Burnout is a real thing with entrepreneurs. We care so much about our businesses that we neglect other aspects of our life. Our businesses become the center of our world, but sooner or later, you start to feel unmotivated and have negative feelings toward your business. 

I’ve been on the edge of burnout many times. It’s never a fun feeling! You think working harder will get you past it, but in reality, you most likely need to take a step back.

In this blog, I’ll share some signs you’re burned out and ways to turn it around so you can get back to being a total boss!

Burnout Symptoms

These are some of the symptoms I had when I started to feel burned out. Once I recognized why I was feeling this way, I knew I had to make a change.

1. Unmotivated to Work

If you dread going to your desk, opening your laptop, and working, you could be burned out. Of course, we all have our off days. But if you’re feeling this way more often than not, you’re probably burned out. 

Your work could be suffering because you aren’t focused or unmotivated to work for your clients or on your own business. Maybe you miss deadlines or forget details you normally wouldn’t. An easy burnout symptom to catch things is when things start to slip through the cracks that normally wouldn’t.

2. Creatively Blocked

This point is similar to the one above, but feeling creatively blocked is another sign of burnout. You can’t come up with creative ideas, or creative tasks take twice as long for you to do. There are many aspects of business this could apply to:

• Social posts
• Graphics
• Writing
• Ideation

This also applies to problem-solving. Being unable to think of creative solutions to problems is a sign of burnout. Again, we all feel this way once in a while, but if it’s a consistent feeling, it could be burnout.

3. Bringing Work Into Your Personal Life

This is the one that caught me off guard. When you bring work into your personal life, you could be burned out. It’s all you can think about, even though you’re unmotivated and have negative thoughts about your business. You’re hard on yourself because you feel like you aren’t doing enough or you need to do things better. 

It could start to affect your family, too. If you have a negative mindset around your business and bring that negative attitude to time with your family, they notice. They know something is wrong before you do. If you suspect you’re burned out, ask your family if they’ve noticed a shift in your attitude.

Here are some other signs of burnout. Do you relate to any of these? If so, keep reading because I have some tips to avoid becoming burned out.

4 Tips to Avoid Becoming Burned Out

1. Take the Dang Vacation!

Vacations are GOOD for you! Even if you feel a little guilty leaving your clients for a few days, it’s so good for your mental health. Don’t bring your laptop, and turn off all business notifications. When you think about it, you’re constantly connected to your business through notifications. Here are some platforms to turn off notifications to:

• Email
• Slack
• Voxer
• Social media (this is a big one!)

Completely unplug and don’t think or talk about work. Your brain needs time away from work to reboot. You’ll come back refreshed, ready, and excited to work on your business.

2. Stick to Your Boundaries

Entrepreneurs are so guilty of this, myself included. When a client needs something, we jump on it and say ‘yes’ even if it crosses a boundary we have in place. STOP! Your boundaries are there for a reason. If a client needs something after your working hours, they can wait until the next morning. I promise. The world won’t explode, and they won’t be mad at you!

You should, however, communicate your boundaries so your clients know what to expect from you. This could look like an automated message after your working hours telling them they can expect a response in the morning.

Stick to your boundaries, and it won’t feel like you’re working 24/7.

3. Exercise

Prioritizing exercise is one of the best ways to keep a positive mindset. I recommend exercising in the morning because it improves your cognitive function throughout the day. You’ll be more alert, energetic, and creative while you’re working. 

Schedule time in your busy calendar to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day. One of my favorite ways to exercise is to take a walk with my kids or play with them in our backyard. It’s truly the little things that give you a chance to step away and think about something else for a few minutes!

4. Get Enough Sleep

Don’t sacrifice sleep for your business! People are so much more productive when they’ve had a good night’s sleep. Shoot for 7-9 hours a night, but also listen to your body. You might need more hours than average, and that’s okay! Do what works for you.

I hope this article will help you when you experience signs of burnout. It inevitably happens to all business owners at some level. It comes with the work we do. But there are things we can do when we start to notice early warning signs so it doesn’t progress into a bigger issue.

If you ever need support, I’m here for you! Connect with me on Instagram and send me a DM ❤

About Âme Creatives

I’m a Showit Design Partner and SEO expert who specializes in crafting websites and branding for you: the successful female entrepreneur who is crushing business goals… but doesn’t have the branding or website to match. I’m an expert at being able to create a beautiful brand that fully represents YOU. Ready to work together? Send me a message!