5 Things Entrepreneurs Can Do To Overcome Burnout

If you’ve been on the entrepreneurship journey for some time, you probably know by now that the feeling of overwhelm can hit you when you least expect it. Whether it’s due to finances, creating content, managing a team, completing projects, implementing outreach strategies, etc., the overall responsibility of operating a business can get overwhelming at times for most entrepreneurs – especially solopreneurs and those without teams.

As entrepreneurs, you also have to focus on your personal life, your relationships, your personal finances, and any other activities that you’re involved in. Being an entrepreneur comes with layers of responsibility.

You must learn how to control your mindset and emotions so that when you do feel overwhelmed, frustrated, and/or on the brink of burning out, you know exactly what to do to balance yourself.

If you don’t know what the problem is, how can you solve it? First thing that you should do when you feel overwhelmed is to get clear on why. Why do you feel this way? What exactly is making you feel frustrated? What is weighing you down? What is causing the stress? When you’re clear about what’s making you feel swamped, you can then get clear on how to manage it.

Oftentimes, our stress and frustration comes from the feeling of helplessness; not being able to control certain situations and experiences can cause you to feel anxious. Therefore, based on the clarity you gained about what’s making you feel overwhelmed, have you noticed anything that you can control? Have you noticed the things that are out of your control? To reduce your stress levels, it helps to focus on what you can control and to let go of what you can’t control.

All kinds of entrepreneurs on all levels experience the feeling of overwhelm and frustration throughout the journey. However, for solopreneurs, freelancers, and entrepreneurs who mainly work alone often experience burn-out much quicker and more often than entrepreneurs who have help. Therefore, ask for help or create it. Ask a friend, family, or whomever you’re able to ask for help so you don’t feel overwhelmed by your to-do list. Another option is if you have the opportunity to hire and outsource some of the tasks on your list, this could be a great way to decrease your anxiety by focusing on the tasks you have the energy for and delegating the ones you do not have the energy or time for.

Taking care of your mental health should be a priority for you as an entrepreneur if it isn’t already. There are plenty of ways to take care of your mental health as well. You can start a meditation practice, start a journalling routine, do yoga at home every week, talk out your inner problems (with yourself or a therapist), read books on personal development, do things you love, practice deep breathing exercises, and the list goes on. But taking care of your mindset and mental health is key to managing stress and those overwhelming moments.

We’ve been taught that as entrepreneurs we need to hustle, grind hard, and work non-stop in order to achieve our goals. Although there’s some truth to this, the overall concept is slowly starting to get debunked due to the fact that many successful entrepreneurs like Arianna Huffington, Kevin Hart, and Big Sean have been advocating for rest and healthiness. Be sure to take care of yourself entirely from getting rest to eating foods that increase your energy, and taking care of your mental health.

Remember, when you’re not well, your business isn’t well, and when your business isn’t well, that affects multiple areas of your life from your finances to your operations and even if you have a team, they’ll be affected as well. Therefore, make it a priority to take care of yourself, your mind, body, and spirit. Make your health a priority so your productivity doesn’t get disturbed and your business doesn’t decline.