The life of a woman is pretty complex and when it comes to that of a woman entrepreneur, it’s an added stretch. They have to balance life and then, there are the dreams. Often, they experience a feeling of burnout.
This post is about sharing a few tips to avoid burnouts for women entrepreneurs.
What is a burnout in women entrepreneurs?
Burnout is a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged and excessive stress. It often results from chronic workplace stress, but it can also affect individuals in other areas of life. Key symptoms of burnout include:
A state of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion after prolonged and excessive stress is called burnout. Chronic work stress is a killer, but it also affects individuals in other areas of life other than work. Some symptoms to look out for are:
- Emotional Exhaustion: General debility-making one feel edgy, overwhelmed, and emotionally depleted.
- Reduced Performance: Hampered productivity and a heightened sense of ineffectiveness. Most people complain of feelings of under- achievement.
- Cynicism and Detachment: Negativity takes root. Growing skepticism makes one question work, colleagues, even tasks at hand. There is an air of disinterest.
- Physical Symptoms: Psychosomatic disorders, headaches, insomnia, gastrointestinal issues, or other stress- related problems become an everyday feature.
- Increased Sensitivity: Stress keeps people on a short fuse. They are more irritable, anxious, or sensitive to minor issues. Social anxiety, sensitivity to light or loud noises is commonly noticed. Sharp reactions are a common outcome.
Burnout is a common malaise, but it is particularly common among those who’ve high-stress professions or roles with high demands and limited resources. Addressing burnout is a slow therapy involving seeking support, self- care, setting boundaries, and making changes to reduce stress.
Why is self care important to avoid burnouts?
Here are a few ways in which self care helps prevent burnouts in women entrepreneurs:
- Restores Energy: Being mindful of where your thoughts are taking you and making conscious efforts to stay in a place of calm helps with preventing feelings of exhaustion and depletion. Over a period of time, self-care helps recharge and replenish your physical and mental energy.
- Reduces Stress: Get yourself into following some routines in exercise, meditation, and relaxation techniques as a rule. This can help lower stress levels and considerably mitigate the impact of daily pressures.
- Enhanced Resilience: As you pay more and more attention to yourself, you’ll build on your emotional resilience and slowly, become more able to cope with challenges and bounce back from setbacks.
- Improves Mental Health: Practicing mindfulness and self- reflection promotes positive thinking. This helps in reducing anxiety and depression.
- Promotes Work-Life Balance: Self- care encourages a healthy and balanced approach to work and personal life. You are able to set better boundaries for each and prevent overworking.
- Boosts Productivity: When you are not overworked, you become more focused, creative, efficient and this ultimately leads to more productivity and job satisfaction.
- Strengthens Relationships: With self- care you become more centered. You live in the present and engage better in your relationships. This improves your interactions with colleagues, friends, and family.
- Prevents Physical Health Issues: Paying attention to proper nutrition, exercise, and adequate sleep, can prevent health problems related to stress, such as high blood pressure and chronic illnesses.
Self care tips to avoid burnouts in women entrepreneurs
Having been surrounded by women entrepreneurs and built our own agency, here are some tips we personally recommend:
1. Establish a Daily Routine
Always try to give some structure to your days. Try and follow a routine that you’ve pre-decided to let things seamlessly roll from one into another. There may be days when you have to make exceptions but then, when most of them follow a schedule, you are less likely to beat yourself up when things don’t follow a pattern. From the time you are likely to wake up, take calls, workout, respond to mails, schedule more meetings, sneak in a walk to when you finally call it a day, set yourself a routine.
2. Prioritize Sleep
Get quality sleep. Make sure you hit the snooze button for at least 7-9 hours, each day. Make sure you follow a sleep regimen. Sleep at a fixed hour, put your devices on ‘do not disturb’, make sure your room is dark and is cool and comfortable. You could think of putting on some light music that helps you drift off to sleep.
