U
D

Conversation

the

04/08/15 | Uncategorized

Falling out of Love with Your Startup? 4 Simple Ways to Rekindle Your Passion

Is your love for your startup beginning to wane? Here’s how to rediscover your passion.

By Kayla Matthews (Productivity Writer)

When you first started your business, were so excited. Every day was a new adventure, every phone call a promise to continue your journey. But after a while, you started to sour.

Waking up one morning, you wondered whether youā€™d ever feel the same again. Could the passion that once compelled you to start your own company be rekindled?

It sounds like a trite, romance novel back cover, but itā€™s not. Letā€™s face it ā€“ when you run a business, there comes a time when the doldrums start to set in. That can lead to complacency, depression and ennui. Yet it doesnā€™t have to.

Business leaders who have been around the block understand that they need to actively work on their professional development to remain passionate about their jobs. Fortunately, they havenā€™t been secretive about their suggestions to others in similar positions.

This means you can benefit from their experiences, and you donā€™t have to continue down the dark road that leads straight to career loathing.

1. Take Time Away from Work

Absence can absolutely make the heart grow fonder, especially if youā€™ve been racking up 60+ hour workweeks for months on end. The average American spends at least 47 hours at his or her desk, according to a Gallup poll. Owners and entrepreneurs spend much more than that developing their businesses.

A vacation might be just what the doctor ordered, or at least a commitment to start taking weekends for yourself and, if applicable, your family. This will give you time to explore other interests in your life, such as a sport, a hobby or a good book youā€™ve been meaning to read for eons.

When you get back to work, youā€™ll feel recharged emotionally and physically.

2. Delegate Tasks that Donā€™t Require Your Skills

Are there certain responsibilities you take on, but that donā€™t require your specific skills or expertise? Are they getting in the way of you becoming more innovative in important areas of your work?

If they arenā€™t pertinent to your position, you can outsource some tasks to free up time to be more creative and effective at the parts of your job that truly matter.

Outsource aspects of your work, such as routine paperwork or fulfillment processes, to someone who has more free time and less specific daily duties than you. In other words, focus on what you do best and utilize others for some of the smaller tasks that slow you down. Youā€™ll likely find that this actually gives your bottom line a boost because youā€™ll be more productive.

Just make sure you carefully consider the tasks you delegate so that you arenā€™t dumping excessive extra work on Jr. employees or interns.

3. Challenge Yourself with Something New

One of the reasons you became a business owner in the first place was your love of becoming educated and then putting into motion what you learned. Chances are good that youā€™ve stopped actively developing yourself in favor of developing your brand, your website, your marketing, etc.

In order to shake off boredom, challenge yourself by engaging in something new. This could mean anything from forcing yourself out of your comfort zone by attending seminars on a topic you donā€™t know well, such as web design, or by self-educating through websites, webinars and more.

4. Revisit Your Vision for Your Organization

When was the last time you asked yourself if your organization was following the path you want to see it go? You may simply be putting in time at this point instead of actively steering the ship. By revisiting your vision for what you want your company to be, you can re-energize yourself and your colleagues. Who knows? You may find that itā€™s time to forge ahead on a totally different road than you originally paved. Thatā€™s fine, as long as itā€™s done prudently and not in a knee-jerk type of manner.

The relationship with your job is likely to have its ups and downs, just like any other relationship in your life. By taking an active interest in increasing your positivity toward your position, youā€™ll have a much better chance of waking up in the morning and feeling like thereā€™s no place youā€™d rather go than to the office.

What keeps you motivated?

Photo credit: Masson via Shutterstock.

Editor

Editor

The Switch Editorial Team.

Straight to your inbox.

The best content on the future faces of tech and startups.

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

SHARE THIS STORY

NEW COHORT STARTS JANUARY 2024

Join the Angel Sessions

Develop strategic relationships, build skills, and increase your deal flow through our global angel group and investing course.

RELATED ARTICLES
[yarpp]