Scheduling to Avoid Burnout: Learn to Take More Breaks

Many people who experience burnout had one thing in common: poor time management. Everyone is given the same number of hours in the day, but some people tend to seem super productive, while others seem to run in circles being very busy but not accomplishing anything.

The thing to remember is that productivity is not about how busy you are but about how many things you accomplish. Productivity is all about results. If you want to have more achievements and thus be more productive, you’ll need to learn how to schedule your life in a way that lends itself to your entire life, including downtime and breaks.

Understand Your Limitations

Feeling Overwhelm

It’s easy to compare yourself to others. If you use that other successful people are working 100 hours a week, it’s tempting to think you must. However, you really don’t need to do that, nor should you.

There are 24 hours in a day, and you need to sleep at least 7 of those hours, exercise about an hour, and eat for about three hours a day. Then you may want to spend time with your family, friends, and yourself learning and exploring.

If you really want to fit it all in, you’ll have to be realistic about time and your own limitations in terms of resources financially, mentally, and physically.

Know Your Priorities

When you look at your overall life plan and goals, what are your actual priorities? You have priorities for all the different areas of your life, including spiritually, personal development wise, health-wise, romantically, socially, family, business, career, and so forth.

Determine Your Daily Energy Levels

Everyone has their own daily rhythm to life that works best for them. Some of us are night owls, and some of us are more productive in the morning. Know where you fit in so that you can schedule the most physically or mentally taxing tasks to the right time frame.

Delegate and Automate When Possible

You shouldn’t do everything yourself in business or life. Instead, get help either by using automation technology or outsourcing or both. It costs a lot less than you think to hire someone to handle your customer service emails or to install automation that saves lots of time.

For automation and outsourcing ideas, look at your accounting, bookkeeping, administrative tasks, customer service, data entry, marketing, tech support, web design, web maintenance, content writing, and so forth. If the task does not need your personal touch or smiling face, let go of it.

Set Up and Organize Properly

It cannot be overstated how important using the right tools for the job can save you time and frustration. This is true whether you’re cooking a nice dinner or if you’re setting up customer service options with software. If you don’t invest in the right tools, you’re not going to get the best result.

Avoiding burnout requires that you be very honest with yourself and others about your capabilities. No one really needs to work 80 hours a week. The human body was not designed for that. Therefore, you will need to learn how to schedule yourself to accomplish your goals without overworking because you’re not here to simply work and make money. You’re also here to have a full and well-rounded life that includes downtime, vacations, family, friends, and joy.

Focus and Find a Good Mentor

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October 13, 2020December 20, 2020

How to Take Personal Time Off as An Entrepreneur

If you thought it was hard to take personal time off as an employee, you might be shocked that it’s even harder to take time off as an entrepreneur. After all, it’s your business, so there is more work than can ever be done even if you worked twenty-four-seven 365 days a year.

Knowing that it’s hard to take time off, but if you want to avoid burnout, you need to take personal time off or pay the price mentally and physically. You are probably not going to be surprised that the way you take personal time off as an entrepreneur without worrying is to plan in advance so that you can postpone, automate, and delegate the tasks that need to keep happening even when you’re off the clock.

Plan in Advance

If you really want to take time off, it’s not going to happen without planning for it in advance. You’ll need to prepare not only yourself to rest and relax, but your business to run without you for short periods of time.

The more you set up your business to be hands-off, the more likely you’ll be able to take the time you need without adversely affecting your business. That may include automation, outsourcing, and other technology that makes business and life much more straightforward.

Postpone, automate, or delegate

Everything you do doesn’t have to keep going while you’re on vacation or taking a day off. Some things are helpful, such as checking in on social media with your audience, but they can stop for a while without affecting anything significant.

You can also set up pre-scheduled content to appear in your blog or on social media, even if you’re not really there. The more you have automated, the better because you can keep email marketing, social media marketing, and more while you’re not there, and no one will even notice because of the automation possibilities with technology today.

