Preventing burnout at work is something that requires attention. Especially with the pandemic easing up, it’s perhaps more important than ever that we learn how to avoid work burnout. In this conversation with Sarah Dawn, we discuss the myth of making up for lost time, and how you can regain your lost income without burning out.
The thing is, when you try to make up for all the time you lost at work or in your business during the lockdowns, there are side effects - namely, burnout. It's true that you need to regain lost income, but you don't necessarily need to regain lost time. By doubling the amount of time you work, you'll simply prolong the pain that you’re experiencing because it’s not sustainable.
You need a strategy. Specifically, I’m talking about automating and delegating. Tech tools are an easy and cheap way to save you hours in your business. Unfortunately, people are reluctant to change. They’d rather resign themselves to the pain of work burnout than try something that could actually help them start preventing burnout at work.
Delegation is equally important. Too many entrepreneurs become martyrs in their business. They think that if they’re not working, they’re not valuable. At a certain point you need to rely on the competent people that you have around you. Otherwise, you’ll never become truly successful.
You don’t have to work around the clock to be valuable, and you don’t need to take on every task yourself. In order to start preventing burnout at work, take these two tips Sarah shares into consideration.
Work burnout hurts both you and your business. By learning how to automate and develop a competent team for support, you can grow your business without sacrificing your happiness and health.
-------------------- CONNECT WITH PETER BOOLKAH: --------------------
-------------------- ABOUT PETER BOOLKAH --------------------
Hi, I’m Peter Boolkah, business coach, keynote speaker and winner of over 32 major coaching awards. I know how difficult running a business can be and how overwhelming it can feel when things aren’t going right.
One thing I tell my clients is never stop believing in your dreams. Even if you feel your business is wearing you d
-------------------- ABOUT PETER BOOLKAH --------------------
Peter Boolkah (AKA The Transition Guy) is the World’s #1 Business Transition Coach whose main passion in life is to work with talented and high performing business owners who are in the process of creating exciting, high growth businesses.
Peter helps you to navigate and transition through the crucial growth pains that all growing businesses experience making it as painless and exciting as possible.
It is important to remember that businesses do not just grow and develop on their own, it is up to us and our teams to make this happen by making every day purposeful.
As businesses grow some parts of the journey will be easier than others and most owners do not have all the answers. Starting a business is one of the most exciting things we get to do and we all have aspirations of achieving great things. In fact Peter is yet to meet someone who started a business with the intention of failing.
Peter’s ultimate life goal is to inspire and empower over 100,000 Entrepreneurs to create long term thriving businesses resulting in the creation of 1,000,000 jobs.
So if you are scaling up your business, you’re in a bu...
(upbeat music)- Hi, Peter. Boolkah here and welcome to today's edition of The Transition Guy. Now joining me today in the studio is Sarah Dawn. Sarah is a business growth expert and scarily enough an attorney. Welcome Sarah.- Hi, thanks for having me, Peter. I'm glad to be here with you.- Glad to have you. Now, one of the topics that really sort of fascinates me is this whole thing around people wanting to catch up as you and I both know. And the pandemics caused lock downs, huge financial hardship. Economies are starting to bounce back around the world. And it's like all of a sudden people are thinking, okay, well, I've got to make up for a lost time. But what we tend to find is for many people making up for lost time can have other serious side effects, such as burnout.- For sure.- What's your thoughts on that?- Absolutely. And I'm seeing it. And when I'm working with entrepreneurs, we're always talking about the beliefs that they have behind their burnout habits, pandemic, and shutdowns, and lockdown to the side. But now we have this very real thing, right? Not make believe, not oh, the fact that your business was shut down for a year is all in your head, that really happened. And that's such a true hurdle, people are trying to overcome and needing to replace the income from that shut down period, that's all very real, that strategically needs to be managed. But it's not making up for lost time. You're not needing to double your work time and double your work efforts to try to make up for that. Because all that will do is prolong the pain.- Right.- You'll end up with this roller coaster of, oh great, now I'm working 80 instead of 40 hours, 120 instead of 60 hours, we're gonna reach back and get that income back and I can't sustain it. And you're gonna crash down. And in 2022, you're gonna be in a similar financial position because you simply can't sustain working like that. So we've gotta do something different. We've got to put strategy in so that we're not believing we have to just go, go, go endlessly to make up for this really raw deal we were all handed this last year.- And when you talk about strategy, I mean, what does that even look like?- Two words that I think all of my clients are probably sick of hearing until they grab onto it a little bit more. Two of the easiest ones are automating and delegating. I started a law firm 10 years ago, and even just 10 years ago, we didn't have the tech tools, and apps, and subscriptions that are out there that can automate all the basic business practices. The entrepreneurs I see are still manually turning those dials and knobs. Maybe 'cause they started a decade ago like me, and they just don't know they exist, but automation and tech tools are a really awesome, easy, and now cheap way, to have you not manually putting hours into your business and letting it run a little bit more like a machine. And then delegating is finding those other people that have different skill sets from you as the owner operator, that can handle the things that have no business being on your plate to begin with.