Battling Fatigue as a Small Business Owner

Are you feeling tired? Worn out? Like you’ve just ran a marathon, even if you haven’t run at all in a week?

We’ve all heard the stories of the entrepreneur who worked 26 hours a day, 8 days a week, not eating or sleeping to get his or her business going.

And you might be there now.

But the truth is, working that much will only lead to one thing: Burnout.

I’m Dr. Ty with Port Bell SEO

And As a small business owner, I know that it’s almost impossible to take a vacation, isn’t it? But we all need time away from our businesses, So, what do you do?

Take mini-cations. Take an afternoon off, take a long weekend, go do something fun. Or take a nap. A mini-cation doesn’t have to be long.

But you are not at your best or thinking clearly when you are tired. Our bodies aren’t conditioned to constantly be on the go anymore.

There was a time when our bodies were conditioned for 12 hours of work, 7 days a week without a break. And I’m not saying our bodies can’t do that now, but that was when we did a lot more physical labor.

Today, 12 hours of work usually means sitting at a desk and staring at a computer screen. Or standing at a cash register in a store, not chasing down a deer or other food to eat.

We need to get up and move more, and do less repetitive moving.

So, taking a break could even mean doing a workout or going for a walk (or chasing down a deer if you really want to).

We have a completely different definition of fatigue than we did even 50 years ago. We need to reset our bodies and our minds every once in a while. Do something completely different from the norm.

So, if you are a very active person, take a nap. If you are a very inactive person, sitting at a desk all day long like I do, get up and move.

Fatigue isn’t always physical, mental fatigue is just as real, which is why breaking the norm can be so important.

Think of ways you can break your norm. Take an afternoon and go golfing, meet with friends for a couple hours and talk about NOT work. Anything but work.

And don’t think you can’t do it. If you don’t, you’re either going to burn out or drive yourself to an early grave. And I don’t want either of those for you.

What is it that will break your norm for an afternoon, a couple of days, a long weekend? And when will you do it? Schedule a norm-breaking session now, or you may never do it.

Have a great week!