6 Rules I Follow To Avoid Entrepreneur Burn Out

During my 5 years as a business owner, I’ve burnt out twice.

One time it got so bad that I had to get my wisdom teeth taken out because of all the stress and inflammation.

I’m also prone to mouth ulcers when I’m under high levels of stress and I can always tell when burn out is getting close because I get these painful little sores in my mouth.

Physical symptoms of mental and emotional stress…

Most people think burning out happens when you’re working too hard or too many hours but that’s not necessarily true.

In my experience, burn out happens when you’re bringing too much mental and emotional stress into your work

Whatever causes burn out, if you’ve experienced it, you know it sucks.

Ever since I was 17 years old I have been interested in learning how to live well.

I started meditation to help me deal with my mental health at the time. 

I overcame anxiety, depressive periods and addictions.

And now I’ve helped 100’s of others overcome these issues as well.

These days, the new beast for me personally is burn out and managing my work load.

So that’s what we’re diving into today.

The 6 Rules I Follow to Avoid Entrepreneur Burn Out

1. Protect Your Night & Morning Time

Your subconscious mind is wide open before bed and first thing in the morning.

If you are checking client messages, emails, social media or anything like that before bed or first thing in the morning, you’re setting yourself up for stress, confusion and failure.

I am ruthless about the information I consume before I go to bed. It’s mainly books and a clean wind down period without screens (after the kids are asleep).

Sometimes I’ll “plan tomorrow today” so I know exactly what I’m doing the following day.

In the morning, it’s meditation and journaling to get clear on my focus for the day and what thoughts I want to be occupying my mind.

Then I’ll usually do some form of exercise, running or walking before I start working around 8am. By this point, I’m calm, clear and in a relaxed and focussed state.

This makes such a difference compared to days in the past where I’ve woken up, smashed a coffee and got straight into work. 

The old way is instant stress and pressure on my system. 

The new way is clarity and a sharp self awareness.

2. Clear Boundaries & Standards

All my notifications on my phone are turned off.

This pisses my wife off sometimes and my friends wonder why they can never get a hold of me but my focus and attention is guarded heavily.

My consciousness is sacred.

I don’t allow anyone to hijack my mind or my thoughts.

The mind is the most powerful tool we have to create the kind of life we want to live and when my mind is scattered, I become scattered.

When my mind is clear and focussed, I am clear and focussed.

I have no problems saying “no” to people or in some cases, not saying anything.

You don’t need to answer everyone or be there for everyone. That’s called being a people pleaser and that’s actually trauma response. 

You are responsible for your life. They are responsible for their life.

This doesn’t mean don’t be kind, caring or compassionate, it means don’t be a pushover.

When I’m with my friends and my family, I’m present.

When I’m working, I’m working.

This is the standard.

3. Lifestyle First

I love my business and I love the work I deliver.

But a big part of deciding to run a business was the freedom I knew it could give me.

It’s so easy to get lost in running a business and working 12-hours days. I’ve done that and it is not the vibe.

I’m interested in building a business that serves the lifestyle I want to live while also serving the customers at the highest level.

There’s a little thing called Leverage which is very important to be aware of as a business owner.

For example, when I started my business, I would be on back-to-back 1:1 calls with clients from Monday to Friday. 

Not to mention all the admin, marketing and back end stuff I had to take care of to keep things moving.

Back then, I thought I need to be there with my personal time for every single client I have and that way of thinking actually limited me to only being able to help 20-30 people before I started getting too stressed (and burning out).

Over the years, I’ve been developing systems for leverage.

Now I can help 100’s of people get the same results with less time input from me.

This allows me to do less hours at work with more output.

I can focus for 2 hours a day and produce highly leveraged work which allows me to also have time to live an incredible life.

I’m not saying this is the right move for everyone, but it works for me. 

4. Regulation As Strategy

If I’m operating from a stressed out, anxious and pressured state, everything that comes from me is full of stress, anxiety and pressure.

This is a shortcut to burn out.

We don’t want to burn out.

We want peace, presence and purpose.

That’s why I start my days with self regulation and I constantly check in with myself during the day to see how I’m feeling. 

As soon as I start to feel like I’m pushing or applying pressure, I take a break.

Usually I can do deep and focussed work for about 90 minutes - 120 minutes before I start to feel like I’m forcing it.