- Do you think that's an age thing or do you think it's a mindset thing this, of not moving to automation? Because what's quite interesting is we've probably seen the biggest digital shift we've ever seen with lockdown. I mean, even people that didn't like video conferencing are now on video conferencing. It's totally changed their habits, yet, it's like people have stopped halfway.- Oh yeah.- They haven't fully committed to the process, and it's like, okay, well I'll do the bare minimum that I can get away with, and I'm waiting for it to bounce back to the way it was.- Yeah. You know, you say, is it an age thing or a mindset thing? And my first immediate answer, I'm gonna be a lawyer on you here and say, yes, yes, it is an age and mindset thing. I loved it, you know, using myself for an example here, coming from the attorney world, it's a very traditional world. And many of us approach our businesses that way, very traditionally. Whether you're 30 years old or 60 years old. The traditional approach is that mindset part regardless of the age. But the whole approach is old. Right?- Yes. That is so true.- And we'll look at, this is a belief system that I really, it's a deep one to uproot and change. But with business owners, oftentimes they have a mentor or somebody that they really respected and loved in life that they are replicating to create a lot of their own success. And there seems to be this underlying belief that if I divert from this person that I really respected so much, be it a mentor, be it grandpa. If I divert from exactly the way this person did it, I'm dishonoring them or I'm not doing it right. And I think that's at the root of a lot of the resistance to making things easier. Grandpa would have done this by hand. How dare I make it easier?- Now that's an interesting question. I mean, I suppose it doesn't really help when Yoda is your mentor. It really doesn't help, especially with a fast changing world. I mean, things have changed so much and it's not gonna go back either. That's the biggest challenge. Things are only gonna bounce forward and it's gonna be those people that fail to bounce forward that are gonna absolutely be lost in that whole new world. So how do you help people transition into this new world? Which it can be quite scary. I mean, to be honest with you, I'm working in ways that I didn't particularly think I would be working. And you know what, quite honestly, some of the ways that we are working today, I don't necessarily like, I mean, I'm zoomed out.- I was gonna say that exact same phrase, example being, I am zoomed out. I'm done. I mean, except for we're here and there's no other way, but yeah.- How hypocritical is that? I have (indistinct). Here we are doing an interview digitally, but I suppose that's something that you just can't avoid. And the one thing- Right. I don't probably miss is jumping on a plane every three to four weeks and flying all the time. So, I mean, I suppose there's been some good things coming out with technology.- Yeah. And it's little steps because people don't like change.- Nope.- That's just the truth of it. And so it's little steps of, we have to make a change. Let's pick one, implement it. When you feel resistance dive in back into that belief system. Why don't I like this? I, oh yeah, I don't like it because it's different and it's different from the way we've always done things and it's different from the way I was taught and that makes it feel wrong. Wait, but it's gonna make my life easier. And it's gonna create more time that instead of here turning the knobs in my business, I get to spend that time with my family and friends that I haven't been able to enjoy for the last year. And it's, that's really the value I give when I'm working with my clients. Instead of just saying, here, go do these things because they just won't. They'll decide they don't like it, it doesn't feel good. I know this pain of burning out. I'll just stay with that. I know what that pain feels like. Not this unknown thing. But it's having those conversations. Okay, you don't like it. What don't you like about it? Where's the rub. How can we make it feel better? Or how can we stick with it just long enough to really give it, you know, let me say here, the college try? And decide, oh wait, this is actually better. And oftentimes, especially with these automation tools, oftentimes they're not only better. For the business owner operator, they're more convenient for the customer. The customer doesn't want your personal touch on every little thing. Customers like automation. They don't want to have to call and talk to you to make an appointment. They want to get on your calendar app and pick what works for them. Leave them alone until you're in those times. So you have to shift. And you said just a moment ago, what about those businesses that just refuse to do so. I suppose, without naming names, we're seeing that there's a major retailer in the U.S. that had about 15 years notice.- Oh, you can't not name names. Come on.- Okay, I'll say it, beaus they don't care about me. Toys "R" Us. Have you ever heard of Toys "R" Us?- Great example. It exactly happened in the same in the U.K. What happened in the U.S., mirrored in the U.K. And you're right. They had 15 years notice.- Don't be the Toys "R" Us of your industry. They had 15 years notice that the customer was shopping different. And they dug their heels in to that traditional view. This is how we've always done it. This is why the customers always liked us and we're not changing. And three bankruptcies later they still. We'll just dig deeper into traditionally why you love Toys "R" Us the way it's always been. Well no the customer doesn't. They want ease, they want low prices, and they want ability to shop without going into your store and waiting in lines. And they didn't listen and they didn't make it.- And 20 years ago, neither did Blockbuster.- Blockbuster. Blockbuster could have been, but then look at blockbuster compared to Netflix. Netflix had the name down and the plan 15 years ahead of time. Everybody said, why is this company that's mailing me DVDs called Netflix? What does that mean? They knew where they were going with it. They knew where the customer and the technology was going with it. Blockbuster could have done it.