3. Exercise Regularly
Factor in physical exercise into all your days. Hit the gym, go for a brisk walk, walk on the treadmill, play fetch with your pet, go for a run, jog, practice yoga, head out for a swim and the list is endless. Just about anything that would make you break a sweat and take away the soreness from sitting long hours at work.
4. Practice Mindfulness
Be fully present in all that you do. From work, to exercise, to eating, drinking, and talking, be mindful. When you are mindful it’s almost like meditating on your feet-always and every time. Rehearse bringing yourself back to the present moment and see how you feel empowered and able to take on whatever comes your way.
5. Set Boundaries
Boundaries are liberating if followed sincerely. There are lesser to no chances of overstepping and satisfaction is guaranteed in the quality that gets attached to your time. Give definition to your work and personal time and get rid of the tussle that always bogs you down, torn between and made to choose between the two.
6. Take Breaks
Get to your feet and move a little every few minutes. Set a reminder on your smart watch or phone and get those steps in. Get up to make your coffee, put a snack together, arrange a few things around the house or your work station, play some music, step out into your lawn or balcony, do gardening, and just about anything else that would give you a clean break from work.
7. Stay Hydrated
Drink plenty of water. No amount of tea or coffee or other drinks can compensate for water. Make sure what you drink is water in its pure and unadulterated state. Hydration is key to having your brain functioning optimally.
8. Eat a Balanced Diet
Eat nutritious, home-cooked food. Make sure to bring variety to your plate, every single day. This helps in making sure that you are getting all your nutrients through food. Make fresh, eat fresh and on time.
9. Engage in Hobbies
Indulge in hobbies to take away the tedium of work. Dance, sing, paint, sculpt, join a pottery class, join walk or run clubs. Do anything which gives you a change from your everyday work routine and refreshes you.
10. Connect with Loved Ones
Always try to fit in some time to fit in some chit chat with family and friends. They are the best emotional anchors. Keeping them in the loop of your routines is a healthy practice. It brings the much needed break from monotony and sometimes, gives you a fresh perspective on things you may be dealing with.
11. Practice Gratitude
Start or end your day by getting into the habit of maintaining a gratitude journal. Spend a few moments reflecting on where the day has brought you, how do you feel about it, what is it that you are grateful for and what is it that you wish to get better at.
12. Seek Professional Help
Don’t hesitate from reaching out to a therapist if you continue to feel spent and overwhelmed. Most times, talking to someone who is neutral and a professional at recommending ways to make you feel better, is the best thing to do to avoid being burnt out.
13. Delegate Tasks
Learn to delegate responsibilities both at work and at home. There is no heroism in stretching yourself thin to be everywhere. Learn to let go, be trusting and appreciate work others can do just as you and maybe even better.
14. Set Realistic Goals
Be kind to yourself when you set benchmarks. Break down large tasks into manageable steps and set achievable goals. Don’t fuel your aspirations based on some mood you may be in.
15. Learn to Say No
Learn to say no to additional commitments that you cannot handle. Be polite and decline anything that you may or may not be comfortable doing if it comes at the price of extending the hours spent at work or making adjustments to the ones with family.
16. Create a Relaxing Space
Make yourself a corner, a room, your sanctuary. Dress it up as you desire. Liven it up with wall-art, artifacts, lights as per your taste. Turn it into a place you’d love to keep coming back to whether for work or for leisure. This is your safe haven for relaxation and self-care.
17. Engage in Creative Activities
Develop a hobby or re-ignite an old one. Write to express yourself, or make art or music. These help you de-stress and also keep the creative juices flowing. These little activities take away the boredom from work and make you feel lighter by letting you dabble in something other than work.
18. Practice Deep Breathing
Pay attention to your breath. It is totally worth the effort to learn from experts how to breathe correctly. Alternatively, you can watch videos or listen to audios that help with your breathing practice.
