Every person on the planet is prone to experience fatigue. As an entrepreneur, you are no exception. Some might say that running your own business would make you your own boss and that it would give you more freedom to do what you want, when you want to do it.
This of course is a myth. Running your own business does not mean that you have lesser things to do or a shorter to-do list than you had when you were employed. When you think about it, entrepreneurs get stressed out from the moment they start planning the business until the time that they are exiting it.
Entrepreneurship isn’t as cut and dry as many employees like to think. Being in business is not an opportunity for you to rest on your laurels, it is not the chance for you to take long vacations. There is so much stress involved in running a business and business owners should have a solution to beat the stress before it beats them.
Tips on Beating Entrepreneurial Fatigue
- Hire an assistant. You could hire your daughter, your son, your niece, the next-door neighbor and even a virtual assistant to help you out with your tasks. Delegate your tasks accordingly. If you feel that you have reservations about their skills and talent, start off with basic tasks and then slowly build it up.
- Look to your family and friends for support.
- Join local communities of like-minded individuals so you could share experiences, ask questions, and get advice.
- Find your own happy place. It could be just by looking at old photographs, tending to the garden or even just watching your favorite movie once in a while. It would be counter-productive to work while you’re already on the brink of having a meltdown. You need a fresh mind, fresh eyes and a generally good well-being for your productivity to shoot up. Take a break, just for an hour or two to do what you love doing and what makes you less stressed-out. You’ll find that upon returning to work, you would have a new perspective on things.
As you can see, I haven’t listed the obvious like not drinking caffeine or taking vitamins. There are a lot of articles one can read about them. Instead, I have provided an avenue of solutions for every entrepreneur. After all, I’m no doctor, nor a health buff. I am just your average business owner who gets bogged down by stressful days and sleepless nights like all other entrepreneurs I know.
From one entrepreneur to another, these are my proven ways to rise above the challenges I encounter everyday. Feel free to share your suggestions and insights on the comments below.
Excellent advice, from my experience as well. Working solo definitely has its ups and downs and I have sought to balance my life by doing other things like singing and golf. I return refreshed and ready for the next challenge.
Simple to implement tips for the weary entrepreneur. You are right Amanda, it is in the small things that you do everyday that can make all the difference. Even hiring someone for 5 hours a week.
I have gone to our local colleges to get interns, who work for school credit and you don’t pay them, in the start up phase. That helps on the bottom line and gives invaluable experience to someone.
As the President of a CEO consulting firm, we think membership in a group like ours is the best tonic….I’d say that 2/3 of our members come because of the psychic relief of taking a few hours off to talk things over with their peers.
John Heinrich
President, The Solutions Forum
Find your own happy place. I love the topic of this article, however, for most entrepreneurs, this would come across as written for a much younger generation. I would like to see you expand on the topic and take it a little further than just the four points above.
Chris Draper
DemGen
I agree. It is important to find your own time. Starting a business is all consuming but if you don’t give yourself the time you need (or a break) from time to time you will burn out – which will hurt your business.
Hiring an assistant, delegating specific tasks or outsourcing certain programs or jobs will give you more time to focus on the long term prospects of your business. So many business owners gets stuck in the weeds. Whether we are hired for the long term or short term projects, having us on board allows clients to take a step back and really think about the future of their business.
Excellent point-
I think it’s important to note that what you need may very at different times. Before you implement any of the above strategies, you should quiet yourself and ask your heart: What is it that I really want right now?
At different times it could be: a nap, a walk along the river, a conversation with a friend, time to read, etc.
Paying attention to not just what “should be” refreshing but what your soul is telling you it actually wants right now is the quickest way to refreshment.
To your brilliance!
Elizabeth Saunders
http://www.ScheduleMakeover.com