And so on. What this does is it keeps you on task and prevents you from getting caught up in busy work. Having a daily operations task list trains you to become more efficient, so eventually you can work fewer hours in your dojo.
This is important. Once you set your goals and you know which tasks you need to perform to accomplish them, then you need to know what to do when you hit those goals.
I suggest that, when you hit your goals, you take a few days to reflect and reevaluate those goals. The idea here is to evaluate whether or not your work activities and business are supporting your lifestyle goals (time, money, personal level of success).
To determine this, you need to ask yourself the following questions.
- How is my health? Am I getting enough rest? Am I getting enough time away from work with my family and friends?
- How is my level of job satisfaction? Is my business satisfying me personally? Am I having a meaningful impact on my students and community?
- Am I living the lifestyle I want? Do I have financial freedom? Do I have time freedom? Is the way my school is set up and run now satisfying my personal goals? Or, is it detracting from them? Do I need to consider a restructuring of my business to better meet my personal goals?
Delegate
Delegation is often a difficult skill for school owners to learn. I know it was for me. Martial art school owners tend to be control freaks, and we think we need to do everything ourselves so it is done "right."
Well, I'm here to tell you that for the most part, you're expendable. That's right, there are actually people out there who can do most aspects of your job just as well as you can.
However, what those people CAN'T do is perform high-level strategizing and planning on your business. Only you are capable of doing that, because it's your business and your vision.
Also, those people can't lead like you can. So, learn to delegate those tasks that can be delegated, so you can free up your time to plan, strategize, and be a leader to your staff and students.
Personal Reward Systems
By taking a few days after reaching a milestone goal to do a personal and business status inventory, you will be able to better focus your time and energy toward achieving your REAL goals... goals that matter to you.
While you're taking a few days to take this personal and business inventory, it's also a good time to reward yourself for all your hard work. And you should reward yourself, because doing so reinforces the positive behaviors that got you to this point.
Maybe it's something simple like taking a few days to get away for the weekend to your favorite spot. Or, maybe you hit a financial milestone, and you promised yourself a new toy.**
Whatever it is, reward yourself while you're taking time to conduct that personal and business inventory. Then, be prepared to come back to your dojo to implement that new plan, keeping your lifestyle goals in mind.
Planned Time Off
Another way to reward yourself is by taking planned time off every year. I typically shut my school down completely for one week during summer and one week during the winter break. That way, I can spend 9 days (Friday night to Sunday the following week) resting and relaxing, WITHOUT having to think about my business at all.
I do zero work during this time. I take zero business-related calls or emails. I tell my staff not to bother me during this time (I schedule business-related holiday events before my time off). I don't check the school email or social media accounts.
In short, I take a complete mental and physical vacation from work for that 9-day period. And, it's amazing the impact this can have on your sanity and energy levels.
In addition, I set my businesses up so I only have to work four days a week. I've done this for years. Even in my first school, I typically took Fridays off to do things I wanted to do, and would only show up to the school to teach two classes, then leave.
Friday are my time to go see a movie, hang out at the bookstore or coffee shop, read, go to the park, hang out with my kid, and reflect on the week. Mostly, it's just time I set aside to decompress.
One thing I've noticed is that when I don't take this time to decompress each week, my stress levels increase, I don't sleep as well, and I start noticing a lot of muscle tension in my back and neck. I have learned to take these all as signs that I need to take a day off, and do so whenever I notice them creeping up on me.
Cultivating and Maintaining Other Interests
One of the biggest mistakes you can make that will lead to burnout is making your school the center of your social life. If you want to avoid burnout, you definitely need to have other interests outside your school.
Family comes first, so start by setting aside dedicated family time that is sacrosanct—you do not allow work to intrude on that time, ever. Dedicate time to each family member, such as a date night with your spouse, quality time with your children, and so on that is set in stone each week. And, don't let anything interfere with that time.
Second, you need to have hobbies and social groups outside of your dojo. Whether it's getting involved in your local church, joining a book club, playing other sports in an intramural league, playing in a band, meeting friends for poker night, or some other social interaction, you need to have social connections outside of your school.
Of equal importance is having friends who don't do martial arts. If you want to be a boring, one-dimensional person, make all your social connections martial arts related, and only have close friends who do martial arts. I guarantee, in no time flat you'll be as boring and one-dimensional as a character in a Sy-Fy movie.
Again, keep this time sacrosanct. One thing you'll start to discover as you learn to keep your business from interfering with your personal time is that most crises can wait. This can be a huge revelation for someone who has made their dojo the most important thing in their life.
The Takeaway
To recap on avoiding burnout:
- Know your goals and the lifestyle you want to have
- When you reach a significant business milestone, take time to do a personal and business inventory
- Come back with a strategy for either maintaining your success or hitting your next goal
- Delegate
- Reward yourself for hitting both small and significant goals
- Plan time off
- Make your family a priority
- Cultivate interests and relationships outside the dojo with people who don't do martial arts
- Recognize that most crises can wait
This is pretty much a template for achieving and maintaining balance in your life between your dojo, your family, and yourself. Sure, it may take time and a lot of work to get to the point where you have the freedom and resources to implement these steps.
However, what good is it to have a successful business, if that business prevents you from enjoying the type of lifestyle you want to live? So, know your goals and have a vision for the life you want, and make sure your work life supports that, instead of detracting from it.
