You Didn’t Start a Business to Burn Out – Here’s How to Avoid It
Read if you want to…
Challenge the myth that being busy means being productive and explore what actually moves your business forward.
Learn 4 reasons why rest is essential for building a successful and sustainable business.
Reflect on your rest-levels and whether you’re heading towards burnout.
Discover 4 practical ways to incorporate guilt-free rest into your schedule and work more effectively.
As a founder it can be easy to fall into the trap of constantly being busy. It can feel as if the busier you are, the quicker you will be successful, so we work, and work, and work. Resting can feel like a distant memory and if we do give ourselves some time, the guilt starts to creep in.
I’m here to tell you that being busy does not equal success and rest is actually essential to sustainably growing your business. This is coming from someone who loved to be busy and approached my business with that mindset. I was always filling my time with lots of plans and to-do lists but as I started to develop my coaching business, I realised that I needed to take time for me.
Why is rest important?
1. Refilling your cup:
You may have heard the saying, “you can’t pour from an empty cup”. Creating and growing a business can take a lot of energy, so you need to ensure you’re filling yourself back up. By allowing yourself time to rest, the time you are working on your business can be more focused and productive. It’s about finding the right balance for you and recognising when that balance is off.
2. Enjoying the process:
Starting a business is such an exciting time and it’s so important to enjoy it rather than feeling exhausted all the time or experiencing the pressure to constantly be go-go-go. Taking time to reset allows you to be more present in the moment and actually enjoy the process, rather than end up resenting it.
3. Risk of burnout:
If you don’t rest, your body will eventually force you to rest and burnout can become all too real. You need to recognise what your physical and psychological needs and limits are. How can you look after yourself? Entrepreneurship is a long game and if you’re constantly exhausted, stressed or worried, you won’t be producing your best work.
4. Work/life balance:
Life isn’t just about work, although I know it might not feel like that when your business is such an important part of it. Even if it is your passion and purpose, it’s not healthy to be working on it 24/7. Some of you reading this may have wanted to start your own business to have more freedom and flexibility in your life, don’t lose sight of that by ending up working all the time and forgetting to actually enjoy the life you’ve created.
Are you heading towards burnout?
The thing about burnout is it can really creep up on you. It’s just an extra hour of work here, then another evening there, a weekend, working on holiday, skipping a lunch, then suddenly you’re mind and body completely shutdown.
I would really encourage you to reflect on the below journal prompts and be honest with yourself about where you’re at in relation to burnout.
When was the last time I felt truly rested? What did that look and feel like?
Do I feel guilty when I take time off or slow down? Why might that be?
What does “rest” actually mean to me? To understand the type of rest read this blog post.
How do I currently build rest into my weekly routine (if at all)?
Am I confusing being “busy” with being “productive”? How can I tell the difference in my day-to-day?
What would change in my business or life if I rested more intentionally?
Am I frequently feeling tired, even after a full night’s sleep? What might my body be telling me?
What emotions come up when I think about my to-do list or workload? (e.g. anxiety, excitement, dread)
Have I noticed any changes in my mood, focus, motivation, or physical health lately?
What am I currently saying “yes” to that might be costing me my energy or peace of mind?
Do I have boundaries between work and rest? Where are those boundaries being crossed or ignored?
What signs would I look for in a friend if I suspected they were burning out? Do I see any of those in myself?
How do you make sure you’re getting enough of it?
1. Let go of guilt:
It’s all too common to feel guilty for taking a break, especially when there’s a lot to do building your business, never mind general life admin. It’s essential you let go of any guilt associated with rest and recognise that it is an essential part of being a successful founder. To-do lists will never end and there will always be something else to do but forgetting your need for rest, means you are putting not only your wellbeing at risk but also your ability to manage your business long term.
2. Prioritise effectively:
Sometimes days of working can pass by but it’s difficult to pinpoint what you’ve actually done (we’ve all been there!). It’s easy to fill 8 hours by doing stuff but is this really moving your business forward? Instead learn how to be productive with your time, rather than just busy all the time. Use the priority matrix you can find in Steven Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People to determine if the items on your to-do list are:
Urgent and important
Important but not urgent
Urgent but not important
Not urgent and not important
Focus on the urgent and important items first, then the important and not urgent ones. Ask yourself if the not urgent and not important tasks really need to be on the list? These are likely to be the things that keep you busy but probably don’t add much value. When you’re thinking about how you spend your time, also consider your long-term vision, is what you’re doing helping you get there?
3. Add breaks to your schedule:
Schedule rest time into your week, as you would a business meeting or client call. Would you miss those? I’m guessing not, so why miss scheduled rest time? If scheduled rest time seems alien to you right now when you consider your 12-hour days, start small with a couple of mini-breaks each day, then build this up. Remind yourself these rest breaks are non-negotiable and show up for yourself as you would show up for a client or for an important meeting.
4. Remember it’s not a race:
Set yourself realistic and achievable goals which stretch you just the right amount and focus on those, not what anyone else is doing or where you think you should be. Remember creating and growing your business is not a race. This can be difficult if you slip into comparison mode but you are on your own path, at your own pace, that’s all that matters. When you are taking a break remind yourself that rest is absolutely essential to growing your business.
Rest is one of the keys to being a successful founder long term. Although it can feel like busyness has a direct correlation to how successful you’re going to be, it’s not the case and if rest isn’t prioritised, it will catch up on you.
Creating and growing a business is full of excitement but let’s be honest it can be tiring too! At each stage that my business grows I realise that rest is even more important. I not only see rest as an absolute non-negotiable but I believe that the more I allow myself to rest, the more my business grows, the more creative I can be and the better support I am for my clients.
Elyssa x