You can also delegate specific tasks to your virtual assistant or others while you’re gone. For example, you can ask your VA to post or answer more questions in your private group while you’re gone than normal.

Disconnect but Set Realistic Check-in Periods

As a business owner, it may be impossible for you to totally disconnect for weeks at a time, but you can certainly check in fewer times. For example, you can go on a weeklong vacation and agree that you’ll only check your email once every 48 hours, in which case you’ll delegate any fires to your VA.

By setting a realistic check-in period times, you can reduce the stress of the unknown while also enjoying your vacation without checking in during the times you’re disconnected. Turn off your technology from business notifications during the disconnect times and only turn it on during the prescheduled check-in periods.

It can be difficult as an entrepreneur to take personal time off, but if you start now setting up your business to run as much as possible without you using technology and human resources to get things done, you’ll be glad you did. Try taking short times off to start and then work yourself up to taking off a month at a time.

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October 12, 2020December 20, 2020

Say No More Often: Purge Your To-Do List

The telltale signs of burnout are feelings of overwhelming exhaustion, cynicism, and detachment. You may also feel as if you are ineffective and are not accomplishing anything in your life while simultaneously feeling irreplaceable and as if no one else can do what you do and help you.

In other words, you may be experiencing signs of burnout because you never say no. Purging your to-do list can help. But first, how do you know what to stop doing, and more importantly, how do you stop saying yes to everything?

Remember these keywords:

Eliminate, automate, and delegate as you rid yourself of extra work and start saying no more.

Eliminate

Whenever you look at a task, you need to first think about whether it’s even required to be done or not. Just because you’ve always done something does not mean it has to be done. Try to anticipate what happens if you just take it off your list completely. Write down the pros and cons of totally letting this task go.

For example, if you are a writer, do you limit how many times you read through and edit any one piece of work? If not, you should. There is always a point at which future editing will just make the work less effective.

Automate

Can the task that you need to do be done with software? If you can eliminate a task through automation, taking it off your plate in an affordable way, it’s essential to do it as soon as you can financially accomplish it. There is a technology that exists that you may not even be aware of yet.

It might help to talk to someone aware of the technology available for productivity in your space. The advice will be paramount in helping you move your business forward with as much automation as possible. For example, did you know about IFTTT technology that you can use through platforms like Zapier.com?

If This Then That (commonly known as IFTTT

Delegate

If you can’t let it go entirely, and you can’t automate it, perhaps you can outsource it to someone else? You might want to pay a virtual assistant to help you with customer service, editing, or other things. Maybe you can get your spouse or kids to do more housework, so you have more time for business.

For example, if you are a writer and you know you have to edit your writing, it might work out better for you if you let someone else do the editing and final revisions to ensure it gets done in a timely manner? Or perhaps you cannot yet afford an editor, so instead, you get your spouse to cook dinner so that you have more time to edit in a timely manner.

Finally, once your to-do list is cleaned up, start saying no more often when asked to add something to your plate. Make it a habit to never say yes right away. Instead, tell people (or yourself) that you have to check your schedule. Then determine the benefits and drawbacks of adding that task to your life. If it helps you advance your goals, you can say yes, if it doesn’t do anything to move you forward and only adds stress to your life, say no.

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October 2, 2020December 20, 2020

Managing Your Physical State (Managing Your Physical Health In Times Of Crisis)

Taking care of your body is an essential part of caring for your overall well-being. In fact, physical health and mental health are closely related and tend to affect one another.

Optimal physical health is difficult to achieve without mental health and vice versa. Physical health not only refers to exercise, it includes conscious choices that one can make to avoid diseases and live a balanced life.

When times are hard, stress, anxiety and fear can weaken us physically and mentally. These lifestyle choices are important for managing your physical health, especially in times of crisis.

Staying physically active is a lifestyle choice that is beneficial in many ways. Not only does exercise make your body stronger, it can lower blood pressure, improve circulation and prevent osteoporosis. Ultimately, helping you live longer.

