Burnout!

Burnout is a real thing. It affects people in all walks of life and in all different industries. If you are anything like me, the holidays are such a busy time, I can increase your stress levels and make burnout more likely. I am a big fan of Planet Money and recently they had an episode on burnout and what one call center was doing to curb it. 

If you are an entrepreneur or a leader in your business, you need to be proactive about preventing burnout. How can you do that?

There are some great lessons from the Planet Money podcast but I would lay some out like this:

1. Take breaks. Especially as an entrepreneur it’s hard to take breaks. If you lead a team, make sure they have the opportunity to take breaks without guilt or punishment. I take one day off a week. For me this is Sundays, Sundays I do not do any work (unless it is an emergency). My wife and I take one vacation that does not involve staying at families houses. During that time, I plan ahead to do as little as possible.

   This also means not checking your email all the time! Try and make a good clear distinction between being at work and not at work.

2. Reward Sucess: If you or your team has a win, ie: new contract, big press win, customer loves your work, celebrate it! Go for a nice lunch or dinner, take an afternoon off, or even a bonus/gift. We need to all celebrate success! It will help stave off burnout.
3. Realize failure is real and can destroy morale. Think about ways to help people who have failed. Give them a light load or some easy wins to help them get back on the right track mentally. Take an afternoon off to take focus off the business for a while.

If you get burned out it could spell the end of your business. If your employees get burned out, it could spell the end of customers! Be proactive.