Chris LoCurto

Finding The Life & Business You Really Want

Leadership ·

Fatigue of any kind is highly likely for an entrepreneur who’s wearing many hats and trying to grow a business. Eleven years ago, Dave hired me to run a business. I basically lived at our old office then. I would work every day until 10 or 11 p.m., and all day Saturday and Sunday afternoons. I did everything I could to make that bottom line bigger.

I made sales calls all day long, while people were available, and switched to the administrative side of the business at night and on the weekends. My goal was to create enough revenue with my efforts, so I could hire a salesperson to replace me. That first hire gave me most of my nights and weekends back. After hiring two salespeople, I had enough revenue coming in to hire an admin position. This allowed me to focus more on the business instead of in the business.

Was I tired? Heck yeah! As I traveled around the country doing events, I would find myself getting really frustrated and…snippy. I could feel the emotional fatigue draining me by the end of a season.  Fortunately, I found a few things that would turn it around.

  • ZZZZZZ – The biggest culprit of emotional fatigue for me is being tired! No matter how good things are going, I get emotional if I’m tired. Sleep is an absolute must.
  • Cut it out! – I find that drinking caffeine to keep you going actually has a bad effect in the long run. It’s OK if you only need the boost for a short while, but most people burning the candle at both ends tend to drink caffeine all day or night. The consistent highs and lows definitely affect your emotions. Drink as much water as you can. Hydration is essential.
  • Road Trip!!! – I discovered long weekends. I made it a point at the end of every season to take at least one four-day weekend. I would either get away or find something to do around the house that was mindless. A quick trip to a resort/bed-and-breakfast/cabin recharged me enough to get back on track.
  • Turn ’em off! – You have to have down time that doesn’t include phones and computers—at least not where work is concerned. In fact, there are many studies that suggest computers mess with your melatonin levels, leaving you tired and unable to rest well.
  • Run Forest! – Get out and exercise. You don’t have to run a half marathon…although it’s not a bad idea. The more you exercise, the more you release endorphins into your system. They are like a happy drug for your body. The more, the merrier. (It was unavoidable. :-))

While most of these ideas seem time-consuming, especially when extra time is something no entrepreneur has, they are critical to your health and business. If you don’t take the time to prevent, you will take the time to fix. There’s no way around it. The truth is that the happier you are, the more productive you are.

Question: What do you do to avoid emotional fatigue?

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