Tips to Avoid Burnout in your Startup

On Friday I met someone who said their Doctor had diagnosed them as suffering from Burnout. In September this person had an extended bout of ‘flu and somehow just never regained their energy since then. Burnout is one of the dangers one may face when starting up any new business. Here are a few things you can do that would help avoid this problem. If one doesn’t take this seriously it could affect your income drastically later on should it develop into something like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

1. Schedule regular social activities

It doesn’t have to be something hectic like river rafting on the Orange River. A monthly breakfast at a coffee shop with people you don’t see every day would do the trick. The main objective being to pull yourself out of a rut.

2. Keep up a fitness plan

The best way to deal with stress and avoid burnout. This is an excellent New Year’s Resolution. The best way I find to force myself into the discipline is to enter a Race for 3 months time that is a bit of a “stretch” for me (like a 21km). Then work my training around getting fit for that. If that is too much for you, work on a strenuous walk in daily.

3. Get involved with a hobby

Best to have this in a completely different field from what you do daily. For me this is painting: It uses completely different skills sets to what I use daily, and makes me feel completely relaxed a few hours into it.

4. Volunteer

If you’re feeling run down or “low” the best way to get out of it is to get involved with a local community project like an orphanage, a soup kitchen or something like that. At one stage I got involved knitting teddy bears for a project for a few local orphanages. It was very fulfilling (although some of my friends still cannot believe I can actually knit!)

5. Write out your Goals

Take a bit of time out to put things into perspective and work out what your plans, goals, dreams are for the next year.

6. Ask for help

Not easy to do, but sometimes it’s better to ask for help to get back on track. Other people sometimes can see the wood for the trees and help us to focus on what matters.

7. Watch a comedy

There is a good reason for the saying “laughter is the best medicine”. It really works to lift one’s senses.

8. Start the day with a morning ritual

Slow your life down. Instead of waking up and rushing out the door, set your alarm a few minutes earlier than usual and spend the “extra” time sitting in a sunny spot in your living room or garden with a cup of coffee and some quiet time just with yourself and the birds.

10. Stop making excuses

Face the problems that plague you “head on”. Each problem has a solution within it. Do what works. 

Avoiding burnout is something one needs to be vigilant over. There are probably plenty more things one can do, if you have any ideas, add them in the comments below..

It's like running a Marathon..

Running is one of my favourite forms of exercise. I've never been very fast, the fastest I managed 10km was under 50 minutes..nothing like the race times of the winners! But I enjoy it "because I can". Operating a small business is like running a marathon (half marathon for me, not sure I could go that far). It's not a sprint, you want your business to go the distance, not collapse after the first 100m dash!

Success takes Training: You have to exercise or work at it every day, and your once a week "rest" day is part of that training. When I'm training for a half marathon, I adjust the way I think, and I work on my stamina, and adjust every part of my life to achieve the goal. Which includes waking early, putting in the training (sometimes twice a day since this builds stamina for long distances quicker), training on longer and shorter routes, in all temperatures, practising on shorter races, making sure I have the right equipment (shoes, gear), eating and hydrating correctly. 21km is actually not very far in relation to the kind of Ultramarathons many South Africans run (Comrades, Two Oceans) but for me it is quite enough.

Race Day Conditions are not always ideal: The race is on, regardless of Race Day conditions! There are few things in life you can control. But you can control your preparation, your choices, and your attitude.

Overnight Success is Unrealistic: It can take 10 weeks to train for a Marathon. Things don't always go the way you think they will. Sometimes an injury or illness requires a new strategy or approach to achieve the goal. In the same way sales goals sometimes need a new approach. Sales goals seem more manageable when broken down into weekly goals.

The seemingly impossible can be achieved:  The Comrades Marathon is one example of that in running. In the same way, if you have a vision and a plan to support a new product or service you can do something you never thought was possible!