ARTS THREAD’s career education specialist and digital editor Jacqui Rudd’s guide to how to create a more intuitive method of self-employed work to prevent burnout when you're self-employed, including strategies to help while you combat and recover from burnout.

Burnout is an emotional, physical and mental exhaustion, which is bought on by prolonged stress, and can cause symptoms including headaches, trouble sleeping, anxiety, panic attacks and reduced concentration and efficiency. The most recommended treatment for burnout is to take a break and reduce your stress levels to help you recover. But how do you avoid and combat burnout when you’re self-employed and can’t stop working?

In this guide we will be discussing strategies to help reduce your stress levels, increase self-compassion and create a more intuitive method of self-employed working that prioritises your wellbeing as well as your motivation and efficiency.

Four Strategies To Prevent Burnout Overwhelming You

When you’re self-employed you are managing yourself, your productivity and you have to motivate yourself through the good times and the bad. But it is important for your physical and mental health to prioritise your needs before productivity, which will also support your motivation, efficiency and ability to work.

1) Set Working Hours
Make sure you are creating working boundaries for yourself and not allowing work stress to take over all your time and you have a healthy work-life balance.

2) Have Days Off
Book days off, so many freelancers and entrepreneurs forget to take days off, or even weekends, unless it's for special occasions or a holiday, but time off is also important for your mental health and to practise self-care, especially if you are struggling with stress, anxiety or overwhelm.

3) Learn To Say No
Do not accept every client and opportunity that comes your way, be picky, consider your time restraints and make sure you still allow yourself days off and time to relax.

4) Find A Hobby
An activity outside of work that’s just for you to relax and switch out of work mode is really helpful. Whether that is a sport, music, craft, blogging, reading or art, find something you enjoy, and is not just for the purpose of monetising.

How To Combat and Recover From Burnout When You're Self-Employed

If you're currently struggling with burnout, action needs to be taken to allow yourself a break. I understand that panic can take over and the need to work is so strong, especially when you're self-employed, but there are ways to keep working and ease your stress levels.

1) Increase Your Rates
A big stress point for self-employed people is financial and if you’re struggling to take a day off to support your mental health I will always recommend discussing increasing your rates with clients, and potentially removing the lowest-paying client from your to-do list, if you can.

2) Reduce Expenses
If you need to take more time off work for your mental health consider reducing your expenses by temporarily freezing subscriptions, memberships or cutting costs, to reduce financial stress.

3) Outsource Tasks
Asking for help is crucial if you’re struggling with tasks you find time-consuming, mentally draining or stressful, consider delegating them to someone else, such as a freelancer or virtual assistant.

4) Book Time Off As Mental Health Sick Days
Needing time off to recover from stress and burnout needs to be normalised, in all areas of work. It’s integral for your longterm physical and mental health to prioritise your needs and not put pressure on yourself to be productive all the time.

5) Set Better Work Boundaries
Everyone is unique and working a 35hour week might not suit you and be the most helpful to your productivity and longterm health. Set new working hours that support your needs and personal way of working, include breaks in your day and a method to switch off once your working day has finished.

6) Consider The Agency Model
If you’re a freelancer and finding it stressful to find new clients, consider looking at an agency model to bring in paid work and reduce your stress levels when you need it most.

7) Collect Referrals And Reviews
Not only will collecting references like these help you find more clients or customers in the future, but readings reviews of your hard work and celebrating your achievements is so helpful for your own perceived self-worth.