Ask The Entrepreneurs: 15 Signs You’re Working Too Much and Burning Out

Ask The Entrepreneurs is a regular series where members of those involved in the Young Entrepreneur Council are asked a single question that aims to help Lifehack readers level up their own lives, whether in a area of management, communication, business or life in general.

Here’s the question posed in this edition of Ask The Entrepreneurs:

1. Input vs. Output

 Are you working very hard, draining your batteries, but seeing very little concrete evidence of the time you’re spending? This means that your input/output is out of balance. You should be working efficiently and effectively, producing more than you invest, so if that’s flip-flopped, take some time to recalibrate.

-Colin Wright, Exile Lifestyle

2. Entrepreneurship Is Fun, Remember?

 When you’re loving what you’re doing, the “fun to not-fun” ratio is heavily in favor of the fun side. You are excited to get up and get to work, full of energy and new ideas. You get stuff done fast and you’re in the flow. But once things start to shift to where the majority of your days aren’t enjoyable at all,you need to start looking for a break to get that passion, energy and fun back.

-Trevor Mauch, Automize, LLC

3. Blurry Focus

 If you’re having trouble focusing because you’ve taken on too many different things, your work will suffer. You’ll notice a lack of enthusiasm, a lack of interest, and overall, a lack of quality output. If you’re not able to deliver what your client expects, you’re probably taking on too much. Focus on what you can and should be doing, and find a way to cut out the rest.

-Matt Cheuvront, Proof Branding

4. Voicemail’s Full!

 If you begin dreading calls with clients, it’s a sign that something is out of balance. Use that warning to evaluate if you’re working too many hours or on tasks that can be easily outsourced, so you can fully enjoy every client conversation and network without feeling tired or burned out.

-Kelly Azevedo, She’s Got Systems

5. Unnecessary Insomnia

 If you’re tossing and turning at night and having trouble getting those restful Zzz’s, it’s a sign you may have too much on your plate. It’s a dangerous self-fulfilling cycle too; if you can’t get to sleep because your mind is too active, you’ll be even more tired the following day. Look for ways to delegate your to-do’s and make R&R part of your routine.

-Doreen Bloch, Poshly Inc.

6. Where Do I Start?

 A disorganized list of tasks is the busy entrepreneur’s kryptonite. Without some sort of method to your daily madness, you’re bound to feel overwhelmed and not know where to start. I recommend spending ten minutes every night reviewing your task list for the next day and creating a hierarchy that you will be excited about tomorrow.

-Logan Lenz, Endagon

7. Social Surfing

 One sign that I knew I was getting burned out was that I’d spend way too much time on Facebook, Twitter, message boards, blogs, ESPN, news sites, anything to put off doing work. In the beginning, I was incredibly excited to get to work each day and crush my tasks. As I got burned out, I started to procrastinate and surf the net, tweeting more and commenting on Facebook posts and blogs.

-Nathan Lustig, Entrustet

8. Steering Clear of Your Own Office

 Whenever I am experiencing burnout, the last place I head is my office. I’d rather do laundry, scrub bathrooms or go for a walk on a frigid day than sit and do work. If you are experiencing similar feelings, take a few hours or an entire day to just set the work down and go do something totally fun and frivolous. Your brain and body will thank you immensely!

-Erin Blaskie, BSETC

9. Is This Annoying?

 You know you’re starting to experience burnout when become very irritable and have a hard time keeping your emotions in check. You will tend to lash out at people that are undeserving of the outburst. Then you know it is time to take a break!

-Justin Nowak, Mobile Business Advisors

10. No Time for the Best Friend?

 This might sound corny, but for me, if I’m too tired to play with our dog for at least a few minutes when I get home from work, it’s not a good sign.

-Nicolas Gremion, Free-eBooks.net

11. When You Can’t See the Light

 Personally, I don’t live to work, I work to live. Being outdoors is an extremely important part of my life and if I realize I haven’t seen sunlight in 18 hours, I know I’m headed straight for burnout. Even if I have to sadly supplement going skiing with taking a quick walk to get coffee, it’s better than not getting any vitamin D at all. Know what’s important to you and don’t neglect it.

-Matt Wilson, Under30CEO.com

12. Overwhelmed with Apathy

 The biggest sign I have found time and time again is when you become apathetic to your business. You stop responding to emails immediately, you spend more time on websites like Facebook and “fun” sites, and you feel like things can wait.

-Steven Le Vine, grapevine pr

13. What Is Burnout?

 If you get to the point where you’re asking yourself what constitutes burnout, you’re probably already at a point where you need to take some away from work. It’s easy to push harder, but taking an “unplugged” day away from email and phone calls does wonders to the body and mind!

-Nathalie Lussier, Nathalie Lussier Media

14. Didn’t I Go to Work Already?

 If you are “at the office” even when you are at home asleep, it is time to take a breather.

-Peter Minton, Minton Law Group, P.C.

15. I Love Email!

 Managing email is one of the most inefficient tasks of the day, but when you start loving receiving and answering emails as an excuse for not doing real work, that becomes a problem. If you live for that nice little update in your inbox when you have a new message, you probably need to take a break to figure out how you can fall in love with your real job again.

