Experiencing Burnout? How to Kill It Before It Kills Your Business

Jul 11, 2018

A great solopreneur is someone who runs his business with passion. Because of that, he’s able to give his customers the best products or services. But great solopreneurs can also experience burnout. It’s not all sunshine and roses. Because solopreneurship demands commitment and time to succeed, it’s normal for the daily stresses to take their toll on you.

Burnout and Your Solopreneur Business

What is burnout? Burnout is when you experience exhaustion because of too many demands. As the demands continue, you can no longer keep up. Some signs that you are headed for burnout are the following:

You always feel guilty and doubtful, and all you see are the drawbacks in business.
Even after spending long hours at work, you no longer work as effectively and productively. You end up with incomplete projects and a much, much longer to-do list.
You can’t remember when you last slept soundly. Solopreneurs who are burned out have trouble with sleep because of interfering thoughts about work.

How to Prevent or Bounce Back from Burnout

As you can tell, burnout is real and affects your business. Here are powerful ways to recover from burnout so that you will love yourself and your business again.

1. Set realistic expectations.

First and foremost, choose a reasonable timeline to accomplish a project. Whether it’s a product launch, a sales funnel diagram, or ebook, you can easily burn out for rushing to get things done.

Your deadline should be 100% realistic. If you set the bar too high, you give up when results don’t show fast enough.

2. Adopt a flexible mindset.

Harvard Business Review discussed the topic of burnout. One of the factors that led to burnout was a fixed mindset. Don’t be so consumed by your business that you are no longer capable of welcoming changes or alternatives.

It is true that no matter how we try to control things, “situations” happen. Think of the worst and prepare for it. Even if you have a daily schedule, realize the benefits of attending that family gathering or dinner.

3. Take a power nap.

You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself each time you feel like catching 20 minutes of sleep. Evidence shows that even napping can boost your brain’s ability to process information and learn. It also lowers your chances of committing mistakes.

Pushing through the struggle doesn’t always help especially when you’re depleted of physical, mental, and emotional resources.

4. Be unavailable after dinner.

Can you remember the last time you’ve stayed completely away from your device? Probably not, right? Being a solopreneur, you’re compelled to check emails, respond to chats, etc… even in the midst of something important!

Have this rule to stop working after dinner. It will help you relax, read a good book, and reconnect with your loved ones. This “after-dinner business unavailability” forces you to experience life as it happens. It teaches you to deal with the present issues at hand rather than dwell on the past.

5. Let off steam.

Release your feelings of frustration and aggression into a healthy activity - something you’ll enjoy. You wouldn’t want to explode out of burnout, would you? Forms of therapeutic release include traveling, yoga, swimming, and cooking.

Final Thoughts

Burnout will not stop you from reaching success if you follow these tips. Don’t get stuck. Let your passion fuel you and always keep an open mind. The solopreneur world is filled with ups and downs… so be patient with yourself!