Sunday 10th October marks World Mental Health Day. It’s a great reminder to check on our mental health. But we shouldn’t do this one day a year. We should do it every day in the year.

Running a business is hard! Speak to any business owner, they’ll tell you it’s hard. But they might not tell you its hard mentally. That’s because, as business owners we ignore the mental strain that we face. We’re too tied up in productivity and #wins to even contemplate that we might be on the verge of burn out.

However, business owner burn-out is real and here are my top tips for preventing it.

Exercise

It doesn’t have to be a 2-hour session pumping iron or jumping around the gym copying the latest Instagram HIIT trend. Go for a walk, a swim, put on a youtube yoga video or even take 20 minutes out of your day to just stretch and loosen up the tension in your muscles. Move your body in any way that feels good, it will thank you for it and help to clear your mind.

Sleep

If you’re anything like me, there just doesn’t seem like enough hours in the day and sleep is the first thing to get sacrificed. But how can you perform at your optimum, if your brain is not running at its optimum? Your brain is the driving force behind your success but like anything, it needs to rest and recharge. So schedule in 7 hours to sleep each night, just as you’d schedule in clients or meetings. Make this a non-negotiable in your daily schedule.

Prioritise time out

Work hard, play hard. It’s too easy to forget the play part, right? But how wrong is that! Why are you even working so hard, if you don’t then take time to enjoy and celebrate your success. Make sure to schedule in time with family and friends, schedule in date nights or even a night in for one! No phones, no laptops, no distractions. Be present in the moment and enjoy time out without feeling guilty.

De-glamourise over-working

Being productive is great! Working harder than everyone around you is great! Being more successful than your competition is GREAT! They’re all vital aspects of growing a successful business. But the growing trend of always being productive adds additional pressure to not take time out, to sacrifice sleep and be “too busy” for exercise. Shift your mindset. Of course, we need to be productive MOST of the time. But we’re much more productive when we’ve reset and recharged than when we’re on the verge of burnout. So actually, overworking is detrimental to productivity anyway. 

These are just a few tips that I have learned as both a business owner and a HR Consultant committed to promoting well-being in business owners. Don’t wait until you completely burn out until you admit you’re working too hard and are forced out of action. I doubt you take such a reactive approach to your business, rather than being proactive. So do the same with your well-being.

And one last tip for good measure… If you’re suffering from burn out, ask for help! Or message megan@yourhrhandled for more information and support!