Around 15.8 million Americans are working as entrepreneurs. Although entrepreneurship is exciting, it’s also uncertain, challenging, and intense with burnout a common phenomenon. In fact, 25% of entrepreneurs report feeling moderately burned out, while 3% feel strongly burned out, Harvard Business Review reports. Fortunately, by taking care to achieve a healthy work/life balance, entrepreneurs can achieve financial success while avoiding burning out.
Table of Contents
Stick to a schedule
When it comes to entrepreneurship, each day is different, which makes it difficult to keep to a routine schedule. When an issue crops up, it’s natural to feel like you immediately need to stop what you’re doing and address it right away. It’s therefore important to learn to prioritize. For example, you don’t need to respond to every email, text, or call as soon as you receive them. In fact, if you find yourself getting into something that isn’t a task you’ve already carved out time for in your schedule, then it’s a distraction. Ideally, you should use each evening to plan your schedule for the following day for best chances of success. This way, you can easily recall tasks you achieved during the day along with those you didn’t get around to, which therefore helps you plan for the next day accordingly.
Consider outsourcing
Outsourcing can be a useful tool, particularly in high-pressure industries. The legal profession, for example, is often unpredictable and deadline-dependent, which results in legal professionals working unplanned hours. In fact, 71% of lawyers report experiencing anxiety at work. Whatever industry you’re in, you can relieve some of your workload and maintain healthy productivity levels by outsourcing. Since outsourcing is also more cost-effective than building your own in-house team, it can help you grow more efficiently while you stay focused on internal core tasks.
Learn to compromise
Even though achieving the perfect work-life balance is virtually impossible, it’s still important to take care to prioritize your personal life and accommodate your loved ones. Communication is vital here. You may be acutely aware of why you devote so much time to building your business, but that doesn’t mean your loved ones understand. So, explain to your close family the importance of your entrepreneurial endeavors and the need for their patience. You are working hard to improve their lives, after all. It can also help to give them something to look forward to. For example, perhaps you’ll take everyone on a fun family day out or an epic vacation once you achieve a particular business goal; a reward like this will likely help your family understand and appreciate why you spend so much time working. It’s also important to keep your loved ones informed of your schedule — and if you’ll be working overtime, promise to make the time up.
Although nothing beats the freedom of being your own boss, entrepreneurship involves long hours and little free time. Fortunately, by learning to stick to a schedule, considering outsourcing, and learning to compromise, you can achieve a better work/life balance and avoid burnout.
About Carson Derrow
