Ask any super-successful entrepreneur what it takes to be a success and they’ll mention hard work, determination, clear goals and team-work.
But what they may not mention is the frequent, almost certain; never fun, but very real experience of burned-out emotional, physical and financial bank accounts.
Avoid burn-out by using these five strategies.
- Work from a list each day. But not a long list. Keep your list to just six items or less. Make certain at least one of those items reminds you to work on your business instead of in your business. You’ll find greater profits, continuous improvement and success in your future.
- Time chunking. You avoid burn-out when you control your schedule. Nothing can be more helpful than two hours to four hours of complete silence; no phone, no texts, no email and no interruptions. During this time you are in control of your mind, your emotions and your physical surroundings. You can do what you want, but most importantly, be sure to do what you MUST DO to make major progress on a meaningful project that will make you feel like a success.
- Keep score. There’s nothing like starting a New Year to help you re-energize, except keeping financial records up to date and comparing them to financial goals. You must have clear, measureable goals set for yourself or your company. Failure to keep score will drain your gas tank.
- Find a mentor. It can be very lonely running a business. At times you must face decisions driven by emotion and decisions that are unpopular among workers. A mentor can help you sort through emotions, provide advice based on facts and offer suggestions from an unbiased point of view. Besides, even the most confident boss can benefit from a pep-talk after a tough week.
- Take a vacation. Actually, I suggest taking three to six weeks away from day-to-day work each year. Each time you prepare for time off, you have to work extra hard to get ready to go. Each time you return to work, you have to work extra hard to get caught up. You avoid busy work, you focus on high-payoff activities and you get two to three times more work done each cycle. High performance individuals always take vacations and re-energize.
Here’s the good news! The entrepreneurial lifestyle can be filled with huge financial and emotional rewards. So go for it with all you’ve got!
Here’s the bad news! You’ll never get caught up, the work never ends and over time you’ll get burned-out… unless you take these five lessons seriously.
I’ve used these five simple lessons to stay energized about my business for over twenty-five years. I’ve witnessed many of my clients get re-energized with these tips. I’ll bet you can too. Oh…and if you get stuck, shoot me an email.
Tony Bass is a featured speaker and landscape business consultant. He is the founder, creator and CEO of the Super Lawn Toolkit training program for growing lawn and landscape business owners. www.superlawntoolkit.com You can reach Tony at 478-822-9706 or tony@tonybassconsulting.com. This article first appeared in Hardscape Magazine.
