2022 - As a business owner, you have to consider your employees as well as yourself in order to prevent burnout. Trying to help your staff balance these things can also be part of the management's job during the holidays - helping them - but also helping yourself. Having a happy staff makes a business owner's life MUCH easier. Everybody gets so focused on hitting their numbers, getting ready for a break, trying to be helpful and pleasant to customers who sometimes are frazzled and unpleasant to deal with - that we forget it's really about friends and family - this whole holiday celebration stuff. Some of the things we are really stressing over or things aggravating our stress levels can be mitigated. Healthy habit changes can improve your quality of life and make it all just a little bit better: For you - for your co-workers - even for your employees...
The holidays can be brutal and lead to total burn out unless you are taking positive steps to maintain your mood – and health! These 6 ideas include both physical and psychological ways to protect yourself.
1. Eat Good Food
When you’re tired and overwhelmed it’s so easy to order a pizza every night or stop for a burger instead of cooking. Trust me, I know! But in the end, the high-carb high-fat foods will just make you feel worse and add to your fatigue rather than fix it.
Try to eat fresh, unprocessed (not pre-packaged) foods. Lean meat, fish, nuts, fruits and veggies. Make more than you need for one meal and eat leftovers to save time. Hire someone to prepare several meals for you if you have to. Do the math – I bet it won’t cost more than getting pizza delivered every night.
2. Cut The Cocktails
Coming home to a glass of wine or bottle of beer seems like a great way to relax when you’re feeling stressed, but alcohol is a depressant. And when you’re feeling tired what you need is more energy, more vitality, not less.
Try substituting sparking water for your evening cocktail and pour it in your favorite wine glass or rocks glass. You’ll get the double benefit of added hydration and less alcohol. I guarantee you’ll feel more “with it” at the end of the season.
3. Leave the Office/Store for Lunch
This is kind of like taking a “free day,” but it’s just during lunch! Leave the office/store to eat rather than slamming a sandwich at your desk. Don’t take your phone. Don’t work while at lunch. Whether you go out to a restaurant or eat in your car at the beach, enjoy each bite of the food and really focus on the flavor. Try to keep your mind focused on non-work ideas. If you give your brain and body regular breaks to rest and reset, you’re less likely to suffer from burnout and you’ll be more productive throughout the day.
4. Stop Doing Something
This one’s a biggie. What can you STOP doing to take the pressure off? There’s probably some stuff you’re doing that’s really just not that important.
Be very rational and unemotional as you think about this question… no sacred cows. What can you stop doing right now (even if you’ve always done it) that won’t affect your business very much but will relieve your sense of overwhelm?
Here are two no-brainers… 1) Stop checking your email in the morning. If you don’t open your inbox until noon, you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish in those few hours. 2) Stop checking Facebook throughout the day. Respond to your followers one time in the late afternoon.
5. Plan A Reward
We talk all the time about rewarding employees – so how about rewarding yourself? This is a great technique to use when you know you have a difficult or grueling time coming up. Like the holiday season!
Plan a great reward for yourself at the end. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive (although it could be if you wanted to!) Maybe it’s your favorite dessert. Or a pack of your favorite pens. Or a massage. Maybe it’s slippers or new Birkenstocks.
Post a picture of it by your computer. Make it the wallpaper on your cell phone. That way when you start to get exhausted and tired of the long haul you’ll know that something wonderful is waiting for you at the other end.
6. Practice Gratitude
One of the very best things you can do to beat burn out is to end your day by being grateful, by reflecting on your “wins” – the things that made your day better, happier, or more successful. The good news is that this idea takes almost no time and is completely free.
Take five minutes before you leave the office/store and make a list in your mind of everything you have to be thankful for that day. Some days this will be easy and the wins will feel big – had a record breaking day, got that big deal before the end of the year. Some days you may struggle to find wins, but they are there if you look for them – the coffee was hot, the roof kept the snow off.
I hope everyone is having a healthy and productive holiday season - no matter what you do. Passing along tips I get from Whizbang!. They send a tip a week on a variety of topics. This I felt was totally shareworthy An amazing man with a ton of great ideas for every aspect of your business.....and it all started with a kite store.
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