As stated, physical activity can also lead to mental health improvements such as, energy and mood boosts, improvement in self image, better sleep and stress management.

Walking

All of these benefits will aid in overall health. Making you more equipped to take on tension that tough times bring.

Eating right and staying hydrated will positively influence your physical health as well. Stay away from fast food and prepackaged and overly processed foods as much as possible.

Rather, try to focus fresh food with an array of colors. Colorful fruits and vegetables offer the antioxidants needed to help your body fight against cancers, heart disease and hypertension. For example, leafy greens, berries, bell peppers, carrots, broccoli and cabbage.

harvest

Eating a rainbow of foods will help your body stay physically strong and boost your immune system.

Drinking ample amounts of water will also help aid in weight management, kidney function and overall mood.

Finally, get a good night’s sleep. It’s recommended that adults get at least seven to nine hours of sleep per night.

Staying on a sleep schedule also helps. The body relies on sleep as a time to repair muscles and organs as well as to reset and file away memories. Being well rested will help with cognitive and immune system function.

It’s clear that managing physical health has many components and is closely related with mental health.

Both are equally necessary for us to be in the best shape possible to take on life’s stressors. Whatever the crisis may be, if physical health is managed properly, we have a better chance of dealing with it and coming out of it in the best position possible

September 28, 2020December 20, 2020

Set Yourself Up For Future Success During Or After A Crisis

Life is full of surprises. Some are positive; some can prove to be more challenging. It’s the reaction to the unknown that defines us. Crises are subjective, unplanned and can range from a small occurrence to something catastrophic. Although we may not know when change is coming, we can be prepared for some of it with just a little bit of forethought. There are several things you can do to set yourself up for success after a crisis.

Don’t live outside your means. Living paycheck to paycheck is difficult and takes an emotional toll. But, scraping to make rent or mortgage, bills etc. becomes even more stressful when there are other struggles going on in life. There are some steps you can take to live within your means. Downsizing your home can help reduce your monthly payments and give you some ability to save more. Make a budget and stick to it. When formulating the budget, take a close look at your spending habits. You can save by cutting out eating at restaurants, cable tv and entertainment costs. All of this will help set you up to be more comfortable in the future, when the unexpected happens.

There are some useful pastimes you can take up that will enlarge your life skill set and ultimately help set you up for future success. Gardening is fun and has functionality.

harvest

Growing some of your own food will help you financially as well as ensure you always have something to eat. There are plenty of herbs, fruits and vegetables that are easy to grow and require a relatively small amount of space. Learning to sew is another way to cut costs. You can do your own alterations, pillowcases and other useful household items and maybe even your own clothes.

Finally, take care of yourself. When you are physically and mentally healthy, you are more equipped to take on any challenge that comes your way.

Weight loss Regular exercise is important and doesn’t have to break the bank. It also aids in reducing stress and getting a good night’s sleep. You can also try fifteen minutes of relaxation and mindfulness to help your brain unwind and begin the morning with clarity. This will help your mental state, making it easier to take on challenging situations.

Hardships are a part of life. Planning ahead and bettering yourself will drastically increase your chances of success on the other side of a crisis.

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September 24, 2020December 20, 2020

Thrown Into Schooling at Home

Finding yourself thrown into schooling the kids at home can be an overwhelming experience. It can also be rewarding.

Whatever the reason why you’ve made the change to homeschool, it’s definitely an adjustment.

home school

The prospect of staying home from work to not only care for your children, but to now be responsible for their education is quite overwhelming to most parents.

Rightfully so, because raising children is not an easy job on its own. Besides the usual tasks that come along with parenting, can we handle being their teachers too?

Take a deep breath, parents, we can do this! We were our children’s first teachers when we taught them to walk, talk and their numbers and colors. We can do this too! Implementing a few tricks will make schooling from home go more smoothly.

One of the things that may help both you and your child as they learn virtually from home is to stick to a schedule.

Waking up early and at the same time every day to start school, even if it’s from home can help both you and your child feel more organized and in control.

