Blog

Let’s face it, running a small business is no walk in the park! Entrepreneurs know that they must put in long days and give up personal time in pursuit of success. There is a line, however, between putting in extra time and becoming addicted to working. It’s important to know the difference!

Being addicted to work—sometimes referred to as being a “workaholic”—can have serious negative consequences for your personal life and your health. Figuring out when you’ve crossed the line and taking steps to gain control over your work life-balance are vital to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Here are three signs you’re addicted to work:

1. You work far more than you intended to

Most people have occasional days where they get caught up in work or a project keeps them at the office hours after they should have been home. That’s part of working! The problem is when those days become the norm for you, when you’re frequently working 12 to 16-hour days and only going home long enough to sleep and grab a bite to eat.

Even if that’s an exaggeration for you and you actually have a bit more leisure time at home, if you intended to work 40-50 hours a week and you routinely hit more than that, you may need to take a step back and enforce a 40-hour work week.

Ask yourself: How many hours should I reasonably work at this business? Am I frequently working more than that?

2. Your health is suffering

If you are showing physical signs of stress, or if you are finding yourself ill more often than usual, it’s possible that you’re working too much. It may seem like a good idea to put in all the hours you can to make your business successful, but the consequences of poor health can actually be devastating for your company.

Your decision-making skills may also suffer. You might find yourself unable to complete required job duties. You might miss important details, such as vital payments that are due. All have a negative effect on your organization.

Working to the point of being sick is not a sound business strategy. You need time away from work to rest, recover, and give yourself something else to focus on.

Ask yourself: Do I generally feel healthy and energetic? Am I sleeping well? 

3. You constantly cancel on people because of work

Unless your small business involves actual life-and-death scenarios, there’s no need to constantly cancel on your friends and family for “work emergencies.” Sure, they can happen once in a while. You might have an important deadline with a client or an urgent phone call with a supplier that pulls you away from your plans.

If you frequently cancel engagements with your friends and family—and if they’ve started complaining about it—there’s a chance you’ve become addicted to work.

Ask yourself: How many times in the past month have I had to cancel plans for something work-related that wasn’t actually urgent? If it’s more than a couple of times, you might need to rethink your work/life balance.

Final thoughts & Recommendations

Running a small business requires of hard work, but becoming addicted to your job ultimately increases the risk of burnout. Burnout can be catastrophic for a small business, especially if there is no one else to take over while you recover! A better plan is to work only as much as you need to and to protect your personal time as much as possible. Listen to your body and the people around you when they tell you it’s time to stop. Enforce hard stops for workdays, after which you must go home.

You might also consider looking at software to streamline your business. For example, there is a range of home bookkeeping software available to small business owners; we prefer MYOB bookkeeping and Xero bookkeeping. Alternatively, why not outsource some of the things you’re not so passionate about to free up some “you” time?

Whether you’re just after some bookkeeping tips, basic bookkeeping services or a software package such as MYOB, Xero, Quickbooks Online or Receipt Bank, we can help. Your business will be better for it, and so will you.

See below for our bookkeeper locations; if you’d like to ask a question, please feel free to use the form below!

Our Bookkeepers

Justine Day: Southern Highlands / Bowral Bookkeeper
Amanda Graham: Southern Highlands / Bowral Bookkeeper
Petra Austing: Southern Highlands / Bowral Bookkeeper
Karin Evans: Gold Coast Bookkeeper
Pru Hall: Wollongong Bookkeeper
Jackie Short: Canberra Bookkeeper