19. Limit Screen Time
Most of us are guilty of pouring into our screens, endlessly. Most devices have settings like ‘do not disturb’ or ‘quiet mode’. Make use of technology to remind you when you need to take a break from it. Set reminders or alarms. This is also a type of detox.
20. Take a Vacation
Sometimes, a change of place is the best antidote for feelings of fatigue and burnout. Take an impromptu trip or plan a vacation to a place you’ve been wanting to go to. You could go solo or rope in a few friends. A family trip with your near and dear ones is very rejuvenating.
21. Read for Pleasure
Devour books. They are our best friends for a reason. There is a book for each of your moods and for each of the situations you may find yourself placed in. Read articles, novels, self-help books, motivational books or books on history , and books of professional interest. They offer the perfect mental escape and always leave you with a feeling of enrichment.
22. Get Outdoors
Think of going for nature walks or forest therapy sessions. If nothing, step into your lawn or go to the neighborhood park. Nature is healing. Find every reason you can to connect with nature and come away feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.
23. Practice Yoga
Yoga relaxes the body and the mind. It improves flexibility and works on proper breathing techniques. It makes the body fitter and the mind stronger when practiced regularly. Incorporating yoga into routines is a good way to keep centered and healthy at the same time.
24. Listen to Music
Music works like a magic potion. It instantly shifts the energy and makes you feel better. Play some music in the background as you work. If that’s distracting, plug into it during your short breaks or intensive workout sessions. Best of all, like books there is a genre to suit each of your moods.
25. Pamper Yourself
Indulge yourself sometimes. Treat yourself to a spa day. Take a salt bath. Get a good massage done. Basically, pamper yourself every once in a while.
26. Stay Organized
Maintain planners, keep to-do lists to manage tasks. Reduce confusion and the overwhelming sense of things spiraling out of your control by putting everything down as a reminder on your phone or in a notepad.
27. Seek Out Social Support
Be part of a like-minded community. Join support groups who share stories of success and struggles. Make yourself an ecosystem that supports you through thick and thin.
28. Engage in Physical Touch
Be someone who hugs easily. A warm embrace allows transfer of energy and the giver and the receiver benefit equally.
29. Practice Positive Affirmations
Start your day with positive affirmations. Build your self-esteem a little everyday. Consciously steer clear of negative thoughts. Simple things said in simple words to affirm that you are fine, loved and safe can go a long way in boosting your mood, your general temperament.
30. Limit Caffeine and Sugar
Cap your intake of caffeine and sugar. These stimulants give you the rush of energy and then, leave you feeling drained. Also, they are addictive. Hydrate with plain water spiked with lemon slices or basil and ginger. Find a natural infusion and build it into your daily habits.
31. Take Power Naps
Lie down for a quick shuteye whenever you can. Taking power naps is a habit people vouch for. Just a half hour of nap will make you feel energized. It will give your mind and body the necessary rest to heal and recoup.
32. Explore New Interests
Always be excited to try out new things. New activities, new skills to keep changing the flavor of your days. It may seem a little scary sometimes but stay with the thought of trying something new. It always leaves you feeling a lot more fulfilled.
33. Create a Vision Board
Creating a virtual like on your smartphone or laptop screen a vision board of things you want to do. You can even have an actual pin board on which you can tag pictures of things you dream for yourself. This helps one to stay focused and motivated. Visualization has great power. See good things and manifest good things.
34. Set Aside Personal Time
Be absolutely uncompromising about the me-time you set aside for yourself each week. Indulge in activities that help you relax and recharge. Take a clean break from work and come back feeling rested.
35. Practice Self-Compassion
Most of us are guilty of being extra hard on ourselves. Treat yourself with the same amount of kindness and understanding that you do others. This is more required when you face challenging times.
36. Declutter Your Space
A lot of people have dedicated days for straightening up their rooms, changing bed linen, re-arranging knick-knacks, setting down time to sift through their things, giving away what is not required, replacing old with new objects to bring in some newness. All of this exercise of decluttering is very therapeutic. It leads to a clean, organized space that translates into better productivity and good mood.
