5 Ways to Avoid Burnout & Overwhelm in Your Business in 2024
As business owners we have to wear so many hats and take on a lot of responsibility, so it can quickly become overwhelming and stressful.
If you’ve ever felt like you can’t keep up, or that you have so many things on your list that you feel paralysed and unsure how to even start, I can totally relate! Luckily there are a few tips and ways to avoid burnout and overwhelm in business, and I wanted to share my thoughts in this post.
It is especially common for all this to happen around the start of a new year, particularly once you’ve set all these goals and committed to doing all the things. There’s a lot of pressure we put on ourselves there!
So what can we put into place in our businesses to help avoid this stressful overwhelm, and minimise the risks of burning out and risking our health? First of all, it’s going to be helpful to understand what burnout actually is…
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What can burnout look like?
Burnout is essentially a feeling of exhaustion caused by ongoing high levels of stress and work overwhelm, and it can lead to more serious physical and mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.
It’s typically going to be different for everyone, but below are a list of some of the common signs that you’ve overworked yourself and could be burning out:
Constantly feeling drained and tired (mentally & physically)
Regular headaches and more frequently getting ill
Change in appetite or unexpected weight loss/gain
Insomnia or oversleeping
Irritability and or mood swings
Loss of motivation and lowered productivity/performance
Feeling disengaged/detached or withdrawn from activities
The key difference between stress and burnout is that with burnout, you’ve gone past the point of hyperactively doing loads of different tasks and things, and you’ve reached a stage where you feel so unmotivated and disengaged that it’s negatively affecting your work and stopping you from getting things done.
So how can we make sure we don’t cross this line? There are of course some general lifestyle suggestions such as prioritising your sleep (sometimes easier said than done!) and trying to incorporate exercise into your routine as this can help with stress reduction and improving sleep, but below are some specific recommendations for you to implement into your business…
Ways to avoid burnout and overwhelm in business
1. Set better boundaries
When you don’t have clear boundaries around your working hours, client communication, or processes in your business, this can end up in you feeling overworked and resentful of your clients or your team.
But you need to be the one to create your own boundaries around your time because no one else is going to do this for you! It’s up to you to stick to your own ‘rules’ and train people around you to respect them, so that you can run a business that’s designed to work for you.
Some examples of boundaries you can set in your business include:
‘I will only reply to emails between 9am and 4pm’
‘I won’t work on weekends or past 6pm on weekdays’
‘I will only arrange meetings on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays’
‘I will only post out orders twice per week’
Getting clear on these and actually writing them down is a great way to make a commitment to yourself.
Further reading: Setting digital boundaries for yourself when you run an online business
2. Break down goals into small steps (+ Don’t try to do too much)
One of the easiest way to overwhelm yourself is to set too many big goals for yourself at the start of the year, and can lead to you procrastinating and feel guilty & stressed for not working towards them.
Set yourself just a couple of strategic and achievable goals, break them down into smaller steps and schedule these tasks into your calendar whilst also considering the other commitments you have. Don’t try to do too much at once, and make sure you always know WHY you’re working towards these.
I go into lots more detail about goal setting and planning in my free annual Goal Planning Workbook, so go and check that out!
Or check out my 90 Day Goal Planner Workbook to help break down your annual goals into 3 month sprints…
3. Schedule in personal/leisure time & activities first
When you’re setting goals at the start of the year, don’t forget to write down a list of things that you personally want to do over the next 12 months as well. It could be to visit a certain new destination, start learning a new language, read more books or improve on a hobby.
Then when you’re looking at your calendar to plan your business tasks in, remember to schedule in your leisure time and activities that will work towards your person goals as well and make that a priority.
Remember to schedule in time off and holidays! The reason why go self employed is usually to get more freedom, right? So why is it that freelancers so often forget to take even the minimum legal holiday entitlement when they work for themselves? Be a great boss to yourself and make sure you take that holiday.
4. Simplify & streamline your business
Are there activities in your business that you could stop doing, or outsource so that you can concentrate on other tasks that are making more of an impact? If you’re finding yourself stressed out to the max, the best thing to do is strip back what you’re doing to the true necessities.
Once you’ve simplified, you need to find a way of streamlining what you have left in your business, so that it feels easy and fun for you, AND becomes smooth and seamless to work with you too (from a client’s perspective).
I teach how to simplify, streamline, and organise your business in my course, The Organised Designer’s Hub, with lessons on project management, task management, automating your business and much more!
5. Make ‘business friends’ and create a support network
Being a small business owner can get lonely and feel isolating at times, especially when you’re a solo business owner without a team around you as well. Having a support network of people who you can turn to when you’re stressed, who will understand the issues that business owners face, can be hugely comforting and offer a space to vent, share ideas, and help you feel less alone.
Try joining local business groups who meet up face to face, Facebook Groups, reach out to other businesses you follow on Instagram to start to make friends that way too, or join a business mentoring group or mastermind.
