Top Ways to Avoid Burnout
(and “spa day” isn’t one of them)
For many people, summer feels like a time to reset, to take a breather before the fall and EOY hustle starts. It’s the perfect time to reflect on how the year is going so far, and make adjustments before the second half–and it's a perfect time to reflect on how to avoid burnout once that hustle starts back up.
We get it: the “avoiding burnout” topic has been done before. A lot. But–stick with us for a moment because, not to brag, but we’re exceptionally good at this. It’s built into the foundation of our entire company – “bring joy” is the motto that guides everything we do.
So, whether you’re an overworked accountant or stressed out business owner, here are some of our best strategies for taking good care of yourself while you also kick some booty:
Summer Fridays. Okay, we promised nothing like “spa day” on the list and this one may seem similarly indulgent to some, but hear us out. If you have control over your own schedule and are able, we recommend trying a 4-day workweek during the summer. Many of our advisors take Fridays off, to spend extra time with family and enjoy the outdoors. Or, if your industry is busiest during the summer, do this at a different time of the year. The point is: Take breaks when you can.
“Summer Fridays give me a day of the week to take care of personal life items, which means the weekend is truly for rejuvenation and relaxation, which means I can then focus even more completely on work during the week.” - Faith Bygd, Breakaway Advisor
Set boundaries. Repeat after us: You don’t have to be available all the time. One of the best ways to initiate this is by respecting other people’s boundaries. For example, many of us at Breakaway have an email signature that lets people know we don’t expect a response outside of normal business hours. Or use that ‘schedule send’ feature in Slack and email so you aren’t sending messages at odd hours in the first place! When people know you respect their time, they are more likely to respect yours. Next, be consistent. Don’t check or respond to messages at night or over the weekend, even if it’s “quick.” Set a nightly OOO if you have to, for that persistent client who needs reminding. (We have many more specifics to share about this–watch for them in our next edition!)
Schedule time for deep work. Burnout sets in quickly when you constantly feel frazzled. Block off time on your public calendar when you’re not available for meetings. (Mine literally says, “No meetings.”) And as soon as you’re done reading this newsletter–go directly to your email and productivity apps (Slack, Asana, etc.) and turn off desktop notifications. Your train of thought will thank you, promise.
Develop your people. This one is a case of “you have to slow down to speed up.” The long term best thing you can do to avoid burnout is stop wearing all the hats. To do that, you have to give some of those hats to other people. To do that, you must first take the time to train, mentor, and understand your employees and partners so when you finally start delegating tasks, you can trust they are being done well and you can completely remove them from your brainspace.
Take care of your people. We don’t want to simply push our burnout on others, so always make taking care of your employees a priority. Check in with them regularly about workload and due dates. Are they doing work they enjoy? Do they have the training and resources they need to feel confident in their work? Does their schedule allow them to do good work, and provide ample personal time? Above, we talked about taking Fridays off in Summer, or during another time of the year. One of our favorite examples of this & taking care of your people is Nugget, a company that manufactures play furniture for families. Every year after a busy holiday season, they shut down operations and give all employees a few days off to recover. What do your employees need?
Let it go. Once you’ve taken the time to develop your people and make sure they’re taken care of, you need to trust them. This means you don’t need to keep tabs on every little project. The more tasks that cross your desk, the more likely you are to burn out–even if you’re not doing the majority of the work. And remember this important rule about delegation: If you’re doing it right (giving your people enough space) they will mess up sometimes as they grow. Just use it as a learning experience for you all, and move on.
Let the robots take over (sometimes). Automation is now simple and accessible for every kind of business–embrace it. Tools like Zapier automate processes to save you and your team hours every week. The more you can clear mundane tasks off your plate, the more time you have for rest, or to work on higher level functions within your business.
Give up on perfection. You will mess up sometimes. You will have to give less than 100% sometimes–sometimes at work to cover something at home, sometimes at home to cover something at work. This is your official permission slip to feel okay with 90%.
Lastly, if you are truly stuck in an organization that is not aligned with your values–you have options. A large chunk of our company is made up of people fleeing corporate America. Look for companies who care about their employees–they really are out there. Or many of our clients have started their own businesses for just this reason, to take control of their own lives.
If your small business is looking for an accountant who can take over some of the tasks leading you towards burnout, contact us. We’d love to discuss how our unique approach to small business advising gives you peace of mind.
Or–are you an accountant looking to take more control over your career? Visit breakawayba.com/become-an-advisor.