Children crave a stable and predictable schedule and this will set them up for success.

Limiting recreational screen time is important as well. Schools will need to rely on computers for communication with students using tools like Google Classrooms and Zoom.

There is already going to be a lot of screen time needed for learning. So, when they are not on the computer doing school work, find other ways to entertain them.

Go outside, ride bikes, go for walks, and go swimming. Remember to get that recess time in. Running around and getting their energy out will help kids be able focus on their school work later?

basketball

Lastly, try to remain calm and give yourself a break. Most of us are not trained teachers.

But, we can help guide our kids through this unpredictable time in a manner that is helpful to them.

When tensions rise, and surely they will, take a time out for yourself to cool down, go to another room and breathe.

It’s important to remember that kids will be stressed or anxious too, so try to give them a break as well.

With time, it will get easier. Putting use to these tips will help you and the kids get through the adjustment period. Homeschooling will feel natural before you know it.

September 22, 2020December 20, 2020

Changing Your Mindset: Attitude is Everything

Keeping a positive outlook can be a struggle during times of uncertainty and understandably so.

It’s easy to feel surrounded by doom and gloom when you’re virtually sequestered.

Making things even more difficult is the constant flood of information coming from the news and social media sites. It’s important to take your mental health seriously, and mindset seems to be the key.

There are two camps out there when it comes to mindset during challenging times. Some people are able to focus on the positives, while others seem to be more challenged to keep a productive, positive mentality.

This “new normal” that we’re facing comes along with all sorts of new ways of living.

Attitude can really be everything when it comes to a healthy mindset.

We are asked to change our behavior and how we interact with others. This can feel isolating. But, what about thinking of it as an opportunity to spend much needed quality time with your immediate family.

Maybe you find yourself unexpectedly out of work and home with the kids. You could give in to the worry and let it stress you out. Or you can use this extra time spent with children and bring the family closer.

Try making it a fun experience to remember! Not all learning is done in the classroom or behind a computer screen.

How about taking the kids outside for a nature walk to collect leaves or flowers and then label them. Or, try a homemade weather station, where they measure and record the daily temperature, rainfall and humidity. There are plenty of resources out there for fun, active learning ideas.

Another way to keep positive is to try and unplug. It’s necessary to take a conscious step back from the tv or computer screen.

Try not to let yourself be inundated with negative news 24/7. Remember, there are still good things happening in the world. Maybe search for some funny cat videos to watch, or Facetime with friends and family.

Do something to make yourself smile.

Sometimes something as small as what you’re wearing can make all the difference in how you feel. Even if you’re working from home now, getting up and getting dressed as if you were headed to the office, may give that needed mood boost and positive motivation. Achieving a positive outlook can be as simple as daily positive affirmations. Find what works best for you.

Giving yourself a mood-makeover is something we can all do to help ourselves stay focused on the positives during this time of uncertainty. Remember, no one is perfect. So, if you feel yourself starting to slip into negative thinking patterns, try making a conscious effort to rearrange your mindset. A positive attitude can go a long way!

September 21, 2020August 17, 2021

Perseverance Requires Persistence

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” The slogan ‘’press on!’’ has solved and will always solve the problems of the human race.

Don’t Give Up….Keep moving Forward Daily.

These words which were said by Calvin Coolidge who was the 30^th president of the United States to me are the most realistic description of what persistence entails, its importance in the lives of each of us.

Persistence is defined as the act of not giving up, and having a firm and obstinate continuance in a course of action you have decided upon despite difficulties. I would go on and define it as one of the fundamental building blocks to a firm and anchored foundation to success. Nothing entails more success than to keep hammering on that idea that you chose to put into action, to keep investing all your efforts and time into one particular plan that you are working on until you get the desired results.

Consistency forms a large part persistence as it is the action of redoing. The other building block that brings our persistence into being is self-discipline. The fuel behind consistency is self-discipline. As humans, we are automatically drawn to take the easier path, therefore when anything becomes less enjoyable our instinct is to quit. When barriers and huddles are presenting themselves before us, we pick the easy road. Self-discipline reprograms our mind to be consistent and to keep soldiering on in the face of adversity. It makes us persistent.

