Navigating Burnout as a Small Business Owner

Mental well-being is a very high priority for workers, according to a survey by the American Psychological Association on the subject. However, workplace stress remains at a concerning level, with 77 per cent of respondents having reported experiencing work-related stress in the last month. Of these, 57 per cent indicated it was negatively impacting their job, even resulting in burn-out.

Small retail owners often cite feeling overworked and that their business has too much control — it owns them instead of the other way around. Here’s how to regain control, find relief and free up an entire day per week without adding more staff and while continuing to maintain strong business growth.

Task Journal
For one week, carry a notebook wherever you go. Set a reminder on your smartphone to go off every hour. When the reminder sounds, write down tasks performed during the previous hour and time spent on each. For example: responded to e-mails, 15 minutes; worked the sales floor, 30 minutes; and handled a customer complaint, 15 minutes.

At the end of the week, colour-code similar types of tasks with a highlighter. Then, add up hours spent on each coloured category. Doing so will provide a visual picture of time devoted to each group. This will enable you to identify single tasks, such as sales, setting up appointments, answering phones and writing e-mails, that are taking up multiple hours per week and can be delegated.

Ideal Workday
Next, use a blank sheet of paper or Excel spreadsheet to create a seven-day calendar. You should have seven columns, one for each day. In these columns, build your ideal week — the type you’d like to have if your business ran efficiently, you had quality staff and plenty of money. Don’t worry if those things aren’t in place yet. This exercise provides a goal to work toward.

Putting it All Together
As entrepreneurs, it’s tempting to keep your fingers in every pie. If not micro-managing, it won’t get done right. But you’ve got to change this mindset and let others handle tasks that are keeping you overworked, preventing you from accomplishing mission-critical projects and living your best life. This means delegating.

The one-week task journal will help you determine which tasks to allocate first. Look for a single task, which, if appointed, will free up the most hours. For example, if spending 20 hours per week selling, then hiring an additional salesperson or delegating some or all of your sales duties to your current team will immediately free up those hours.

Remember, nature abhors a vacuum. Once you’ve freed up those 20 hours it’s critical that you be deliberate about how you fill them. Otherwise, those hours will simply be spent doing less meaningful business ‘stuff.’

Jim Augustus Armstrong is founder and president of Flooring Success Systems, a company that provides marketing services and coaching to help retailers attract quality customers, close more sales, get higher margins and work the hours they choose. Jim can be reached at support@flooringsuccesssystems.com.