5 Steps To Prevent Burn Out

Many would-be marketing leaders begin their own business only to discover that understanding and liking people, or how to create leads is only a small part of today’s success formula. Because they lack the knowledge of direct response marketing and business systems, they wind up in a business that has them enslaved to 50-70 hour work weeks, working weekends, constantly on the phone with the wrong people and being completely burned out.

… And many times they wind up working for slave wages to boot. I have spent the last 30+ years trying to help people avoid these traps and the short cut detours that lead nowhere. I started with none of the skill sets and mindsets it takes to build a large duplicating network marketing team. If you have a learning mindset, as you start down this road you will continuously gain insights and wisdom on creating an Ideal Business, an Ideal Lifestyle, and avoiding the stress and burnout that comes with having a business that owns you rather than the other way around.

I always find it amusing when newbie marketers give me grief when I say things like, “When building a MLM Team it is just as important to get rid of the wrong people as it is to develop relationships with the right people”.  I guess it is inevitable that some people are going to have to waste hundreds of hours of their life before they understand the wisdom of that, and many other statements.

With that in mind, here are 5 keys to avoiding burnout

1. Always use written systems

The opposite of this is “winging” it day-by-day with little or no defined process. This leads to your business being owner-dependent and makes training a long, grueling ordeal and increases stress. By using written systems and learning the proven leadership principles that have always created success, you will take control of your business and avoid burn out.

I first learned this principle by reading The E-Myth by Michael Gerber. I highly recommend you get a hold of this book.

2. Delegate

Personally doing the repetitive, day-to-day tasks that are necessary to run your business will grind you down. Over the years the ability to outsource has become easier and easier. It would be hard for many of us to function without websites like odesk.com, elance.com and fiverr.com. There is no question this has been the hardest thing for me to do over the years, but learning to delegate has helped me move my business forward multiple ways.

Even if they don’t require much physical energy, they still require mental energy. Think of your mind as a battery that needs recharging. At the beginning of each day you have X amount of mental energy. By “spending” this energy on mundane, daily tasks, you burn up mental energy that would be better spent on marketing and other more profitable tasks.

If you can’t afford to hire an employee, consider hiring a virtual assistant as soon as possible. They can handle many of your administrative tasks remotely, and you can delegate more and more as you can afford it. I staff members that work out of our office in Georgetown, Kentucky and other virtual assistance and outsourcers from around the world that do marketing tasks for us daily.

3. Work on your business, not in your business

This means delegating most or all of the day-to-day activities that take place in your business. This frees up your time to work IN your business. (i.e. plan your marketing, implement systems, guide the course of your business “ship”.) If you don’t yet have employees or virtual assistants, that’s okay. Just be sure to block time out every week to work on your business. Most network marketers just need to make marketing a PRIORITY! Many of the people I consult with will never be able to progress in their business until they are able to learn to prioritize and do the monotonous marketing weekly.

Which leads to the next key…

4. Use time blocking

This means setting appointments with yourself in your calendar to accomplish very specific tasks. For example, let’s say you want to develop a marketing campaign targeting Stay at home moms. Block out several time slots each week to work on that project. I spend the first hour of every day testing, and tweaking new marketing and lead generation methods. When I have them refined to the point that they are converting at the level I am looking for, I outsource the activity.

5. Recharge

Take at least a day each week where you completely get away from your business and do things that have meaning, purpose and value for you. Dawn and I attempt to have a weekly date night. I make return phone calls at the same time daily, and personally answer email twice a day. I have staff that answers our office phone and replies to the bulk of my email. There was a time when it felt like I was on the phone 24-7. That has been a hard habit to break. Also, when you go home for the day (or close your office door and your laptop for the day) leave your work behind. You might think you are getting more done by burning the candle at both ends, but it soon catches up to you and you become LESS productive.

By implementing these 5 keys, you’ll be well on your way to creating your Ideal Lifestyle

Always remember… progress, not perfection.

These keys can take time to implement. Think in terms of a 12-month transformation but along the way you’ll experience successes, and for each incremental step you take forward, you’ll feel an incremental reduction in your stress and burnout.

The truth is most entrepreneur minded people never take the time to STOP and consciously become better at time management, lead generation or anything else. Most have a ready-aim-fire mentality and that is what makes them entrepreneurs. It is hard to get better when your work ethic, drive, determination and people skills is already way above average.