Exploring your entrepreneurial side is exciting. Nonetheless, it isn't without its fair share of challenges. While financial strain is a definite challenge all entrepreneurs must conquer, another pressing problem is burnout. This is the gradual loss of your entrepreneurial passion, which ultimately affects your performance. Burnout can increase by the day and if you don't realize it and take the necessary steps, entrepreneurial burnout can drive your growing business into the ground.
So, how can you identify the challenge and avoid the damaging consequences? Here's a look at the top entrepreneurial burnout symptoms.
1. Growing Mental Fatigue
Mental fatigue doesn't happen overnight which makes it harder to catch early on. You won't be excited to go to work today and feel like quitting the next day. It gradually grows from being more irritable one day, dreading going to work a short time later, and before you realize it, you are rushing through decisions, making poor judgments.
You might dread going to work in situations such as dealing with an unpleasant client or managing the consequences of a poor decision you made earlier week, month, or year. While fatigue is natural, if you consistently dread going to work, it is a symptom that entrepreneurial burnout is creeping in. You are mentally distanced from once exciting activities and feel a lot of negativity toward your endeavors.
2. Physical Symptoms of Burnout
Exhaustion, energy depletion, poor sleep pattern and quality, and susceptibility to illnesses are among the top tell-tale signs of entrepreneurial burnout. You'll typically have a tough time catching some ZZ's and, even then, won't sleep as much as needed. Even after a rest, you'll still feel exhausted. As you feel tired most of the time, you won’t maintain good energy levels to keep your productivity at its best. Stress headaches are also common, and as your body isn't at its best, you'll be more susceptible to contagious ailments.
Energy depletion and exhaustion can easily go unattended and many solopreneurs normalize these things given the demanding nature of their entrepreneurial quests. Nonetheless, such physical challenges are among the symptoms of entrepreneurial burnout and shouldn't be overlooked.
3. Slumping Productivity
You started well, talking to your clients in a welcoming, professional, and friendly manner managing your team effectively and time efficiently. Such professional productivity is at the core of entrepreneurial success. It keeps everyone in a happy place. As burnout creeps in, such productivity takes a blow. Your mood and personality gradually devolve which highly affects your clients’ experience.
You might not readily notice it, especially as it grows within, but others can tell. You feel a lot angrier, get stressed by the least exasperation, act out a lot more, and are less pleasant. This affects your professional productivity as you can hardly go a day without rubbing a team member or a customer in the wrong way or blowing up at the tiniest mistake.
As an entrepreneur, it is only natural that you'll be overwhelmed and stressed at times. Nonetheless, it would be best not to discount what you feel, especially as it could be a symptom of an underlying problem that can lead to significant problems. If you feel overwhelmed, distanced from your projects, and always exhausted, it is likely that you are developing entrepreneurial burnout.