How To Not Burn Out As An Entrepreneur

Hey Indie Hackers!

I thought I'd share some tips on how I've managed to avoid burning out over the past couple of years. For some background, I've burnt out like crazy after launching my first company when I was 18. You can read about how rapid growth killed my six figure start-up: https://www.indiehackers.com/forum/how-rapid-growth-killed-my-6-figure-start-up-27f756aa6c

1. Do Less To Achieve More ✅

As entrepreneurs, we often (even subconsciously) compare our routines to those who are far more successful than us. It's easy to watch videos about Elon Musk or other execs and notice how every minute of their time is scheduled and packed with "something".

The reality is, business management doesn't HAVE to be that way, plus, not all of us will have huge corporate businesses (and that's okay).

A great rule that helped me was to identify a few tasks that really help build my business. For example, email outreach, social media engagement and content creation (for social and our blog) bring us our new customers.

Once you've identified the core drivers of your business, simply create a routine that involves those things each day. I have a simple checklist that's 3-tasks long each day. Once done, I'm able to do other things if I want or need to. Simple.

2. Give Yourself A Break 💆‍♂️

Another side-effect of running a business is that our minds keep running like clockwork even after we've closed our laptops. It's imperative to give yourself a break, even if you need to force yourself from time to time.

I do my best to either take naps in the day, or take the weekends off. If I really need to work of have something important to do, I'll check things off my list early in the morning.

3. Remind Yourself Of The Reality Of Things 😎

The reality about success is that it's the result of compounded effort. If you've just started out, don't be too harsh on yourself. Remind yourself that it took companies like Facebook Or Netflix almost a decade to really take off. Better yet, all good things in life generally take time. As cliche as it sounds, think of your project as a seed that requires constant water, each day, for it to fully bloom some day.

If you rush the process, you also rush past the lessons behind the struggles.

4. Create Coping Mechanisms For Stress 🤯

Just a disclaimer: I'm not a therapist/psychologist, so if you're dealing with deep anxiety or trauma, speak to a professional. For general business-related stress, try to find ways to handle stressful situations. For example, a combo I use is:

a) Being Solution based - meaning, if there's a problem in the business, I ask "why did this happen?", along with, "What needs to be done next, and how can I mitigate this from happening next time?" - By zooming out, you don't live "in" the stress, but merely observe and resolve it.

b) Meditation - becoming more mindful has helped me zoom out of stress and uncomfortable emotions. Believe it or not, everything from the stress of a client not paying you to procrastination can be a result of past trauma. Meditation helps you to observe your emotions and make decisions from a clearer more tranquil mind-frame. I meditate every morning for 20 minutes.

5. Eat Better 🥦

If I were to ask you where 90%+ of the feel-good chemical "Seratonin" came from, where would you say? the brain, right? - Wrong. 90% of our seratonin production comes from our gut / digestive tract. So, as much as we preach the "ramen noodles" and so on, try your best to eat better to help stabilise your hormones and emotions. It helps a TON. The cleaner you eat, the less sluggish you feel, and the clearer your mind becomes.

I hope this helps Indie Hacker fam!