-Danny Wong, Blank Label Group, Inc.

#FixYoungAmerica: 5 Resources For Young Entrepreneurs

Fixing young America may seem like no easy task. Unemployment looms over the heads of recent graduates, and for those preparing to graduate, opportunity seems elusive. #FixYoungAmerica is a campaign that got its start by Young Entrepreneur Council. Their mission? To provide a solution to the question of How to overcome the epidemics of youth unemployment and underemployment and #FixYoungAmerica?

Their take on the campaign? “If we genuinely want Millennials — and future generations — to survive and thrive in the new economy, then we need real solutions, and we need them now. Help me #FixYoungAmerica”

Recommended below are some resources that can benefit young and motivated entrepreneurs achieve goals, or even life-long dreams:

Kickstarter, the online crowdfunding startup is reported to distribute an estimated $150 Million to promote Kickstarter projects, just this year alone. According to Wire Inc. and Talking Points Memo, that’s $4 million more than the fiscal budget for the National Endowment of the Arts, which is an independent federal agency that supports the arts and artists it associates with. One of Kickstarter’s most important assets is that unlike the NEA, the way they choose eligible candidates is through their an application on their site. Applying through Kickstarter is much less a daunting task for timid artists and entrepreneurs, because they recognize talent and motivated young people trying to make a business move that may one day make the world a better place.

Crowdsourcing isn’t a completely new trend in society, but Kickstarter spins it to allow everybody an equal chance at getting their next startup idea funded by the generosity of strangers that fully support their idea.

Zach Sims, founder of Codecademy had an idea that would flip the cost of knowledge from years worth of student debt by providing free coding to anyone with an Internet connection. As simple as the tag line of the site is, “Codecademy is the easiest way to learn how to code. It’s interactive, fun, and you can do it with friends”, it summarizes the exact point of what Codecademy is trying to achieve — beating the digital divide.

As technology continues to grow on it’s rapidly moving path, there is a lot of concern that a “digital divide” will split society amongst those that understand how to interact with the technology, and the other side of the divide may be left in the dust. Learning how to code not only helps the mind to develop good habits, but can also help minimize technology’s seemingly cruel learning curve, which is why Codecademy is a brilliant resource for entrepreneurs young and old.

MassChallenge is a company lead by CEO John Hawthorne, who pledges to “catalyze a startup renaissance.” If you happen to be an early-stage entrepreneur looking for that golden opportunity – the accelerate program has your back. With an annual startup competition, MassChallenge puts your teams to work by providing a 3 month accelerator program that includes world class mentorship, access to funding, and a free office space to cook up your incubated ideas. To find out more about this program, simply go here.

Author of The Education of Millionares Michael Ellsberg has a different approach to education. Rather than using a degree or MBA as a credibility marker, social media assets like the number of Twitter followers, LinkedIn connections, or your blog or startup’s Page Rank are factors that lend to one’s credibility in this day and age. A modern version of credibility now comes in the form of social networking, and the ability to engage with influential community leaders.

Hack College friends The Youth Entrepreneurship Act has a strong interest when it comes to getting young entrepreneurs the help and assistance they need in order to overcome this tough economy. With the Youth Entrepreneurship Act, student loans are forgiven or deferred for young entrepreneurs which would forgive or defer student loans for young entrepreneurs using the Income Based Repayment System.

If you’d like to donate to #FixYoungAmerica’s $30,000 goal, you can do so through their IndieGoGo page.

Greg is the Outreach Editor of Hack College, and was formerly a Social Media Strategist at AOL, and consultant for College Humor.

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Ask The Entrepreneurs: 16 Ways to Master Your Work-Life Balance as an Entrepreneur

Ask The Entrepreneurs is a regular series where members of those involved in the Young Entrepreneur Council are asked a single question that aims to help Lifehack readers level up their own lives, whether in a area of management, communication, business or life in general.

Here’s the question posed in this edition of Ask The Entrepreneurs:

1. Let Go of Fear

“Many entrepreneurs struggle with fear that if they’re not working every minute that they could possibly be working, their business will fail and they will regret not having put in more time. However, in my own experience and in observing other successful entrepreneurs, letting go of this fear not only leads to work-life balance but also more meaningful productivity and accomplishment.”

-Elizabeth Saunders, Real Life E®

2. Build Lifestyle into Your Brand

“These days so many people are focused on getting funding, explosive growth and spending 80 hours a week on their business. While that’s all great stuff, it can lead to burn out and unhappiness really quickly. Make lifestyle the most important factor in business from the beginning, and then grow with that principle in mind—less stress, more happiness.”

-Sean Ogle, Location 180, LLC

3. Schedule Your Life, Not Just Work

“Reserve set times in your schedule for activities that allow you to recharge and that add value to your life, such as daily exercise, a weekly date or social night, reserved time for family activities, and a yearly vacation. You not only will have something to look forward to, but also extra motivation to manage your other time well so you do not have to cancel on others—and yourself!”