37. Engage in Volunteer Work
Volunteer wherever and whenever you can. You could do so through online platforms and if you can make time, relocate to a different place and volunteer physically. Share your expertise and skills. Build a community of learners.
38. Limit News Consumption
Consume the avalanche of news around you with caution. Make sure you have the necessary filters in place that navigate you away from those that are meant to sensationalize. Follow authentic news channels and stay away from hearsay. Also, watch out for what gets popularized on social media. Most times, it’s just a technique for gaining traction with not an iota of truth behind it.
39. Seek Work-Life Integration
Always try to find ways to harmoniously blend work and personal life. It’s not an easy job but something that is hugely rewarding should you be able to do it. Work on scheduling, delegation, boundaries, and you are almost there.
40. Practice Forgiveness
Don’t hold grudges. Bury the past and move on. Try to find reasons why something didn’t work- a project or some people. Learn to forgive others and more importantly, learn to forgive yourself. To err is human, to forgive divine-quote, unquote. Be divine.
41. Participate in Physical Activities
Get your blood pumping. Do something that makes you feel the blood rushing through your veins. Sweat it out so that it clears the fog in your head and makes you feel light and happy. Join a sports club, a fitness class, and be amazed at how it benefits you both physically and socially. Most people agree that physical exercise makes them more productive.
42. Invest in Professional Development
Don’t pass any opportunity you get to learn. Look for ways to enhance your skills and earn yourself the career satisfaction you are after. Enroll for online certifications or make time for offline classes. Look for study centers or mentors with proven track records. Learning is an ongoing process. Read more professional books, subscribe to podcasts, listen to ebooks, and build your knowledge, a little every day.
43. Create a Relaxing Evening Routine
Listen to experts who ask you to stay away from all devices, turn off all lights and make sure that the room you sleep in is cool and comfortable. Start winding down a few hours prior and ease into calling it a day. Some like to play music, read a book, write their journal or simply, take a shower and snuggle up. Make a routine that resonates with you.
44. Practice Breathing Exercises
Learn proper breathing techniques. Tune in to guided videos that help with the same or start practicing with an expert. Focus on your breathing as it helps to control stress and anxiety. Being mindful of your breathing keeps you in a place of calm and peace.
45. Stay Connected with Your Inner Self
Always listen to your body. There are days when your mind needs a rest, so sleep in or juggle schedules to go light for the day. Other days, your body may demand more or less of exercise-respect it and give it the recovery or rigor it needs. Tune in to yourself. It makes you feel a lot more fulfilled than external validations.
46. Join a Club or Group
Try and build or be a part of a club or group that resonates with your dreams and aspirations. Find yourself people you want to connect with, have conversations with, step out for a coffee with, go on short workation with, and just generally be glad that you have them in your life. Seek and build your tribe.
47. Enjoy Simple Pleasures
Look for joy in the small things of life. A new bloom, the flight of a bird, the color of the sky, a sunrise or a sunset, a new art or hobby, tidying up your room, some tweaks in the house/ office space and so on and so forth. Even, rustling up a meal for family and friends or making yourself a good mug of coffee.
48. Celebrate Achievements
Always applaud yourself for the big and small achievements you make. Don’t wait for another day, a bigger milestone, a higher benchmark. Everything that you achieve is the outcome of hard work. So, turn as many moments as you can into small snippets of celebrating the coming together of your dream.
49. Seek Balance
It’s easier said than done but it’s totally worth trying to strike a balance between work, relationships, and self- care. This helps to maintain overall well-being. Initially it may seem like a humongous task to try and keep everything perfectly in sync but gradually, it turns into a habit that eases out a lot of everyday stress.
Conclusion
Try and keep your head above water and face challenges with a positive mindset.
Positivity comes from wellness – mental and physical. Take care of yourself and avoid exhausting yourself to the point of feeling burnt out.
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