How to avoid crisis burnout and grow your business the right way

Burnout results from chronic workplace stress that hasn’t been successfully managed. It’s a build-up of pressure, being unappreciated and the need to be ‘always on’. The job of a leader is to show resilience and manage the quality of employee relationships and the efficiency of workforces. But if you’re experiencing exhaustion, trying to restore order in your business may only add to feeling depleted.

The good news is, once you know the signs, it’s possible to overcome and manage business burnout.

Learn how to grow your business in a healthy way with these tips.

Organise and automate systems early on

Sometimes freeing up your bandwidth is as simple as automating processes. If you find yourself dedicating the first few hours of each project recreating the same framework, create a template you can use and adjust as needed.

Organise and automate systems as early as possible, which will also allow you to delegate work and free up your time in the long run. Seek feedback from staff and customers. It’s important you work together and ease any frustrations with processes. The sooner you identify problems, the sooner they can be mitigated before they turn into productivity killers.

Schedule downtime

Your health and wellbeing are your business’ biggest resources. Make time to unplug and create flexible schedules to avoid burnout.

To take care of others, you must take care of yourself first. Maintain healthy habits by taking regular breaks, exercising, completing switching off from work and relaxing. Care, connection and wellbeing are vital for establishing a healthy environment. Do your bit with workplace initiatives like extra annual leave, half-day Fridays, wellness programs and work-life balance so you and your employees stay on track.

Prioritise these factors:

• Switch off for 20-30 minutes every day (and do something that’s not work-related)
• Eat healthy meals, away from your desk
• Exercise your mind and your body (pick up a new hobby and improve your quality of sleep with daily exercises)
• Don’t neglect sleep

Build boundaries

Expectations are a huge driving factor in business, but it’s important to set boundaries and learn when to say no.

Your boundaries must be sustainable for them to be effective. The best businesses are built on brand and personal recognition, without compromising expectations. Start by defining your values and establishing boundaries with clients. Set boundaries around communication first, especially if you interact with customers on a regular basis.

Work smarter, not harder

Instead of putting in more hours, be smarter about your time and workday tasks.

Divide your day into 25-minute tasks. Using techniques like time blocking can train you to be more strategic with your time blocks, focus on the task at hand and set boundaries. It also allows for time afterwards to unplug and refill before the next task.

Delegating and outsourcing are also effective ways to alleviate stress. This will help cut down the hours you need to work, rather than leaving you overburdened or stretched too thin.

Learn to:

• Delegate - if you’re a sole trader, outsource tasks such as bookkeeping
• Use tools for streamlining and organising processes - don’t let mundane tasks pile up
• Review your company culture - run a survey to give you insight into what you need to do to better meet the needs of your staff and customers
• Ask for help when workloads get too heavy

Did you know Udio supports you in achieving a better work-life balance? Find out how our management software helps grow your business.