How to avoid burnout as a creative entrepreneur

Running a business is often hard work, but how do you keep the occasional tired evening from leading to long term burnout? With hustle culture being so ingrained in the business world, it is easy to get swept up in the enthusiasm and miss signs that you need to take a step back.

Working long hours can seem like a good way to get ahead, but being exhausted rarely leads to good decisions. Today we will talk about how to avoid burnout so you can enjoy work, make smart decisions and take care of yourself and your business.

Overview

• Signs of burnout

• My experience

• Dealing with financial stress

• Following your mood and inspiration

• Charging enough

• Community support

• Making space for play

Signs of burnout

The most common signs of burnout are exhaustion and stress. If you feel mentally and/or physically exhausted even after you rest and stop enjoying work that you used to love, this is a warning flag to pay attention to. If you are having a hard time letting go of work and stressing over details even if there is nothing urgent to work on, that can also be a sign of burnout.

My own experience

Since I started straight out of University, I had very little reference for how much you are supposed to work in a day. Being a slight perfectionist who has always tried to push myself, this was not always the best for my mental health. I always felt that I should do more and resting felt like a guilty pleasure instead of something necessary and useful. As they say, recovery is productive. But maybe more importantly, work is far from everything in life.

What really helped me was watching other creatives stream their design process in a ‘design with me’ format. Suddenly I was watching creatives I respect spend 3 hours designing one page on their website when I had tried to finish my whole site in a month. I was a big eye opener and made me rethink how I spend my time and plan my workdays.

Dealing with financial stress

Money is often a big stress factor.

It is not always easy to change over night but I think there are a few things you can do that make a big difference.

The first one is to start with the lifestyle you want rather than start with the salary you want. Pressure to earn a lot of money or get the newest car often puts us under a lot of unnecessary stress. Look at your costs (don’t forget about pensions, taxes and a buffer for savings) and how much time you would realistically like to spend working day to day. Letting go of any norms is often a great way to remove some stress.

The second option is to take a part time job while you build your business. It might feel like it takes you away from client work but when we remove some of the stress it is often easier to be creative. With so many positions allowing you to work remotely, you can often mix the work throughout the day if necessary.

What I would not recommend is taking on more clients. This might sound controversial but unless you raise your prices or drastically improve the way you work, taking on more clients will only make you feel more overwhelmed. If you need to become more profitable but can’t take on another job, have a look at our video on how to make your business more profitable.

Following your mood and inspiration

I used to make a rigid schedule weeks in advance and feel like I had to stick to it. This often meant that tasks felt daunting days in advance or I pushed myself way too hard on days I needed to take it easy. Since life and your body is not always the same day to day, I think leaving some flexibility in the schedule is really important to avoid burnout.

You can have a list of tasks that have to be done as well as the interval when they have to be done. This leaves a little flexibility to switch between tasks or pick up the one that you feel most likely to do a good job on that day.

If some tasks are fixed, like a meeting, add these into your calendar first and keep the other more open tasks on an easy to grab list.

This strategy might not work for everyone but if you tend to stress over a certain schedule or have very different moods or abilities to focus on different days, it might be worth a try.

Charging enough

Raising your prices sounds easy but it is often linked to our self esteem and how we feel about the work we do. If you are feeling stressed either because you are working with too many clients at once, or not having enough work, raising your prices and working with a few clients that pay better is often a good way to improve your bottom line and mental health.

If you feel insecure raising your prices, try starting with a few percent at first. Clients will usually not notice a 5% increase but adding all clients together, it will make a difference for you.

Community support

Problems often feel smaller when you realise that most people experience them as well. If you often feel unmotivated or would like some more people around you that understand what your days look like, try joining a community. It can be everything from a Facebook group, a mastermind that meets in person or even a friend that you grab a virtual drink with every Friday. Find the format that works for you and talk about the things that feel stressful and overwhelming. In many cases, people have great advice and love helping you out.

Making space for play

When you have to be creative at work, you need to recharge to get good ideas. Make sure to plan for free time rather than only relaxing when there is time left over. Tasks tend to take up the time you have available so planning in things you enjoy will help you get to them. From reading a book to working out or visiting a museum, find what works for you.