Perseverance and persistence, are words that resemble each other in character and depth. They are often used interchangeably but there sure is a thin line that separates them. Perseverance means to abide strictly by something, to be immovable, and unshaken. Persistence is tenacity, the strength to hold on even when it is unbearable.

Perseverance is acting upon a choice until it becomes a lifestyle, you look past instant gratification and rewards and keep going even when everything around you is shouting otherwise until you reach your goal. It becomes the fundamental differentiating factor between being successful in your endeavors and failing. Even in the face of failure, the more you persist the better the chances you will have of winning because in the process you are learning all you did wrong and you get more insight on what you should be doing right.

We cannot call it persistence if we just continue doing what we like doing, being in our comfort zone, and facing no trials whatsoever. Perseverance only comes where challenges are involved, that means pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and developing a resilience mindset.

For perseverance and persistence to be part of you, you need to take your time to work on it. Take your time to figure out what you want, give yourself a time limit, and refuse to back down until you realize your goal. Take a leap, and get to it without allowing the fear of failure to paralyze you. After taking a step towards your goal make sure you surround yourself with things and people that boost your confidence and strength. When you encounter challenges along the way and they knock you down, give yourself time to analyze and reevaluate where you went wrong and then get back to your feet.

To make it easier to tackle mishaps and challenges prepare yourself for them beforehand, anticipate potential setbacks in your plan, and find a way to counter them in advance. Through it all, you have to remain focused on the goals to be accomplished and on the reward it will all come with. A well- visualized goal fueled with enough passion, perseverance, and persistence, brings about inevitable success.

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September 14, 2020December 20, 2020

Make it Real. Write it down and take Action

Why You Have To Write Your Business Goals Down

Throughout this short little series on setting business goals, I’ve mentioned the importance of writing said goals down. That isn’t just because it’s easy to forget. There’s a lot more to it and there are some very important reasons why you have to write them down.

I thought in today’s blog post, I’d share my thoughts on this and hopefully inspire you to write down your own goals going forward. By the way, this works for any type of goal, not just the business ones.

The simple act of setting a goal, even if it’s just in your mind, doubles your chances of success. That’s a pretty big deal in itself, isn’t it? If you take it a step further, and actually write those goals down, you’re 10 times as likely to succeed. Read that last line again please.

That’s right…you can increase your chances of making it by 1,000%. That’s mind-blowing.

There are a few different mental and psychological processes going on here that start to give us a glimpse into why it is so important and effective to write our goals down.

The first is that it’s a lot easier to remember something that we’ve written down. You’ve experienced this first hand with your grocery list.

When you make a mental list of 10 or 15 things, you’re likely to forget about half of them when you get to the store. If you write out the list on the other hand, and then end up forgetting it on the counter, you will remember the vast majority of the items you needed.

This is explained through the fact that information has to be moved from one area of the brain to another to turn it from thoughts into written words on a page. A process called encoding is also involved. All of this helps you retain and store the information better. It’s the reason we’re asked to take notes during lectures in college.

Last but not least, when you write down your goals, you have something you can review regularly. This adds another layer of cognitive processing and increases your chances of success even further.

Sadly, only a very small percentage of people make the time to regularly review and evaluate their goals.

The ones that do are some of the most successful and highest achieving people out there. In other words, it’s something we should do as well.

To recap, start by setting smart goals. Write them down in as much detail as possible. Set aside some time to review them regularly. This could be weekly, or even daily.

Give it a try for this coming quarter. Set yourself a goal. Be specific. This could be something like finally creating that first paid product or adding an extra $500 to your bottom line.

Decide by when you’ll reach your goal and how you plan to get there. Write it all down and look at it every morning. This will help you stay on track and make time in your busy day to work on making progress towards your goal.

