{"id":754,"date":"2017-05-29T02:43:02","date_gmt":"2017-05-29T02:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nextleveltradie.co.nz\/?p=754"},"modified":"2019-07-15T16:15:59","modified_gmt":"2019-07-15T04:15:59","slug":"massive-hours-burnout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextleveltradie.co.nz\/massive-hours-burnout\/","title":{"rendered":"Are you working massive hours & headed towards burnout?"},"content":{"rendered":"

ARE YOU WORKING MASSIVE HOURS & HEADED TOWARDS BURNOUT?
\n<\/strong><\/h4>\n

So often, tradies in business are working so hard they have forgotten that business is a marathon, not a sprint.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I recently worked with a tradie who was making okay profits in his company, but after working hard all day, then working late most nights, was becoming increasingly tired and frustrated, and his business was stealing a lot of time from his relationship.<\/p>\n

He was working 65-70 hours per week and knew if he kept up this pace it would not be long before he and his business were in trouble. Already before we started he was finding too much time on the tools for weeks on end, and he would come down with a flu bug or simply had to rest for a day to recover.<\/p>\n

Doing these kinds of hours is okay for a while.<\/strong> Let\u2019s face it, when you run a business, sometimes key staff members get sick, or a crisis hits, and we have to put the hours in and get the work done.<\/p>\n

But work at this pace for too long, and it\u2019s only a matter of time<\/strong> before something gives.<\/p>\n

Trades company owners are hard workers. But they often treat their business as a sprint rather than a marathon. This is getting them into trouble.<\/p>\n

Here is why this approach doesn’t work.<\/p>\n

SPRINT VS. MARATHON <\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n

Let\u2019s look at a comparison of sprinting vs marathon running. Two similar sports but with completely different approaches from their athletes.<\/p>\n

As you can appreciate, a sprinter needs a completely different strategy<\/strong> to a marathon runner.<\/p>\n

The current world record for the 100-metre sprint is 9.58 seconds, set by Jamaica\u2019s Usain Bolt in 2009. Every tenth of a second counts \u2013 the difference between first and last is usually around 0.4 of a second.<\/p>\n

Athletes work on getting every muscle to produce its maximum effort, and the race is explosive and also spectacular. Every muscle is needed to propel the body forward.<\/p>\n

Fantastic except for one thing.<\/p>\n

This type of effort can only be sustained for a brief amount of time (just a few seconds).<\/p>\n

\"Usain<\/a><\/p>\n

Try to do this pace for a marathon of 26 miles or 42.195 kilometres and the body will just break down in first few minutes, if you can get that far.<\/p>\n

Ask Dennis Kimetto of Kenya, the world record holder for the fastest marathon, clocking in at 2:02:57.<\/p>\n

I know he will say that he paces himself for the distance.<\/p>\n

Go too fast, too early, you simply run out of reserves, and there is nothing left in the tank to finish.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t let this be you in your trades business. Being so busy you don\u2019t do the important things to ensure your business makes good profit. DNF \u201cdid not finish\u201d because your body or your relationship just gives up and you collapse before the finish line.<\/p>\n

Make no mistake, business is a marathon not a sprint, and must be treated like one. With an appropriate strategy.<\/p>\n

WHEN SPRINTING STARTS TO FAIL <\/strong><\/h4>\n

The reality is, put enough pressure and tension on something and it will wear out. It\u2019s just about how long it takes.<\/p>\n

Even a rock, if you hit it enough times, will break eventually.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a typical example of Joe Tradie who works around 60+ hours per week.<\/p>\n

He leaves at 6am in the morning,
\nworks on the tools all day,
\nskips lunch because he hasn\u2019t got time.
\nGets home at 7pm, argues with the wife about why he is never home to help out with the kids.
\nAfter tea, he has to check emails and get organised for tomorrow.
\nThere is a pile of quotes to complete and worries about landing enough jobs to keep the team busy.
\nThe bank keep hassling him because he keeps going past the overdraft limit, suppliers want their money or they are going to put him on stop credit.
\nHis office staff keep hounding him about what to charge out, which is just another thing he doesn\u2019t have time to do, although he knows the invoices need to go out so he can get paid.
\nHe does some paperwork, clears a few emails, goes to bed late and gets to do it all again tomorrow<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Joe thinks to himself, \u201cI know if I just work a few more hours on the weekend I can catch up \u2013 maybe\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

How long can he keep this up for before something gives? There is real pressure on his body, his stress levels are through the roof, his marriage and family are not getting what they need.<\/p>\n

It is only a matter of time before one or all of these things fall over.<\/p>\n

\"Fail<\/a><\/p>\n

He is the sprinter trying to run a marathon \u2013 it\u2019s very unlikely this will end well<\/strong> unless he takes a different approach.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s business, right?  That\u2019s what you have to do.<\/em><\/p>\n

Nope. There is a better way<\/strong>. If you get it right, you will also make more money and have more fun.<\/p>\n

DANGER SIGNS OF SPRINTING FOR TOO LONG<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

Here are some of the danger signs you are treating your business as a sprint & heading towards burnout:<\/p>\n