6 Ways to Avoid Small Business Owner Burnout

As a small business owner, you have to accomplish many tasks over the course of each day. Some days, it may feel as though you’re working nonstop! Not only that, but your small business is probably constantly on your mind, even after hours.

While it’s admirable to be so dedicated to your company, all that effort can quickly lead to burnout and feelings of frustration if you aren’t careful.

Follow these tips to help you avoid the type of burnout that is all too common for many small business owners.

1. Leave time for your personal life.

Keep in mind that your business doesn’t have to be top priority all the time. Make sure that your work/life balance doesn’t tip all the way toward the “work” side of the scale!

Whether it’s making time for a date night with your spouse or burning off steam by hitting the gym when the work day is over, fit in some time for yourself in your busy schedule.

2. Delegate. 

As your small business grows, so will the number of employees you get to work with every day. Those employees often have valuable contributions to offer to your business—including their ability to take tasks off your plate.

Learn what your employees are good at—and potentially what they’d like to be good at—and pass tasks to them that will free up some of your time. The better you get at delegating, the more you’ll decrease your odds of fast burnout.

3. Outsource.

There are many tasks that people within your business might not be able to take on as part of their regular job descriptions. In many cases, however, you can outsource those services to a company that’s dedicated to taking care of them.

Know your own hourly rate, then do your research. If it costs less for you to hire someone to do a task than it does to pay yourself for the time spent doing it, it’s well worth the expense.

Not only that, but research shows that one of the key spending habits that will lead to happiness is buying time: that is, paying someone to accomplish a task that then frees up more time in your schedule.

4. Look for challenges.

One of the biggest causes of burnout is simple boredom. Instead of trapping yourself in the cycle of doing the same thing every day, look for challenges that will engage your mind and help increase your motivation.

5. Turn down the “wrong kind” of work. 

Sometimes, clients will approach you who don’t really understand what your business does. Other times, you’ll get demanding clients who are going to end up being more of a headache than they’re worth—or who might end up costing your business money.

Know when to turn down jobs that don’t fit the needs of your business and your employees. In the long run, it will save everyone a lot of stress.

6. Declutter and organize your work space.

A disorganized work space increases stress and makes it harder for you to take care of your daily work responsibilities. Your organization system doesn’t have to make sense to anyone but you, but you do need to have one.

By organizing your work space, you’ll both make it easier for others to help you (since they’ll be able to walk in and find the things they need) and you’ll decrease the amount of time you spend fumbling for important paperwork or struggling through piles of debris in your office.

If you develop a habit of spending a few minutes tidying up at the end of each work day, you’ll get to come in to a fresh office every morning.

Avoiding burnout as a small business owner isn’t easy. Knowing that your company and your employees are properly insured, however, can help relieve many of your stress triggers. Contact us today to learn more about the types of insurance we can provide your business.

Dan Levenson

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