September 1, 2020December 20, 2020

Never Quit: Go After Your Breakthrough

To succeed you might have to fail without giving in to the temptation to quit. Have the courage to go after what you want, regardless of the many times you will miss the mark. Seeing your dream come true will bring fulfillment in ways that will overshadow any failure you encounter. Giving up will only bring a lifetime of regrets. So instead of quitting when the going gets tough, push forward and claim your victory.

The myths around failure.

When people commit to their dream, the expectation is that passion coupled with excellent planning will prevent failure. The truth, however, is nothing worth pursuing is that predictable. Many unforeseen circumstances can still cut your legs from under you, even with all the glorious plans. You could expect setbacks and still be ill-prepared to handle them. Certain things might catch you off-guard. You need to accept that reality if you are to build resilience in the face of adversity.

At ten, doctors diagnosed Kieran Behan, a young boy with a dream to become an Olympic gymnast with a cancerous tumor on his thigh. The doctors decided on an operation to remove the tumor, but it went so bad that he suffered nerve damage. He received the news that he would never walk again. With great determination, Kieran started his journey of recovery. After fifteen months in a wheelchair, he found his way back to the gym, only to slip from a top bar a few months later. He sustained a head injury that took him out of school for a year. His determination to become a professional gymnast saw him retraining his brain to get his co-ordination back. Years later, he persisted and qualified for the European Championships. Unfortunately, the strain he had put on himself had caused several fractures and a blown knee. The youthful man was ready to give in until he remembered his goal. He pushed himself past the pain to become the Challenge World Cup floor champion in 2011. He realized his dream of competing at the Olympics when he qualified as a contender in 2012. Though he never won the gold medal, the young man’s resilience brought him where the doctors had never envisioned he could ever go after facing all the physical trauma and pain.

Failure does not always mean that you should rethink the vision. Sometimes, it means your methods did not work the way you thought they would. It could be the right indicator towards a better way of tackling the work ahead. Do not quit because you failed once. Instead, give yourself room to fail a few more times before throwing in the towel. Somewhere along the way lies victory. Don’t miss it just because you encounter a few stumbling blocks.

How to stay motivated when quitting seems easier.

Remind yourself why you started.

Remember the excitement you developed upon discovering your passion? Everything seemed so possible, so within reach until you encountered the first few hurdles that showed you it would not be a walk in the park. When you doubt yourself and your ability to perform well in your endeavors, take time to remind yourself why you chose that dream. Remind yourself of the strides made so far and how those achievements validated your pursuit. Remind yourself of how it felt to see things falling into place and it will encourage you to jump right back into it.

Keep your eyes on the prize.

Many people lose sight of the bigger picture when things take a sticky turn. This loss of focus is dangerous as it amplifies failures. It becomes easier to compare your progress with your peers, and comparison seldom yields any good. Keeping the end goal within your sights will help the vision seem closer and more attainable. Visualize the feeling of contentment you will get once the rewards come through and it will motivate you to pull through towards your victory.

Take the road less traveled.

Successful people are often risk-takers. They will do what no one else is comfortable doing. Whatever seems daunting to the ordinary person is fodder for a winning mindset. While it is important to plan, one can easily quit at the planning stage because they feel they are not up to the task. If you are going to win, you will need to perfect the art of leaping into tough tasks before you are ready. Do not allow room for stagnancy. It only brings a greater level of discomfort and disappointment in the event of setbacks. Always stretch yourself to build resilience for adverse seasons. Set a few challenging goals that will shake off complacency and gear you up for tough times.

When it’s overwhelming, ask for help.

No man is an island. Whilst it is ideal to pursue your passion alone, dreams are better achieved with the help of others. Surround yourself with a healthy support system. The kind that does not clip your freedom to try things and that is available to help build your confidence back up when things are not going your way. Find people who can provide a safe space in which you can discuss your fears with no fear of judgment or ridicule. Reach out to people who have gone ahead of you and find out how they stayed the course when faced with challenges of their own.

When quitting is tempting, look at yourself in the mirror and repeat “I will not quit until I am living the life I dream of!”