Business Burnout
‘Success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.’
– Michelle Obama
Remembering why you are in business can sometimes be tricky when there is a lot going on in your life, not including everything occurring in your business life.
Burnout isn’t always easy to recognise, but what if things do not feel right and you are not sure what is happening?
Signs that you’re experiencing burnout, according to Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, 1996; World Health Organization, 2019:
- Feelings of exhaustion
- Energy depletion
- Feeling increasingly distant, negative, or cynical about your job
- Reduced professional efficacy
- Decreased self-evaluation of your performance
- A newfound lack of investment in work activities
- Irritability and impatience with coworkers or clients
- Decreased concentration
- Loss of satisfaction gained from completing work
- Unexplained headaches, bowel problems or other physical issues
Most of these symptoms can come about from prolonged stress in your life, and in your business. Firstly, get yourself to a doctor for them to assess you properly and see if you are suffering with anything else that is exacerbating your symptoms.
Secondly, now you’ve identified that you are potentially facing burnout, what do you do about it?
Ladies That Do Networking Quote of the Month is from the inimitable Michelle Obama.
‘Success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.’
The first person’s life you should be making a difference in, is your own. You will be incapable of being there for your business, or your loved ones, if you are not making a real difference to yourself.
Make time for yourself each day and each week, to take care of yourself. This can look a bit different for everyone, however you absolutely need to have some form of meaningful movement in each and every day. Walking, swimming, yoga, a gym workout, something that moves your body. Recent research has discovered that when you move your body, your muscles secrete mood enhancing proteins… so if you’re struggling with burnout, movement is the very first thing you need to do.
Relax.
You do not need to be productive to be of value. Sometimes in this crazy busy world, it seems that we need to achieve something all the time… create content and business offerings, all the time. Be busy, all the time. This is simply not true. You do not need to always be busy doing something. You do not always need to be at every customer’s beck and call. Take time to just exist – read a book, knit or crochet, sit in nature, listen to music, dance! Be kind to yourself. Make appointments with yourself in your diary to do some of these things. Because if you do not, you will not be able to deliver to your customers and your business will suffer.
Draw support from the other business people around you, from your networking groups and your contacts in general. Ask them if they have experienced burnout, and what they did about it. Chances are, someone will have been there, and may be able to guide you towards someone local who can help you.
Within Ladies That Do Networking, we have several experts who can get you on the road to recovery, or even look after you before you fall down.
Amazing Business Women
Think about how the amazing business women in our group who provide hypnotherapy, reiki, sports massage, counselling, bereavement support, Arbonne health support, life coaching, reflexology, and how they can support you personally. We have a variety of business experts too, from administrative support to insurance services, to accountancy and business branding. It is more important to get the support you need to look after yourself, to make a difference in your own life so you can make a difference in other’s lives, than to make money. The money making comes when you get those things right first.
Come and visit us to find out what we are all about and get that vital business support you have been missing out on.
Thank you for reading this month’s blog, Business Burnout: How Do You Know If You’re Experiencing It, And What To Do About It.
Kelly, Kelly, and Chloe,
Ladies That Do Networking