- You know, even worse, Blockbuster could have bought Netflix for virtually not very much.- For sure. And so we're looking at these big, huge names and we're like, oh, what a joke. Yet it's us as these small business owner operators are refusing to look at the customer demand, Looking at ease and technology that's out there and make those little changes that we need to make.- Maybe it's also they're a little bit scared that if they go down the automation route, where is their point of value when their point of value was very much in the manual process. And I think that's a big fear for people.- I feel like you're in my head and diving into one of these belief systems that I cover.'Cause there's actually five total that I cover, but that one you just said, I call it the martyr. So the one we're talking about is the traditionalist and the martyr was definitely who I was in my law firm. I believed that my value in that firm, despite the fact that my name was on the door, I believed that my value in that firm was how many hours and how hard I could work.- Right.- And I did not believe I was valuable if I was taking time off or enjoying myself or delegating the task to my very competent team of 10. Very competent and well paid team of 10.- Yeah. So what are the other, what are the other ones you teach?- Another one is the person that says the only way it can be done right is if I do it myself.- Yeah. We know that one.- We know that one. And we all have it a little bit. You, I get it. When you've built your business, when it was your innovation, deciding somebody else can just do it as easy as you that doesn't feel good. That gets in your head.- The big problem is that entrepreneurs get to where they are by being the best at what they are. But they don't realize that to get beyond that point it's not about how good they are, it's about how good they can make everybody else. And there's the trap.- Yeah. Yeah. For sure. Because you're limited, you can only sustain so much. You can only grow so much. You know, these entrepreneurs entered this business and they start with a skill, you know, like you said, they're the best at this skill. And I want to, you know, be a millionaire. We'll just use that number. You're not gonna do it on your own.- So true.- You need to change that skill from the person who can do the thing, you know, manually do the thing, to the innovator that like you said, can make other people better and can be a leader of a team that can execute on your innovation.- Yeah. So true.- I was doing this and thinking, I don't know very many millionaire, you know, knitters that can knit a hat unless they were millionaires- Yeah that's true. first and then decided to become a knitter.- That is so true. Anything else you would sort of bring to the forefront around burnout and how to avoid it?- It's knowing that it's not where your value is and it's not where the longevity of your goals, and you have this dream business, it's not where the longevity is. You will always roller coaster and burnout. And if it's an ongoing habit, you know, maybe you'll peak and you'll burn out and you'll go, whoa, I'm gonna step back a little bit. And you'll take that long holiday and come back and do the same thing again. So you'll always do this in your business. You've got to step back and you have to get the team around you to help you out. If you've truly burned out, like for me, it was health issues that was a full burnout. You've got to get a team around you. You don't need to just take a vacation or take a bubble bath and decide game time again. You know, a lot of people have multiple health practitioners, and therapists, and business coaches to help them do new things. So don't expect anything more of yourself than that. If you feel like you're getting to that point of burnout, get the whole team of people to help you structure things, to really do things well, going forward.- I think they're really wise words. There are people, I mean, and a lot of people are gonna be going through this. A lot of people aren't going to go out there and get the help that they need. And as you say, you can always take a horse to water, but you can't make the horse drink. And that has been forever and that will forever be. And if people resonate with what you're saying today, and they really are looking to sort of get some help around that and avoid the burnout, what should they do? How do they get in contact with you?- My website is a great place to start. It's www.sarahdawnconsulting.com. And if you just want to touch your feet in the water, just want to get a little taste, the first thing you'll see when you go to my website is a free tool called One Week to Business Bliss. And it guides you through exactly what I'm talking about here. To identify what has no business being on your plate. As the owner operator I always tell my clients, you are the most expensive person to be doing the tasks in your business. So what are you doing every day? What has no business being on your plate? And it guides you through how to pick what needs to just be eliminated, has no business being part of your company altogether. What needs to be delegated to other people with different talents. And what can you get automation and tech tools on board with?- And that's interesting because a lot people are gonna fall into that trap where they've got to make money back and they're thinking okay, do you know what, I'm gonna cut cost and it's gonna be me. They're probably gonna end up being the biggest cost in the business.- Yeah.- So that's actually a really good point. Well thank you for giving us, well, sharing some really interesting points and some really actionable points as well, for those that are sort of tuned in to today's episode. Now, if anything that sort of, we've covered on today's episode, and you wanted to sort of do a deeper dive on it, head over to Boolkah.com and get in touch. So, thank you very much.- Thank you so much for having me on the show.- It has been an absolute pleasure for everyone in the audience. Always remember failing to learn is learning to fail. So please stay safe. And once again, thank you, Sarah.(uplifting music)