always growing and it can feel like we don't have time for anything.

But here's the issue with that mindset... It always leads you straight to burnout.

Burnout is the Anti-Christ to success and productivity. You can't just push through burnout, you have to actually deal with it.

Funnily enough, the tools that help you recover from burnout can also help prevent it. After years of finishing the year in a state of complete burnout (so bad that on my last meeting of 2020, I actually slurred my words and had to take two weeks off, not to enjoy the holidays but to recover so I would actually be effective come the new year).

Working in ways that prevent burnout is much more effective.

Now, there are things you can do as a business owner to cut down on how much you work such as hiring an assistant or restructuring your business. However, in this article, we are looking at lower-level solutions that are on a more personal level.

Here are 3 simple strategies you can implement to keep the burnout at bay and thrive in your entrepreneurial journey:

1. Setting manageable to-do lists

Creating an effective plan will help keep the burnout down. Simply, piling on everything you can think of into one day will just leave you feeling stressed and overwhelmed and you'll end up getting less done. Instead, try planning out your tasks per week.

Something I learned on Skillshare was how to create weekly task lists using daily themes. Each day of the week gets its own theme (for me I use, Monday is writing day, Tuesday is systems and research day, Wednesday is content day, Thursday is technical work day and Friday is my CEO day). From there, I fill in all of the tasks I need to get done for the week into those categories. Sometimes something will need to happen earlier on a day that it doesn't quite fit the theme but at least I have put tasks across the week.

When you see smaller to-do lists, they feel more manageable and you can actually get more done than if you load up your list with everything on the same day. I.e., If you put 10 big items on your list you might feel so overwhelmed that you only end up getting 3 done but if you only put 5 big items on the list and you feel lighter, maybe you get all 5 done.

2. Set aside dedicated time for self-care and relaxation that is non-negotiable

I know, I know... You've probably heard the self-care tip so many times and you just think "I have so much to do I just don't have time." But seriously make time... Otherwise, your brain and body will force you to make time.

If you keep up a regular self-care routine you'll end up being more effective, efficient and productive in the long run. Doing regular self-care and relaxation will give you the stamina to go for the long run. It takes much longer to recover from burnout once you've gone too far.

If you are someone who struggles with making this time actually add it to your calendar, your planner or even your to-do list. I have mine built right into my day. I know I am someone who experiences stress more easily and intensely than most so I add the time to my calendar and in my planner I have a self-care section where I write what I am going to do for self-care. Even if I don't stick exactly to the plan simply having the plan means I am more likely to do it. So, do it!

3. Get grounded and focused

Incorporate grounding and focusing practices into your self-care practice or as a spot treatment Using holistic practices that support the focusing of your mind, body and soul is the more effective form and shown to be incredibly beneficial.

You can use common grounding practices such as walking barefoot in the grass, standing in the ocean or touching trees and other plants. Meditation and other techniques such as NEE, EFT and hypnosis are also great for in the moment (and as a regular practice).

If you start to feel things building up, take 5 minutes to stand up, leave your current environment and ground/focus yourself again. Even giving yourself 5 minutes can be incredibly restorative. But, keep in mind, there was a reason you started to have it creep up on you. Don't just do 5 minutes of grounding and then go back to working in exactly the same way as you were. Reevaluate how you can work better, where can you make improvements in your pace or style, etc.

Preventing burnout is incredibly important for entrepreneurs, especially if you're a solopreneur doing it alone. It's far too easy to take on too much and put immense amounts of pressure on yourself to get it all done as quickly as possible.

Once I experienced burnout - unfortunately, more than once - I slowly began to learn to not overpromise and under-deliver. I started to give my clients more appropriate deadlines and if I was able to finish faster and surprise them then that was preferable. And if someone says no to my deadline and goes with someone else then I have learned to be okay with that because my focus is on both producing a high-quality deliverable for my clients while also maintaining my peace and keeping my stress levels down.

You can do both!