When you own a small business, it’s easy to feel as though the work never stops. There is always another email to answer, another project to work on, another order to ship–the list goes on and on. However, because you aren’t always clocking in and out and sometimes you aren’t even leaving your house to go to work, there can also be times when you feel like you’re not doing enough. It’s getting more and more difficult in general to draw the line between work and life, especially with the emerging prevalence of technology and remote work, but this can be especially challenging for small business owners.
So how do you draw that line and avoid burnout in your own life and business? Read on to find out more.
Stay organized.
Staying organized is the key to reaching a lot of goals with your business, but it is especially important here. Organization can look different depending on what your business provides and what your personal preferences are. Some folks are all right with just a weekly spread of events and important reminders, while others might need a daily to-do list to keep everything straight. Some might prefer the traditional agenda or planner, while others may like the convenience of having everything synced to their Google calendars.
Try experimenting with different organizational methods and techniques, and find which one works best for you. The main way to avoid feeling overwhelmed is to manage your time well and not let things get pushed up against deadlines, which organization can help with.
Track your goals.
Not everything can be guaranteed in a small business. You might try to grow your clientele within a certain timeframe, but the right customers might not walk through the door until next month, or the month after that. You might want to revamp your website or work space, but you might be limited by your budget.
It’s always good to look ahead and see what improvements you might be able to make, and it’s also important to set reasonable timelines for your goals, so that they don’t get pushed aside when you get busy. However, just because you might not hit a goal within your set timeframe doesn’t mean that goal is permanently unattainable. Keep track of your goals and your visions for your business, and make a note of which goals you might need to pursue once you have the financial freedom or resources to do so. You might find that one goal didn’t work out for now, but it will make it all the sweeter when you achieve it in six months.
Celebrate the small wins.
It’s tempting to want to wait for a specific moment to celebrate your business with friends and family, that moment where you can say, “I made it!” Hopefully that moment comes, whether it’s in the form of a grand opening or a special dinner where you can bask in the glow of your success.
However, sometimes there isn’t one specific moment but lots of small ones that pave the path to success with your business, and it’s important not to overlook these. Celebrate the small wins, like redesigning your website so that it’s more user-friendly, getting your first client, or finishing a class or conference about running your small business. It can be easy to get swept up in checking off tasks and moving on to the next things on your list, but that will only contribute to your feeling of burnout. Instead, take time to revel in whatever victories you scored in the past week, and treat yourself to a small reward to celebrate.
Get away.
This might seem counter-intuitive, especially when you feel the pressure of your to-do list mounting up. However, there is more to life than your business, and you probably have other passions and priorities outside of building your business.
Take an afternoon or evening and spend it doing something that doesn’t directly involve your business. Go out to ice cream with your family, go bowling with friends, go hiking with your dog, or just curl up by yourself with a good book or movie. Taking a break is good for your brain and your body, and it will help prevent you from being consumed totally by your business, which will only lead to burnout.
Keep the important things in mind.
You started your business for a reason, and it’s always important to keep those reasons in the forefront of your mind when you are confronted with burnout. Even after long days or unsuccessful events, if your “why” still means something to you, it’s a sign you should still consider moving forward with your business.
It’s also important to remember that building a small business can take a lot of time. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed or like a failure, especially if you follow other businesses on social media and see their successes. Remember that no business is going to post about their hardships online if they can help it, and your business may be at an entirely different point than the businesses you follow. Just because you might not be hitting the same milestones as another business owner doesn’t mean your victories are unimportant or that your business is less valid. Remember that you’re working at your own pace, and don’t feel pressured to get it all done at once.
Wreath Writing & Marketing Services 