Avoid Burnout as a Small Machine Shop Owner

Does it feel like your two business speeds are either full speed or full stop? If you’re like many owners of a small to medium size machine shop, it’s either crazy busy or the pipeline is empty. When there’s no work in the shop, you’re hustling at full speed to find more.

So either way, you’re working long hours, fueled by adrenaline and hope. It’s no surprise that burnout is a constant threat to your own health and that of your business.
 

What Burnout Looks Like

Family and friends spot signs of burnout before a business owner does in many cases. That’s because you’re in the middle of the firefight, always dealing with urgent situations, with little time to see the big picture.

Burnout has 3 main symptoms:

• Exhaustion: you slowly lose the drive and motivation. Though running harder and faster, you accomplish less and less.
• Anxiety attacks: these appear as shortness of breath, maybe even pain in your chest. You’re experiencing the “fight or flight” response on steroids.
• Overwhelm: you can’t make even simple decisions, you are unable to focus on tasks or problems, your confidence is gone, you start getting inflexible instead of going with the flow, and you procrastinate.

None of this is good for your body, which can develop heart disease and other chronic conditions and depression. Your business takes a hit because you are no longer able to keep the many tasks you are juggling in the air. One by one, they come crashing down.
 

5 Tips to Prevent Burnout

Business owners who have survived burnout recommend these 5 methods to stop it before it takes over your life.

Prioritize. Decide what will keep your business healthy and bring in a steady flow of work. Focus on these tasks instead of spending all your time putting out fires.

Don’t multitask. Productivity gurus say the old idea of multitasking, like talking on the phone while you’re catching up with emails, just makes you inefficient. Do one thing at a time. It’s less stressful, and you’re more effective.

Put self-care at the top of your list. If your body and brain give out, your business suffers. For a healthy business, take care of yourself first. Eat right and eat regularly, exercise, get enough sleep, spend time with family and friends.

Work set hours. Don’t work around the clock. Decide what hours you will work and stick to that schedule. When you physically leave work, be sure to mentally checkout too. Take weekends off. Go on vacations.

Unplug. Turn off your computer, your tablet and your business phone when you leave work. If you’re still checking email at midnight, you haven’t really left work.
 

Press Master Wants to Make Your Life Easier

Press Master has been helping small machine shops just like yours for over 40 years. We have the hydraulic presses and equipment, all made in North America, that you need to get the jobs in your shop done efficiently, correctly, safely and on time.

At Press Master, we take pride in our reputation for cutting edge technology and safety that is built-in. Shop owners know that our C-frame press and H-frame presses are dependable and long lasting. If you need a custom press, we can modify it to meet your precise requirements.

Call Press Master today to find out how our line of hydraulic presses can make your life easier.