Avoiding Burnout on your Startup

from Dr.Mommy.com 23 May 13 enhanced by Peter/CXO Wiz4biz

Need for Speed? Have you ever felt like a hamster running full speed on a wheel, getting nowhere fast? Agitation & frustration are the two common warning signs that you might be on the verge of overload. It’s easy to get caught up in the frenzy of working hard to build your business, while managing the other priorities in life. How often are you left feeling like you are caught between a rock & a hard place? Sometimes you just need to pause long enough to find the break-through before you experience a Burnout or Meltdown.

Are You Listening? When life is going full speed ahead, and you are not taking time for yourself, you will drown out your inner voice that is designed to keep you on course. Think of it as your internal compass. When your life is filled with too much noise & energy from outside sources driving & draining you, you will begin to make bad choices and take wrong turns. Overextending yourself makes it very difficult for your compass to find true north.

Finding Balance. So what’s the solution for the entre- or solo-preneur, who is responsible for taking care of most every detail on there own? — The discipline of limits & healthy boundaries. I realize that this is easier said than done most of the time. It’s something I struggle with on a regular basis. But I have a few tips to offer, that will help you transition into a more productive work-style:

1. Don’t try to Control everything – It’s important to pick your battles in life, and your priorities in business. You can’t control everything, but you can control how much time & attention you allocate to different areas of your life. Trying to control things that are not under your influence, is about as successful as trying to drive a square peg into a round hole. So don’t waste your time. When you focus your time & effort on the things over which you have direct control, you’ll find you have little mental space to be distracted by the “noise” around you.

2. Carve out “ME” time every day. If you’ve read many of my posts, I may begin to sound like a broken record on this point. I only do so because it is essential to your success. Whether you choose a break of fun, relaxation or doing something you enjoy for 15 minutes a day, or an hour or two, make sure you schedule it, so you actually keep your appointment with yourself. You will be amazed at how a little “Me Time” can provide you with a fresh mindset to tackle even the most arduous tasks. Your work hours should never be about quantity, but should be organized to produce high quality.

3. Maintain a Check$ & Balance system [Whoops. Wrong kind of check] When you focus considerable amounts of time & energy on pursuits that take you away from your core purpose, you will experience internal discord. You must regularly ask yourself: “Am I are following my own path, or trying to walk someone else’s”? The latter will not help you achieve lasting resonance or peace. Finding that time to just listen to your inner voice will enable you to know when you are veering off course, before you need a major crisis to get the point.

4. Be willing to “let go” !!! Sometimes this will feel like the hardest thing you have to do, but it is the most important. Having a plan to follow is great, but sometimes even your best plans just don’t work out. You’ve got to be willing to “just let go” and re-evaluate your course. The moment you do, the weight that was dragging you down, will be lifted from your shoulders, and you will have renewed energy to find a new and better direction. Is there an area of your life where you feel stuck or overwhelmed and perhaps need to release your grip of control to find peace and freedom? When you feel restless, it’s often because there is something important you need to pay attention to. It may be something to walk away from, or something to walk toward. The key is learning to pay attention to the moments that will guide you in the right direction, so you don’t find yourself back on that hamster wheel, getting nowhere.

Comments: Do you have a strategy for avoiding business burnout? .