How to Prioritize Goals and Avoid Burnout in Your Business

Sherry —The Biz Starter Author

Posted On Aug 20, 2022 |

Tired and Burnout in Your Business? Here we discuss strategies you can use to prioritize goals and avoid burnout in growing your business.

Work burnout is still one of the biggest causes of business failure for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and solopreneurs. Not all startups have the luxury of running their business full-time, which leaves them working 9-5, then 6-9, or even longer on their business. Time and energy are needed to make any business work. Here we discuss strategies you can use to prioritize goals and avoid burnout in growing your business.

Avoid Multitasking

First, let’s begin with what you should avoid. Top of the list is multitasking. I know it’s difficult to work with only one browser open, but this is the best way to focus on your tasks and complete them.

Has anyone ever called you a great multitasker? Although it may sound like a compliment, it might mean you lack the ability to focus on one thing. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Let’s face it multitasking is a goal for many in business—and this is the biggest misconception. The ability to focus on one thing at a time—now that is winning! Multitasking kills productivity because you don’t give one thing “all” of your attention. We’re programmed to think that if we’re multitasking, then we’re being more productive. The more things you’re working on give a false feeling that you’re getting more work done.

Have you noticed when you multitask, you make more errors? Try going back to review something you did while multitasking. You’d be surprised to find out that you’ve probably made some small error or typo because you did not give it your full attention. I remember once making an error posting to social media and vowing it would never happen again. I started using Hypefury to schedule all my posts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. This way I can concentrate on engaging with others and building relationships rather than posting.

Listen to your body

Fundamentally, our brains are not made to multitask. Ever wonder why you are more stressed out when you’re multitasking? Forcing yourself to shift focus and move from one thing to another makes your brain have to work even harder. This is why stress and burnout happen. Signs of fatigue could include tired eyes, sore back, and even crankiness. When you do more than one thing at a time, it’s even more difficult to finish—creating more stress and frustration. Believe it or not, you can finish tasks faster when you narrow your focus to one task at a time and will fewer errors.

What causes burnout?

Overdoing anything creates stress. Working in your business around the clock without any breaks or self-care is a recipe for disaster. Talking on the phone while completing tasks on your computer and checking your email are all indicators that you are doing way too much at once. I’ve seen new entrepreneurs burn out in less than a year trying to toggle multiple projects, or a full-time job and start their business on the side without any clear plan. Building your business from zero can be done as long as you have a solid plan and are able to set boundaries. These boundaries also include turning off your phone, shutting down your computer, and getting some really deep sleep so you can recharge.

Prioritizing Power

One way to avoid burnout is to prioritize your goals. As you build your business, your goals will change, but remember the power of prioritizing —it helps you avoid more stress and burnout. Learning good goal-setting habits early in your business will help you adapt as your organization starts to scale up. A popular reason for burning out early in your business is not knowing what to do or what to do “next”. Focus on what your business needs to achieve now to be the most successful.

When starting your business, set smaller attainable goals, this will help you build up your business faster. Why? When you focus on completing one goal at a time, you’re more likely to be successful because of the time and focus you spent achieving that goal. Small goals are wonderful confidence and energy boosters for your business because they are:

• Attainable. Goals that are out of reach only create stress and frustration.
• Practical. They provide you with the tool to learn, build, and grow your business.
• Measurable. This helps you objectively see how well you did along the way to complete them.
  
• Timed. This provides momentum so you can stay motivated and reach even higher.

Prioritizing Goals

The best way to prioritize your goals is to place them in order of impact on your business. Then place those in chronological order because this is the most helpful with prioritizing goals for your business. Perhaps you have one particular goal that logically comes ahead of other goals. For example, you want to build your email list before you start building your product or service-based package. Another priority could be to research and gather resources to reach a goal. Perhaps you have a social media campaign that you need to complete to grow your audience. Or you need help from a virtual assistant, website builder, or graphic designer. If you are hesitant to hire anyone, take advantage of the automation technology that is available to help so you run your business without stressing over tasks.

Most of these tools also help save us time. You may need to focus on higher-priority goals and get someone else to complete those tasks you do not want to do. If you cannot hire someone or do this alone, those tasks or projects should wait until you have time. Always tackle the lower-hanging fruits first.

Got questions about how to avoid the overwhelm in your business, let talk.

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Categories: Entrepreneur Tips