Three Ways You’re Getting In Your Own Way As a Business Owner
As a business owner, what’s your greatest asset? (Yes, I asked this a couple few weeks ago.)
Your computer?
Your IP?
Your team?
Your systems and processes?
All these are assets, at least theoretically. Maybe some are running more smoothly in your business, and maybe others could use some improvement. But they’re not your most valuable asset.
Originally I said “your brain” is your most important asset, and I think we can broaden that a bit to “your health and wellness”. Are you prioritizing it?
Are you getting in the way of your own productivity?
(Incidentally, I think it helps if you pronounce “scenario” the way Kenan Thompson does when he parodies Charles Barkley on SNL.)
Scenario 1: I had a one on one with a married CPA friend at Starbucks a while ago. It was later in the afternoon, and she got lunch there because she hadn’t had time earlier in the day. She had recently made partner in her firm and had given up exercise because she didn’t have time for it.
She still had to drive her daughter to a day camp that was miles away because she didn’t like the one closer to home, and she had additional responsibilities at work.
Did this story resonate with you?
If no: great. Try the next scenario.
If yes, you’ve recently got a promotion or launched your own business and you’re finding it hard to fit everything in: that’s pretty common. Here’s your reminder to make sure you’re prioritizing your own health first – you might need to ask other members of your household to pick up some tasks, and if you have a team you may need to delegate more to them.
If yes, you work and also handle all of the household mental load: you are well on your way to burnout. I do have another question for you, and it’s going to sound salty, but it’s a genuine question. Do you enjoy being a martyr? (Some people do.)
If you do, and you’re willing to do all the work that requires, you’re still on the road to burnout. You probably need to let go of enjoying martyrdom before you can address that.
If you don’t, then you need a household meeting with your partner stat so you two can figure out together who does what. And if your partner weaponizes incompetence, then you let them do it and don’t rescue them. Save yourself first. (And a reminder that not only can’t you do everything for your older kids, you shouldn’t. Let them handle their lunch-making, cleaning, and laundry. When they get it wrong, it’s a learning experience. Let them learn.)
Scenario 2: When my dad got sick (or rather, when he was diagnosed with his illness), my mom dropped everything to care for him. She stopped socializing with her groups and exercising. After he died, she struggled to socialize again and had a hard time finding her purpose.
Did this resonate with you?
If no: great. Move on to the next scenario.
If yes, you are an unpaid caregiver and you find it hard to make time for your own needs: you’re again at risk of burning out. I’d like to offer the comment that people throughout history did not do this alone, and there were family and social structures to support caregivers. In our society help may be harder to find, but most communities have some kind of elder care system that may provide you with some respite. That’s literally what they’re there for. The time may come when you can give back, but not when you’re spent.
If yes, you were a caregiver and that person is now gone and you’re having a hard time reintegrating: I will offer this – you now have an opportunity to have a different kind of impact or purpose. One that nourishes you and doesn’t drain you too much. I will also say that if your bereavement is recent (or even recent-ish), give yourself a f*ing break already. Allow time for the grieving process and ignore any little voices that start yammering about productivity until you are able to replenish yourself.
Scenario 3: I was talking to a financial advisor with her own firm, and she excels in taking care of her clients. Because she views any correspondence with them (email, text, phone) as urgent (whether the client believes it’s urgent or not), she was frustrated that she didn’t have time to work on some potential opportunities for growing her firm – she was working long enough days as it was.
Did you resonate with this?
If no: great.
If yes, you’re having this exact struggle (even if you’re not a financial advisor): you’re on the road to burnout. Too many distractions not only prevents you from seizing larger opportunities, they also drain you during the day. An email autoresponder that lets people know you received their email will take care of a lot of your emails, and dedicating time during the day (or at least once a week) to work only on your firm and not just in it will give you that space - as long as you communicate it to everyone!
How health impacts your productivity
I have a bunch of easy questions that are probably really obvious, but I’m going to ask them anyway. Sometimes you don’t realize you’re in your own way until the question is reframed.
Do you serve your clients best when you’re able to focus on them and their needs, or when you’re distracted by emails?
Are they served best when you feel refreshed and energized, or when you’re tired and grumpy?
Do you serve your clients best when you feel optimistic and motivated, or when you’re dull and affectless (this is a warning sign that you are very close to burnout)?
Do you make better business decisions at the end of a long day, or towards the beginning when you’re still fresh?
Are your decisions better at the end of a long day when you’ve been very busy and haven’t had lunch, or at the end of a long day when you’ve been very busy but had lunch out with friends?
Do you feel better at the end of a day where you’ve gone from task to task to task without actually finishing anything, or when you’ve accomplished even one task you set out to do?
Do you dread Monday because you feel like you haven’t had time to yourself all weekend, or are you motivated to get back to work because you feel refreshed and reenergized?
Are you the only person who knows how to do anything in your business/home life, or do you have staff and people at home who could step up and take some of the load off you?
The following are especially true for women business owners because women are most often the ones handling the household mental load as well as their business:
Your clients are not served by you burning yourself out.
Your clients are not served by you working long hours every day.
Your clients are not served by you giving up your own health to take care of anyone else’s. (And neither are you, nor is your family.)
Recap (tl;dr):
Business owners can better serve their clients (and themselves and their loved ones!) when they take time to refresh and reenergize themselves. Other people can help when your plate is too full.
Feel like the demands of your business don’t allow for self-care? I can help you get more done without working harder or longer, so set up some time to chat with me here .
Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash.