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Avoiding Burnout: Thoughts from a Small Business Owner

Avoiding Burnout | Emily Moore | Boutique Photo Editing | Private Photo Editor
I'm Emily!

I'm a NC girl born & raised, a wife to my college sweetheart, mom to my sweet daughter Caroline & fur-mom to my floof, Riley. I love summer days at the beach, fall weekends in the mountains, & everyday in between exploring new corners of the world. I live for Italian food, tacos & margaritas. Currently taking life one adventure at a time.

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Avoiding Burnout | Emily Moore | Boutique Photo Editing | Private Photo Editor

You May Have Noticed…

If you follow me at all, then you’ve probably noticed that I’ve been pretty quiet on here lately. I work really hard to provide you with weekly educational content, so I am deeply sorry for disappearing with no explanation. To be honest, I headed into 2018 with guns blazing. I was ready to make all of my dreams into realities, and ya’ll: I was dreaming BIG. There are so many things I want to do this year that I’m excited about. I still have major plans to do them, but I got a little ahead of myself. I tried to take on too many things at one time, and I crashed…hard.

Because I was so overwhelmed, I started feeling physically tired all of the time. Some of it was due to events happening in my personal life (traveling & jet lag), but most of it was because of work. There are projects that I’m stuck on that I need to finish, and I just haven’t felt very inspired lately. This, my friends, is where burnout begins.

On the Verge of Burnout

I’ve been on the verge of burnout before, but it was in my first year of business. This past year, I didn’t experience it much. I did a better job taking care of myself and I made more time for myself. October, November, and December are the biggest months where that goes out the window no matter what I try. It’s just the nature of the business! But I’d be lying if I said it didn’t take a toll on me.

When I had some time off in December, we spent most of it traveling. As an introvert, sometimes I just need quiet time to myself in my house. When I don’t get time to myself every now and then, it can feel like I’m going and going and I don’t get any time to relax. By the time everyone was heading back to work on January 3rd, it felt like I had no time off at all. I was plunging back into work without ever having taken a real break for myself. This can be dangerous for a business owner, and it’s important to realize when your body is telling you to slow down.

Avoiding Burnout

I honestly wish this article could be titled “5 Simple Steps to Avoid Burnout” and give you a list of things you could do to prevent it, but the truth is that I don’t know how to completely avoid potential burnout in this business. Even after three years of being a small business owner, I obviously still struggle with it myself sometimes. It wouldn’t be fair of me to try to tell you how to completely avoid it when it creeps up on me every now and then. I hope one day I can write that article for you, but until then I can only tell you this…

Listen to your body. If you are feeling exhausted and unmotivated when you’re usually very productive, then maybe something is wrong. I find that when I feel that way, it’s usually a sign that I’m pushing myself too hard and I need to slow down. Sometimes it even means taking a little break! I’ve said it many times before, and I’ll say it again: if you decide to take a few days from your business to take care of yourself, your business is NOT going to fail. Your clients will understand! They want you to feel your best so you can deliver your best! The most important thing is taking care of yourself by recognizing when it is happening to you. Then, take steps to prevent it from becoming total burnout (whatever that looks like for you!).

Remember This

You got into this business because you love what you do! You’ve put up with many sleepless nights, stressful situations, and tough deadlines to get where you are. Don’t let your passion fade away by overworking yourself to a point where you no longer love your work. Feeling burned out every now and then is normal, just make sure you take charge of it when it happens.

After some much-needed time off last week, I’m happy to say that things are starting to feel like they’re back to normal. I don’t feel quite as tired, and I’m able to focus better on my work. I still love everything about this job, and I’m excited to head into this year with many crazy dreams. My clients are incredible, and I’m excited to say that I’ll be working with some new clients this year who are just amazing! It’s already been a crazy year, but I am very thankful to all of you for sticking with me through these last couple of weeks. Hopefully, everything is smooth sailing from here on out! I can’t wait to start reviewing books from my 2018 #Bosslady Reading List, and I am just itching to tell you about something that is launching VERY soon!

 

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  1. Love the honesty in this article! I’ve been feeling overwhelmed lately but it’s so nice to know I’m not the only one. (the idea that I would be is sill, I know) It’s refreshing to know sometimes we don’t have the right answers and that’s OKAY! Thank you!!

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