A startup business is the culmination of energy, and a long-term investment in time. One has to get past several hurdles in order to become established in their niche. However, spending too much time on this can have significant consequences. Certain factors such as physical well-being, creativity, and productivity are very essential to maintaining a successful business. Being a workaholic could cause an imbalance among these factors, and affect your entrepreneurial qualities badly, affecting subsequently your business.
If you work too hard for your business in the initial stages, it could birth a lot of stress among team members too. Everyone needs to have enough time and chance to rejuvenate their minds during such times, to ensure they retain their productivity and creativity. No part of that is unimportant to running a successful business. Below are simple solutions to avoid burnouts, and help keep productivity to a maximum.
Shift your perspective
Startups demand excellent problem-solving capabilities. However, the usual long hours and the stress associated with it, mean that your creativity is slowly being drained. Although there is a popular belief that perseverance and dedication are of the utmost importance, these very qualities could be the reason for the loss of your own abilities. Studies clearly suggest that prolonged attention to a single task and intense focus could adversely affect innate creativity, which can be boosted by periodic shifts in perspective, or changes in the surroundings. In short, taking breaks and switching between tasks is good for creativity.
Take breaks
It is a fact that a lot of times, you can get more effective work done by actually working less. In other words, by taking short breaks throughout the day instead of working at a single stretch, you can end up more productive overall. Research and studies show that employees who found at least 15 minutes to break every hour, were able to produce better outputs, and worked with more energy. A similar concept holds good for long-term assessment of work, such as over a year. People who go on vacations or find time for hobbies are more productive than their less outgoing counterparts. The bottom line is that there is a saturation point when it comes to work, beyond which you cannot make real or meaningful progress.
Relax…Mentally
If you are spending your week putting in 80 hours at the office, and feeling overly anxious, then the long work hours are probably the reason. Too many hours spent at work can have a direct impact on your mental health. Workaholics are found to be victims of multiple depressive disorders and anxiety. This is less common in non-workaholics.
If you are going through depression, you could lose every bit of motivation you have to function well with regard to workflow. Besides, even trivial tasks could be disrupted when you lack the necessary drive to perform them. It bears making sure that you find some time to relax in between. Supplement that with engaging in mentally relaxing activities like meditation while away from work, and keep your mind fresh for most of your waking hours.
Stay Healthy
Accumulation of stress in your immune system would ultimately force you to buckle under the pressure. Even if you decided to keep working despite the adverse conditions, your body would have the final say in how far you were able to take this. That generally leads to a number of sick days, which would in turn cause a number of repercussions within the organization, for the simple fact that they were mostly unplanned. There will definitely be some information which you alone have access to, as well as tasks that only you can manage.
In your absence, there is no saying what kind of damage inexperienced hands could bring about. Always remember to keep yourself on top of your game physically. Make sure you understand your body’s needs, and meet them as and when you consider best for unimpeded workflow.
Delegate and Detach
If you are serving in a leadership role, you would be constantly evaluating the long-term effects and plans for your business. However, by focusing too much on your work, you end up narrowing your mental scope, and leaving out the impact of hyper-attentiveness. Take short breaks, and delegate tasks if necessary, and detach from situations that are bound to bring you unmanageable stress.
Being a Leader
If you are a leader who is very dedicated to work, your employees could be easily urged to follow your example. It is good to demonstrate the virtues of professionalism and thoroughness at the workplace. However, an excess of either can negatively affect your employees as well. There would gradually be reduced enthusiasm to deal with, not to mention decreased creativity, and as a result, more sick days.
