Maintaining a work-life balance can be tricky, even impossible, for entrepreneurs
When was the first time you realized you had burned out? I imagine you’ve had it a few times since. No need to be ashamed. Many have been there. Because entrepreneurship and burnout, they go together a lot. Like, a lot.
In his next book called Dr Growth, 4x bestselling author Danny Flood shares his experience with burnout and entrepreneurship, and how it he flipped that into a lifestyle of freedom and a business that allows him to work with people from all over the world.
Here’s what he says:
My breaking point came when a well-meaning Starbucks barista asked me why I was working on Christmas. I was stumped.
Because I loved my work? I didn’t, not then.
Because I was this close to succeeding? Not likely.
Because it was making me rich? Definitely not.
“Why are you working on Christmas?” I shot back, feeling a little smug. Of course, she had an obvious explanation: She had to be there. I didn’t. Finally, I had to ask myself the crucial question: What the hell was I doing?
Well, at that point in my entrepreneurial journey, I was working a lot of nights, weekends, and holidays. I was allowing my business to consume my entire life. I was eliminating any boundary between my professional and personal life. I was hollowing out everything meaningful in my life and replacing it with a blind, mechanical pursuit of more success, more growth, more gain. I was making myself miserable.
Also read: All work and no play? Here are 5 surefire ways to overcome startup burnout
I was buying into the myth that being a “good” entrepreneur meant that I had to make myself miserable. How many times have you heard an entrepreneur brag about the insane hours they work, the crazy sacrifices they’ve made, how completely they’ve allowed their personal lives to be subsumed by their businesses? In entrepreneurial circles, those aren’t warning signs. Those are signs of success.
Entrepreneurs, if you haven’t experienced burnout yet, likely will at some point–the incredible, all-consuming demands of building and growing a business just about guarantee it. The question isn’t will I, the question is what do I do next. So this is what I recommend:
After that encounter with the barista, I resolved to reorder my priorities. To do this, I took four simple steps:
- I started turning down clients who I knew wouldn’t be right for my business. It ran against every entrepreneurial bone in my body to reject paying work, but focusing more attention on the “right” clients helped me shape my client base in a way that fit my vision for my business.
- I began outsourcing more of my work. Sometimes you have to spend money to reclaim time. There’s nothing shameful in realizing that you can’t–and shouldn’t!–do everything yourself.
- I implemented work processes that made me far more efficient. Spending a little time to organize your procedures can streamline your work processes enormously.
- Most importantly, I developed better automation techniques. Your time is valuable. Preserve it by setting up parts of your business to run autonomously.
By the end of the transformation, I was working just two hours a day, making more money than ever, and travelling the world with no immediate plan to return home. I had a fulfilling personal life, I was being a “good” entrepreneur, and I definitely wasn’t working on Christmas.
The techniques I’ve outlined aren’t a cure-all for burnout. Maintaining a work-life balance can be tricky, even impossible, for entrepreneurs. But if you’re starting to feel drained and unfulfilled, try taking fewer clients, outsourcing, organizing, and automating. With these four simple tricks, you would be amazed how much mental energy and time you can recover for other things.”
Don’t just beat burnout, hack your way to success in business and life — and finally get where you want to be.
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