-Doug Bend, The Law Office of Doug Bend

4. Set Some Boundaries

“Calm down. It’s 11 p.m. You’re not going to lose that client if you wait until tomorrow to respond to his request for a project estimate. Set work hours for yourself and stick to them. If you make yourself available at all hours—while out to dinner, while on vacation, during “sexy time”—you set a dangerous precedent!”

-Steph Auteri, Word Nerd Pro

5. Turn It Off!

“Our smartphones are a part of our everyday lives, but as an entrepreneur, we literally sleep with it tucked under our pillow. Simply turn off the phone and be amazed at how much you can get done—you can even fit in a work out. You have to know when to separate work and life, which starts with shutting off from everything to take time for yourself. That’s why there’s a thing called voicemail!”

-Ashley Bodi, Business Beware

6. Learn Something New

“I started taking beginner piano lessons at age 26 so I could schedule time away from my computer. Now I know that my Tuesday and Thursday evenings are piano nights. I’m paying money to be there, so you better believe I’ll be shutting off my work to get there.”

-Allie Siarto, Loudpixel

7. Work It All Out

“Being an entrepreneur often uses up all of your time but it’s important to remember to stay healthy and work out. Try and add a calendar invite reminding you to go to the gym, run or do whatever fits you. If not, you’ll most likely regret it when you start seeing negative results.”

-Ben Lang, EpicLaunch

8. Figure Your Fuel

“Too often, the work-life balance discussion revolves around sleeping and exercising schedules; but for nonstop entrepreneurs, the conversation needs to begin with what we’re using for fuel. It’s important to stock up on healthy snacks that will reduce your cravings (for less healthy foods) and keep you going 24/7. Stash them in your desk, computer bag, and car for emergency use.”

-Benjamin Leis, Sweat EquiTees

9. Remember Your Friends?

“Many entrepreneurs I talk to often think about how much time off that their peers have because of their cushy corporate jobs. Entrepreneurs should try creating similar schedules as well so that they can have proper work-life balance. If corporations can make it happen, entrepreneurs can too!”

-Danny Wong, Blank Label Group, Inc.

10. Delegate Your Life!

“It’s great to delegate bookkeeping, marketing, and admin work, but for many who are just starting off your budget won’t necessarily allow for it. Get creative and delegate more of your “life” duties like childcare, cleaning house, and grocery shopping to a spouse. Having my husband help me out by doing some grocery shopping means I have more time to spend with him when we’re at home.”

-Jennifer Donogh, Young Female Entrepreneurs

11. Try Time Boxing

“If you can offload common tasks, such as scheduling and other appointment setting, you’ll free up your time to focus on the most important tasks. Time boxing will allow you to apply laser focus to one project at a time.”

-Jeff Slobotski, Silicon Prairie News

12. Put Yourself First

“If you’re an entrepreneur, your business relies heavily on your sleep and sanity. Make sure that you are putting yourself first by eating right, sleeping well and exercising (at a minimum). Remind yourself that those things are critical to thinking, creating and performing at your best, and make sure you stand firm to your commitments to all three.”

-Jenny Blake, Life After College

13. Balance Is Not “Equal”

“Personally, I’m not happy if I’m evenly dividing my time between work and other things. I really enjoy what I do, to the point that I get bored with a lot of hobbies. I focus on making sure that I’m doing well on a personal level: if I’m feeling stressed out, I’ll take a step back; if I feel like I’m not getting enough work done, I’m cool with investing more time.”

-Thursday Bram, Hyper Modern Consulting

14. You Deserve a Reward!

“It’s easy to forget about the “life” part. Unfortunately, this ends up making you burn out, while never giving yourself “me” time and enjoying the fruits of your labor. Reward yourself, whether it’s by taking a vacation, treating yourself to a day at the spa, or turning off your devices and reading a book. It will make you a better worker in the long run.”

-Steven Le Vine, grapevine pr

15. What’s Your Work-Life Story?

“Whether I spend 80 hours a week working on business or I’m on vacation and give 100 percent of myself to my reflection and refueling, my experience of both are pretty much the same. I make it my priority to narrate the story of what I’m doing, how I’m feeling, and how I’m spending my time in a way that makes me feel good and balanced. The story I tell myself is what keeps me thriving.”

-Alexia Vernon, Catalyst for Action

16. Schedule It Like You Would An Important Meeting

“If you want time for yourself, you need to schedule it into your day. 4 days a week I make 2 hours for myself through Crossfit. There is nothing more important to me than my health. To ensure I never miss a class, it is scheduled into my calendar weeks in advance and my day is planned around it just like an important meeting with a client. If it’s scheduled, you will do it. If it’s not, you won’t.”

-Greg Rollett, The ProductPros

(Photo credit: Work Life Balance Writing on Businessman’s Hands via Shutterstock)

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only nonprofit organization comprised of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs. The YEC promotes entrepreneurship as a solution to unemployment and underemployment and provides entrepreneurs with access to tools, mentorship, and resources that support each stage of their business’s development and growth.