In an astonishing statistic, 78% of new business owners reported experiencing some form of burnout. That figure grows to 86% of those with businesses older than two years. With these figures so high, it seems that stress and poor health go hand in hand with running a business. But surely this doesn’t need to be the case. There is a way to stave off burnout and remain balanced with your business — ensuring it runs successfully, while not sacrificing anything from your self or your personal life. So, how can you keep on top of your health while running a business to prevent burnout?
Punch Out on Time
Time management is one of the main reasons for burnout. Rather than having enough time between putting out work-related fires every day to decompress, many business owners are working every waking minute. The neglect of their personal and home lives results in added strain and the lack of an adequate break means tasks end up taking longer and are done less competently.
Time management is crucial to implement to keep that work-life balance. You should do things like plan your day every morning, allocate a cut-off time for finishing, record where your time goes and what you spend it doing (for example by using the Toggl platform), and make sure to delegate any work that can be done by others to lighten your load.
Fit in Proper Fitness
A healthy body results in a healthy mind, so late-night takeaways and skipped lunches will have a knock-on effect to the quality of your work. Ensure that you are getting the right amount of exercise and are eating nutritional meals so that your body can run at its peak performance. Not only does exercising release positive endorphins, but it helps reduce the stress hormone and allows you to think clearly.
Plus, knowing you must fit in proper exercise and regular meals allows you to work more effectively to deadlines during the day. Cutting work off to go to the gym means you must finish something beforehand, which might otherwise have trailed into the night.
Tidy Desk, Tidy Mind
While a tidy desk leads to a tidy mind, the desk is a manifestation of your business overall. If you feel like your business is being run in a messy, convoluted way, you are more likely to feel stressed when thinking about it. If you have systems in place — such as processes to follow, as well as filing, accounts, and marketing systems — then you are less likely to feel muddled and trapped when you conduct your business.
It’s also beneficial to give you peace of mind by knowing that you are covered on all fronts. Make sure someone is doing your accounts, so you won’t be surprised with hefty bills or missed tax deadlines. It’s also important to have adequate insurance so that should anything occur, you are prepared and won’t be financially affected. As the professional liability from Next Insurance outlines, you will be protected against civil lawsuits and negligence claims (which could be caused by a careless mistake if you suffer from burnout). This will also give you peace of mind. If a mistake leads to anything drastic, you won’t lose out.
Burnout is something that affects many business owners, and it’s never been more important to stay on top of your health. There are many measures to help with this. You can ensure your business is fully protected and has crossed all the t’s and dotted all the I’s, you can make sure you keep your body fit and healthy, and you can keep a work-life balance by monitoring how you spend your time. Your business can only run as well as you can.
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