Written by: Elena Manole, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Burnout can be inevitable if we don’t learn how to manage our time and set healthy boundaries around work and personal life. There is nothing worse as an entrepreneur to be held back by burnout just because the load of work is too much to handle. You never want to get yourself into a position where you need to recover from such a thing.
So what do we need to do in order to avoid this feeling of exhaustion on an emotional and mental level as well as the negative feeling against our work. The least that we want is not to be able to show up for our clients and be able to deliver a service that is up to our own standards.
Following are five things you need to be aware of so that you don’t fall into the trap of burnout.
1. Combination of personal /professional skills and efficiency.
The most important thing said one could have in terms of trying to avoid potential burnout relates to how thin or otherwise one chooses to spread themselves. To put this in another way we should all have some variety of personal and professional goals. Regardless of what those are for each, one should ask themselves two key questions. Does this fit or enhance my existing skill set in a way that enables me to maintain an efficient workflow promptly? Regardless of the potential benefits of the time invested, is it too far outside my skill set to gain effective results promptly? Burnout when working on a particular task with high time investment and little return is always possible.
The key with solving this conundrum is to simply delegate. Take inventory of what you can achieve and let go of things that you can’t manage on your own. There is nothing worse than spending time on tasks that would be done better by a contractor or a partner.
2. Begin each month with self-reflection and inventory of your time
Each month take a 1 hour time with yourself where you evaluate your “timesheet” for the month. In this hour you will be able to take inventory of your active projects, the time you want to dedicate to each and the potentiality of saying no to the projects that are not aligned with your vision.
Take into consideration that you only have 4 weeks in the month (most of the times) and each month you want to work x amount of hours.
Based on that assumption, take your projects and number them from the most important to the least important based on your visions and goals.
Put a percentage on each which will inform the amount of time you want to dedicate on each. After that, work backwards with your calendar. Schedule some activities connected with each project and block time in your month where you will take care of those items.
It is super important to realise that if a project is more time-consuming then it is important, there is also a possibility of letting it go. Saying no is part of the process of avoiding burnout. Delegating aspects of our project is another part.
Sign up here if you would like to have a template of the weekly review which can be translated to the monthly review.
3. Be comfortable and confident with what you can offer without stretching yourself in potential high-pressure situations.
Knowledge of your skillset and workflow/ attitude in terms of being comfortable with the work you do for clients/ yourself without overstretching is hugely important when attempting to avoid burnout. Approach deadlines with a level of comfort and effective knowledge that the work one offers are the best it can be within the mutually beneficial skill set that should exist between clients/ organisations and those working for them. If there isn't a level of clarity within this central relationship those in management positions can increase workflow and extend employees beyond that traditional skillset. This may also come with the level of expectation to complete this work on a faster timescale. All of these are potential factors leading to the distinct possibility of staff and individual burnout. These need to be subverted to create an effective working relationship.
4. Have regular breaks throughout your workweek and allow yourself to restore
Self-care might be a buzz word but here is essential to introduce. When we have a lot to juggle and we have to attend to business, we forget to do the essential tasks: we don’t eat regularly, skipping meals becomes the norm; we don’t sleep enough or we wake up in the middle of the night overwhelmed by the amount of tasks at hand. We might exercise less, have back-to-back-to-back calls you automate and be less and less present to ourselves.
What we want to do is to automate the self-care process as much as we can. Can you set up a reminder in your calendar to meditate on a daily basis? Can you set up a meetup with your friends to go for a run once or twice a week? Can you delegate as much as possible to your meal prep? Or if not, can you make time for meal prep at some point in your week?
What you want to do is to bubble yourself in a lot of self-care, especially when work becomes a lot to manage.
5. Learn from setbacks
If burnout happens, learn from it. Be sure that again and again this will happen, unless we don’t learn from it.
What are the lessons you want to take away from this experience?
Some of the things I learned are:
Take time off on a regular basis (I book holidays in advance and put them in my calendar and let my clients know when I will be off)
Make sure that I meet up with friends on a regular basis and do something fun together (that is at least once per week)
Take myself for a date with myself (at least once per week and it can be anything from going to the museum to colouring at home)
Make sure that my meals are in place and that I eat healthily (working with nutritionists, having a meal plan and doing my online groceries once a week)
Have some form of exercise that I show up to on a weekly basis (be it yoga or running in my case)
Did you experience burnout in the past? What did you learn from it? If not, do you know how to spot burnout in advance?
Elena Manole, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Elena is a time management and productivity coach. She teaches female entrepreneurs how to bring more balance to their life and structure their days so that their priorities are on top of their list. Her clients thrive on accountability and clarity as well as compassion and gentleness. Elena is a hands-on productivity teacher passionate about all things done in a mindful way. She helps her clients fulfil their deepest visions and desires without sacrificing anything in their life. Today she lives her vision and makes a point to remind herself, and her clients, that living a life based on values means that we don't have to wait for the next goal to be reached in order to be happy and fulfilled.
