One of the biggest hurdles to our success, as small business owners, is burnout. When your business begins to consume you and take over your life you can easily fall victim to this trap. This is why it is important to schedule your day including time for breaks.

When you first start your business you should be thinking about exactly how much time you are willing to put into your business. I understand it takes a great deal of hard work to get a business off the ground, but once you are established where will your clients be if you are not there to service them because you have simply burned out?

From the very beginning it is important to establish a schedule and stick to it. If you plan to not work weekends then don’t work weekends. If you plan to take time each day to exercise because that is a part of your daily routine now, then by all means exercise. It is amazing how quickly our businesses can take over our lives if we let them, but believe me at some point something will have to give and without a strong will I am sure it will be you and your health.

If, by chance, you have not taken the time to do these things when you started your business it is never to late to start. Don’t be afraid to ask for help (I think I might know a great Virtual Assistant that would be willing to help you out) with those chores that are least productive and taking up the most of your time.

Start small by setting a time each day to take a break … spend that time away from your business doing something you love … read a book, go for a walk, play Sudoku … whatever it takes to give your brain and body the rest it needs. Work a starting time and an ending time into your day and stick to it by scheduling your daily tasks within this time frame. If you still find you lack enough hours in a day then it is time to call in the reinforcements.

Unfortunately what some of us forget is that we must come first … if something happened to you tomorrow, your client’s would obviously make other arrangements, but your family and friends will mourn you for many days to come. Remember that life is for living and spending time with your family and friends … once you start remembering this and letting go a little bit you will be amazed to learn that not only will your business continue to thrive, but so will you.