Once I get that feeling that I’m operating from pressure instead of pleasure, I’ll get up, go for a walk, have something to eat or just change my environment for a period of time before getting stuck back into it.

This helps me to stay regulated and in flow.

I’m aware this way of working might seem totally contrary to what most people do and that’s because quite frankly, it is.

You’re used to being told to work 9-5 and only leave your desk to take a piss or have a 10-minute food break.

I’m working in a totally different way because I don’t want to live how everyone else lives. 

I want to live a life that actually inspires me and brings me joy.

If what you’re doing isn’t working, why don’t you try something else?

I can tell you from experience, working with nervous system regulation as a priority has helped me feel so much happier and healthier at work and in life.

This requires a certain level of self awareness that most people just don’t have.

You have to have a certain depth in your awareness of your body and your feelings.

There’s a term for this called “somatic awareness” which is starting to become quite popular.

Somatic awareness is basically just awareness of the body and awareness of the subtle energy systems within your physical system.

I teach people how to develop this kind of self awareness inside the monthly Mind Launch membership.

5. Mindful Exercise, Supplementation, Diet & Sleep

I love going to the gym, going surfing, running and generally being healthy.

In 2024, I had a PT and we did a lot of strength training and lifting heavy weights.

This was a great experience and I got a lot stronger and a better physique however one thing I became aware of was “over-training”.

I noticed that when I was lifting heavy weights 5x per week, my recovery took a hit.

My stress levels were higher because my body was under more stress due to the extra energy I was using to recover.

I don’t think this is a massive deal but it’s definitely something to be mindful of if you’re prone to burn out.

If you’re burning the candle at both ends with long work hours, high impact exercise, poor sleep and a low quality diet, you’re going to suffer.

In my experience, doing 2-3 heavy weight sessions per week alongside a couple of cardio sessions (running or surfing) and some walking (10k steps per day) has been optimal for recovery and lifestyle.

It really helps to have a clean bed time and wake time as well. For me the 9-5 schedule works best here.

Sleep at 9. Up at 5.

Or if we have a late night because of the kids, it might end up being sleep at 10, wake at 6.

Finally, supplementation has been on my radar more recently. I’m not a doctor or health professional so consult your doctor for your specific needs.

What has worked for me though, as a 32 year old male business owner, Husband and Father of 2 kids, is this stack…

• Zinc & Magnesium (before bed)
• Vit C + Collagen (morning)
• Complex B Vitamins (Beef Liver capsules - morning)
• Raw Honey Water (Sounds weird but has great anti-inflammatory & anti-microbial benefits)
• A healthy diet with simple whole foods (meat, fish, veggies, fruit, rice, eggs, etc)

Again, this is just what has worked for me.

If you’re gonna try the honey water, get the good honey from the markets, not supermarket shit.

6. Spiritual Filter

The final rule I have for you (which is probably the most important rule) is the “Spiritual Filter”.

I’m a big believer that we all have a unique path in life.

We all have an intuition that is trying to guide us towards our “Authentic True Self”. 

When we learn to listen to our intuition and follow our true path, we experience more fulfilment and purpose in life.

When we do what we think we “should” do, we often struggle.

Most people are living based off conditioning from their family, their parents or their society without ever thinking…

“What do I actually want to do with my life?”

When you take the time to answer this question, you can gain a lot of clarity.

You can start to filter your decisions and choices through this “spiritual” perspective.

It’s really about aligning yourself with your own personal values and purpose.

The more I have followed my intuition and aligned with my true authentic path, the better life has got.

It’s not always been easy. It requires courage and faith. But for me the alternative, a life lived in fear, is just not an option.

So that’s my 6 rules for avoiding burn out as an entrepreneur!

I hope it’s been helpful and you can draw some inspiration for your own life.

If you want to go deeper and get more guidance on how to design your life with calm, clarity and confidence, this is exactly what we do at Mind Launch.

I teach people the exact routines, methods and tools to overcome stress, anxiety and burn out quickly.

Here are the two ways to work with me:

1. You can join Mind Launch on our monthly membership and get access to all the tools, methods, resources and frameworks in a self-paced way.

2. You can apply to work with me 1:1 and get personalized support from me as your private coach.

Here’s to a life of freedom!

With Optimism,

Josh