How to Leave Work at Work

Q: I’m burning out and it’s effecting my business. Any suggestions?

A: Running a small business can be the most exciting, challenging, and perhaps even exhilarating experience of one’s life. Amid all the headaches, deadlines, and responsibilities that only you can fulfill, there’s something satisfying about knowing that, at the end of the workday, you did a lot of good work.

That is assuming, of course, your workday ends at all.

Small business owners can and should take their enterprises seriously, leaving no detail to chance or simply assuming something will get done, especially when there’s a deadline involved.

But one can also be over-committed to a small business, to the point of obsession that can damage one’s physical and even mental health, family relationships, and the business itself. It’s one thing to burn the midnight oil when necessary. But done too often, the only thing that gets burned is you.

What an entrepreneur needs is balance—the ability to give 100 percent to the business, and then leave it to give 100 percent to his or her personal life. That’s not always easy to do, especially when you’re starting out or tackling a huge workload. But it can be done. And more importantly, it has to be done.

Here are some tips for leaving work at work—literally and figuratively:

Plan your workday. Make a weekly to-do list of administrative, routine, and project-specific tasks, and prioritize them accordingly on a day-to-day basis. Make sure there’s some flexibility for unexpected calls or emails. When you’ve done everything on your list, consider yourself done for the day.

Plan your away time. Set aside several evenings, weekends or brief “mini-vacations” for family or personal activities, and give them your full attention. Make this time sacred; stow the cellphone, and keep away from email. It’s OK to be responsive to customers, but not at their beck and call.

Share the load. Delegate responsibilities to employees, even when the workload is relatively normal. If you’re a one-person shop, identify qualified colleagues for outsourcing extra work. You may miss out on some revenue, but you won’t be compromising the quality you’ve promised your customers.

Cultivate an outside interest. Do something that’s fun—a hobby, sport, community activity, a favorite book or TV series. You’ll feel and think better and you’ll be refreshed to return to the work side of your life.