Burnout Prevention for “Booming” Seasons of Business

[et_pb_section][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text]

“Booming” seasons in your business are times when clients and students are enrolling at higher numbers than usual, when the calendar is full, when the team’s output is maxing out, and you feel tired.

The booming seasons are always preceded by a period of increased visibility, or visibility season. This is when you double down on your marketing, you launch a new funnel, or you are focusing attention on press and public relations.

Whenever there is an increase in visibility there is an increase in energetic output.

The booming season is then followed by the delivery season.

You and your team are in fulfillment mode with onboarding, providing services, answering help desk questions and assisting with customer support.

For many up-and-coming CEOs this is an equation that plays out:

“visibility season x booming season x delivery season = burnout season”

When you and your team are feeling tired and overworked, not for days at a time but for weeks and months at a time you know deep down that this kind of pace is not sustainable over the long term. Brilliant business owners will throw in the towel for this reason alone.

How do you break the cycle?

Before I give you the answer, let me tell you why you will get value from listening to me. I have experienced around 5 burnout cycles over a 9-year timespan and have now developed an approach that prevents burnout altogether. As soon as I see the indicators, I know that it is time to make adjustments to my daily routines.

I still have booming seasons. In fact, my booming seasons have increased because I have an expanded capacity to manage them and come out on the other side strengthened and energized by my experiences.

Let us get down to the good stuff. You are going to be surprised at how simple and easy it is.

Burnout prevention looks like this:

• Rest up when you have time to rest.
• Rest up when you feel tired.
• When you have breaks do not scroll on social media unless it is intentional.
• Be productive and focused during your active working hours.
• Be present and enjoy your downtime when it is time to connect with family and friends. That is every time, not just for special occasions.
• Build a daily self-development practice and stick to it.
• Hire smart and hire for where you are headed, not for where you are now.
• Become aware of the amount of energy you have to output each week - I call this your bandwidth.
• Establish healthy boundaries with yourself and others. Boundary setting is a way of life, never a one-and-done deal.

Ultimately, preventing burnout starts with a change in habits and approach, unfortunately, it happens for most after the burnout hits.

When you take time for yourself each day, adopt the habits outlined above, and develop rituals that are nurturing and healthy, you will start to feel more energized.

Depending on your level of burnout, you might need more time for rest and recharge. Give yourself that gift, your work and everything else will be waiting when you get back.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]