We all have a ton we want to accomplish. Sometimes the best way is to stop working.
It’s not Just For Drag Racing
Burnout. It’s a word that means to expend more energy over time than you put back in. As a small business owner, it’s quite possibly listed under “T” on your SWOT analysis.
Two weeks ago I was in Chattanooga building sets, auditioning actors, producing, directing, marketing, setting up gear, communicating, tweeting, shopping, blogging, transporting, running errands, and a slew of other things we all have to do in order to make our business run. I worked long, full days hitting as much as 15 hours followed by nearly 2 hours of other tasks before calling it a day.
Safety Rails
As small business owners, we’re no strangers to doing whatever it takes to improve our businesses. We do what needs to be done to get it right.
Which means we do more than other people do. We have to. If we did what everyone else did, we would have the same results. We want something different. We have a dream and we will do what it takes to see that dream through.
So how do we know when to jump in and when to step back? How do we know when to take a chance by taking on a little more and when to stay put with what we’re doing?
There are no absolute rules, but there are some guidelines we can use to make sure we’re getting it right.
A Few Simple Rules
In order to stay on track, try these few simple rules:
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Mission: Make sure our work aligns with our vision and mission instead of sidetracking us.
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Focus: Make sure the work is the highest value thing we can do and not busy work.
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Stop: Set a cutoff time each day to stop working so we can maximize our energy.
It’s important to work hard. But it’s also important to work smart. Part of that is setting a time to stop: a time to say “Enough. Let’s have some fun.” If we don’t, our minds will do it for us, so we might as well beat them to the punch and enjoy ourselves every day.
