How to FIND a balance between work and life to avoid burnout as a small business owner.
We do not need to know all of the statistics to figure out we on the road to mental burnout. Burnout is a state of exhaustion that manifests through prolonged, unmanaged stress to where you cannot properly function in your day-to-day life. Although common, burnout can leave you feeling negative or cynical towards your work and have a severe impact on your ability to run your business effectively.
Setting Work Hours (and sticking to them)
Setting work hours is the easy part. STICKING to the set work hours is the hard part. We all understand we cannot work non-stop. We have to create some sort of boundaries in order to allow for a healthy balance. So, set those hours, then turn the computer off and put the cell phone down. Do not feel guilty about setting work hours. Sometimes this is not practical but aiming for the goal of setting hours is practical. The important thing is here is to remain fluid and constantly assess where you are with these work hours and where you want to be with your goal. Practicality sets boundaries that create the framework to form new habits.
Prioritize
All of the boundry setting in the world will not help if we feel like accomplishing everything that needs to the least important tasks. Sort out and create processes and systems that help to manage. One example is creating lists for organization:
Do it Now - Urgent & Important
Decide When to do it - Important & Not Urgent
Delegate it - Urgent & Not Important
Delete it - Not Urgent & Not Important
Another approach would be to theme days, weeks, or months:
Monday - Self-promotion Day
Tuesday - Networking Day
Wednesday - Client-project Day, etc.
Whether you use sticky notes, software, and/or automation, the trick is prioritization. Prioritization helps us get organized, so we are not wasting time, but freeing up time to increase our own productivity. The choice we have when deciding our schedule, the more control we have over our own lives. The more you get in the habit of evaluation of projects and organizing tasks, the sooner you will get to a point to where you have choice over must-do. When you have choice, you are in better control over how and what you want to spend your extra time doing.
Delegate
As a small business owner, this section may be really difficult. Sometimes delegation may be a financial issue or delegating may just be a control issue. Fearing loss of control is hard, but on the flip side of that coin is burnout. Doing everything may feel like the only option but avoiding burnout by using delegation can help tremendously. Delegating tasks to employees, outsourcing some tasks to a trusted connection, or even using quality automation software can help accomplish not so important or not so urgent tasks, ultimately freeing up time. Automation and delegation can also assure higher accuracy. If employees are trained correctly and/or proficiency in using automation of tasks becomes efficient, these delegated acts can help with burnout and exhaustion. Delegation enables you to focus on your strengths and allows you to focus on things that you are most passionate about.
Are you giving yourself enough freedom and time to put all of your talents to use? Are you delegating those unpleasant, stressful tasks that are not your forte to others who excel at them? You can guarantee other business owners will understand your dilemma! If you are considering outsourcing minor tasks such as bookkeeping, payroll, account receivable, account payables, or even those hair-pulling taxes, Tax C.A.T.S. is here to help free up some of your time to focus on things you love in your business or so you can make a choice to do something different with your extra free time. Reach out for a free consultation!
Holly Conner
Enrolled Agent
Tax C.A.T.S.
Visit us at: www.thetaxcats.com