As a business owner it can be hard to switch off from work and you can frequently find yourself working well in to the night or at weekends, eating away at your work life balance. As we head towards the end of the year it can feel like the final few miles of a marathon. Your body doesn’t want to go on (perhaps you’re fighting a winter cold, or generally feeling rundown) and your mind is elsewhere. Feeling exhausted is quite common at this time of year.
With your busy schedule, numerous responsibilities and that constant stream of decisions to make, making time for yourself can seem like a distant prospect. But if you don’t take some time out to reenergise it can result in burnout, with your health, personal life and business suffering as a consequence.
As difficult as it might be to create a work-life balance, if you want to remain successful in the long-term you will need to create some boundaries
Setting boundaries
If you set yourself clear boundaries with work, clients or customers, employees and other external parties it will help to create a balance between your personal and working life. These boundaries do not have to be set in stone, of course there needs to be some flexibility, but to have some structure will help to create healthy working habits that don’t become all consuming.
Creating a list of boundaries and defining what is and isn’t acceptable will help you to set them, keeping you alert when you are breaking them. Creating boundaries will lead to good habits and practice, allowing you to deal with issues in a consistent manner and become more self-aware. How often do you take an urgent call late at night? Is it very occasionally or do you find yourself frequently dealing with them well after working hours?
What is urgent or an emergency?
In the middle of a crisis or when you are busy and stressed it can be very difficult to remain objective about what qualifies as an emergency. If you are continuously breaking your boundaries because everything seems urgent, take some time to create a checklist and define what constitutes as an emergency.
There will be times when you need to break your boundaries, but by clearly defining what is an emergency will help you to readily recognise situations, becoming more proactive and less reactive. Keep a record of the steps you took to resolve the issue and the lessons learned, you can then put in place procedures and steps for future reference.
Work-life balance and health
Allowing yourself to take time out and dedicate time to focus on your personal life is vital, you shouldn’t feel guilty or stressed by this. Creating a healthy balance will help you to focus and feel reenergised. If you are overscheduled with work, you won’t be able to do things that are non-work related which can heighten stress levels.
When you take time away from the workplace stick to it and don’t keep checking emails etc. Block the time off in your calendar and make sure people know you are unavailable. Assign someone to be your point of contact whilst you are away so that they can deal with anything on your behalf, and they know what counts as an emergency so that they only contact you if absolutely essential.
Looking after your health is more than likely something you promote to your workers, so remember to take your own advice. When was your last health check? During the festive period we can find ourselves socialising more, drinking more alcohol and making unhealthy food choices. Try to eat a healthy balanced diet, getting the required vitamins and drink plenty of water. Also try to schedule in some sleep and exercise!
Don’t forget to use your support systems and help support others.
Your employees
If you are feeling burnout there is a good chance that some of your employees are also feeling the same way.
The retail, leisure and health care industries are particularly busy during the festive season (of course other industries are too). In these types of industries people are often required to work longer hours and are unable to take annual leave. This can leave people feeling tired, stressed and disgruntled, as they are perhaps missing out on time with family and friends.
Take the time to communicate with your employees and show your appreciation, ensuring alternative time is given off. A small gesture can go a long way, from having a walk around and talking to staff, to bringing in mince pies or organising an informal lunch or coffee break.
Be proactive and put systems in place to help workers deal with stress and maintain a healthy work-life balance. Taking measures like these can help to boost morale and productivity.
Whatever, it is that you do to relax, then make sure over this hectic period you set some time aside for yourself to do something that you really enjoy.
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