How Burnout Can Sideline Your Self-Employment Progress
On one hand, being self-employed during the current global crisis means, at the very least, you do not have to worry about being unexpectedly laid off, furloughed or fired. On the other hand, it means you may have less of a safety net. If you’ve been forced to downsize your staff simply to survive changes wrought by a pandemic, then you are also handling more tasks than you were a year ago.
Burnout may feel like a luxury you cannot afford to acknowledge, but it is real and can be very detrimental. Not just to your productivity, but your quality of life as a whole. As the world finds new ways to cope with new stressors, it is important for those who are self-employed to take a close look at how they can stave off the potential for burnout.
What Burnout Is and How it Affects You
When you think of someone suffering from burnout, you likely imagine someone suddenly overcome by the sheer weight of pressing demands, anxiety and exhaustion. The truth is, though, burnout doesn’t happen all at once. It is the result of a series of decisions, sacrifices and bad experiences which accumulate until you are forced to take the break you’ve been resisting.
Working to avoid burnout can seem exhausting in and of itself; how are you supposed to find time for self-care and recuperation when it already feels as if there aren’t enough hours in the day? This is where perspective is key. If you put off asking for help, pushing yourself to the brink of burnout, you won’t likely have a choice about when and how you eventually sputter to a stop and are forced to rest. Leaving pressing and vital tasks undone because you simply are not capable of pushing yourself farther makes it harder to pick up where you left off when you’re back in fighting shape, too.
On the other hand, pacing yourself and setting realistic goals means you’re able to plan accordingly. You know you won’t collapse from exhaustion in the middle of a crucial video chat meeting, because you were able to organize your time more productively to avoid it in the first place.
Practical Tips for Avoiding Burnout
Getting enough rest, taking breaks throughout the day, making sure you stay hydrated and eat well; these are all key parts of avoiding burnout and investing in your body. Unplugging at night and making sure to get plenty of rest to face the next day is also vital.
It may also be a good idea to consider a virtual assistant, someone who can handle administrative and social media tasks. These are things that just need to be done, and it doesn’t always have to be handled by the owner of a business. Outsourcing key tasks lets you lighten your load without bringing on a full-time employee, which may not even be an option as businesses struggle to adapt to an ongoing global health crisis.
Exhaustion and burnout don’t have to affect the health of your business and your body. Being mindful of how much you’re taking on and the areas where you can ask for help can be an absolute game-changer.
