3 Strategies for Avoiding Burnout

It's world mental health day, and we can't talk about mental health without talking about the mental load on small business owners, especially right before the holidays. This time of year we are known to burn the candle at both ends, working to get holiday promotions and products ready, or in my case, editing the slew of fall photos that I've taken.
Being in my 20's with no children, it is so easy to think "just one more session and I'll go to bed", while simultaneously peeling my eyes open like an old cartoon. I don't do photography full time right now, which means after I stay up until the wee hours of the morning working on photography, I have to go to my full time day job at 8am. This is a routine many small business owners are far too familiar with, but there are several things I do to avoid burning out.

1. Set business hours. Seriously. While you may not have a physical location, it's so important to set a limit to your working hours. For example, I don't answer messages past 8pm, and I set my working hours from 7pm-10pm. I have those 3 hours to get what I need to done each night, and I shut it down after that.
2. Batch out your work. If you have blog posts to write, it's easier to write 5 at once than to sit down and write one, create an Instagram Post, then maybe do some invoicing. When you batch your work, you are saving the time you would have otherwise spent switching back and forth from tasks (and probably the time spent checking your phone in between). 
3. Take a break. Yes I'm talking to YOU. Take 3 hours to do what you want to do and need to do to take care of yourself. If you're spending 8 hours at your day job, and then spending 5 hours when you get home working on your business, when will you have time to take care of yourself or spend time with family? Taking a vacation day (or even a few hours) can help recharge your mind and body, so that you are better than ever when you return.

While these can help prevent burnout, there is nothing wrong with asking for help when you find that you are burning out and needing a break. If you don't ask for help, the workload can get overwhelming.

These are a few strategies that help me, but it can be so hard to stick to them sometimes, especially during the fall. How do you handle burnout?

- Grace