One of the prominent issues faced by new start-up businesses is that the entrepreneur finds it difficult to manage their working day in a manner so that they achieve a healthy balance between work and social time. Away from the structured framework of employment, being able to work 24 hours, 7 days a week means that many people working for themselves do so as a slave to their new venture instead of as a master to it.
In situations where there is a great deal riding on the success of the business, for example where the person has quit their job and is looking towards the startup as a means to replace the income, the pressures can be substantial.
As there is always something to do on a new small business, the entrepreneur works form dawn till dusk attempting to maximize the chances of attaining the required levels of income.
Symptoms of Fatigue
Whilst in the initial injection of time may create impressive results, over time as fatigue and the desire to achieve even more in each 24 hour period increases, the quality of output and the mental state of the owner starts to diminish.
All of a sudden running your own business is not as enjoyable as was hoped and what was once the gloomy water of working for others seems more organized and civil
What is more, if the entrepreneur becomes so exhausted and increasingly frustrated the quality of the decision making process suffers also, leading to a downwards spiral for the business, which in turn cerates further anxiety.
Taking a Break
Balance should obviously be struck between becoming a worker dedicated to the new business and becoming too relaxed and not gasping the true scale of the challenges ahead.
The difficult part is achieving this balance and working the fine line on a day by day, week by week basis. Finding the happy medium is can become even more elusive where the entity is a home based business, where the office is always just a few yards away.
Many commentators speak about the high levels of discipline that are required when working for yourself to wake up each morning and start on time and for as long as would happen if the person was still employed.
Equal amounts are also required in order to stop overworking and to schedule in family time or just periods away, mentally and physically away from the business.
Ideas to Stop You Working 24/7
Always work from the same location. Particularly relevant to home based businesses, having a designated room in the house where work is carried out may help to mentally cordon off the business when the person is in other parts of the house.
The work is dome in the lounge, dining room, and bedroom and so on then the whole home may then become synonymous with the business and thus make it more difficult to be in several areas of the house and not think of work.
Do not buy a laptop. Many of us use notebooks as a convenient means of working in a more relaxed fashion as opposed to sitting upright at a desktop computer. Laptops however are frequently taken on holiday and trained and plugged into the hotel and other WiFi networks denying us of much needed rest and recuperation.
Limiting our business activities to a desktop can help a person to take natural breaks when their back starts hurting or just when they tire of being in the same surrounding.
Get an answering machine. By having a suitable mechanism for recording message and being able to return the call at a more convenient time can prevent interrupting personal time because the phone rings.
Alternatively, a virtual office telephone answering service can be used to put a human voice on your absence and then relay the message to you via email.
Become more disciplined. The drive behind over working is a frequent manifestation of the desire to do well. By understanding that the business will flourish more where the main instigator is well rested and alert may help provide the necessary justification for someone who has a problem with not working.
In any case, none of the suggestions above will stand a chance of succeeding unless the entrepreneur realizes that there is an overworking problem and makes a serious commitment to resolve it.
Mistakes are always made when starting a new business, but these can be rectified provided the entrepreneur continually evaluates everything that is being done and takes corrective action when required.
Such issues and their solutions can then be usefully contributed to others who may find them of value.