I was fascinated by a recent Facebook poll in one of the digital nomad communities I follow. The person posted a question asking roughly how many hours/week people were working. The responses gave a range from 10 hrs/week to 80+ (?!?!).
More than half of the respondents said they were working 40-60 hrs/week. That may sound “normal” to you, but numerous studies have shown that productivity reduces dramatically above 40 hrs/week, and that the mental health benefits of doing positive work usually involve 8-24hrs/week.
Overworking is a common situation for people in many careers and situations. However, when you’re location-independent or a digital nomad, it can feel heart-breaking. Granted 40-60 hours of work when you’re looking at the beach or a beautiful mountain range is a lot nicer than being “stuck” in cubicle, but still… wouldn’t you rather be swimming, hiking, or exploring?
After all, working for all of those hours (no matter how much you love your work) means that you’re not able to spend time exploring the amazing place you’re currently in. Now, let me say, I completely understand how many entrepreneurs become workaholics. We have a passion for what we do. We’re doing something we love, and we’ve often bought into the belief that you “have to work hard to succeed.”
However, let’s talk seriously about some of the costs of workaholism for location-independent entrepreneurs because we chose this lifestyle, but is this really the lifestyle you signed up for?
Cost #1: Burnout
Let’s start with the worst and the most obvious. Burnout is real! In fact, the World Health Organization has added “Burn-out” to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) and defines it as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” Well, when you’re an entrepreneur and you’re the boss, then, my dear, the buck stops with you. So, if your workaholism is leading you to feelings of burnout… something’s gotta change.
However, let me say… I get it because that was definitely me during the early years of my own entrepreneurial journey. In fact, when I experienced my one severe case of mental and emotional burnout, it was caused, not by financial stress or excessive workload, but rather by my own passionate drive to create something that I believed would help others. I pushed myself right over the burnout cliff.
It was that experience more than any other that caused me to become fascinated by the strategies and skills for managing my time and decision-making differently in the future. In many ways, that experience almost 15 years ago lead me to studying the “intangible organizing” of time, priorities, and information (rather than just the “tangible” organizing of stuff – which was my first business). Now, for over a decade I have been teaching others (from senior executives and managers to entrepreneurs) how to both improve their productivity and avoid the road to burnout for themselves.
So, we can all agree that workaholism leads to burnout and that the costs of burning out can be huge: emotionally, financially, physically, and more.
However, workaholism has costs that start hitting you long before burnout takes you down.
Cost #2: Physical Health Costs
When you’re working 50+ hours a week, it’s very common to sacrifice some of your essential physical self-care.
Think about it… if you’re working 50-80 hours/week, then when do you have time to exercise, whether that’s going to the gym or taking a run? When do you have time to plan meals, cook, or go grocery shopping to ensure you’re eating healthier foods? After all, while that street food is delicious, do you really need it every day (for multiple meals?)
Often folks who are working 50-80 hours a week are only getting 6 hrs/night of sleep, which means that you’re literally working more than you’re sleeping. Lack of sleep leads to persistent exhaustion, a weakened immune system, high blood pressure, weight gain, and accidents… which can cause both injury and death. It’s not overstating things to say that you can literally “work yourself to death.”
Now, having an occasional “push season” is one thing, but if 50-80 hours/week of work is essentially your norm, then something is almost certainly way off, and it might be time to consider your options and shift how you’re working to eliminate your overworking patterns.
Cost #3: Business Inefficiency
Frequently for entrepreneurs, if you’re stuck in an overworking rut that means you’re likely doing tasks that are not in your personal zone of strength. It’s common for many entrepreneurs. Since we start our business as a one-person show, we get used to wearing “all the hats.” However, I can guarantee that you are not brilliant at “all the things” that need to get done to keep your business growing.
That means that the longer you hold on to tasks that are not in your zone of brilliance, then the greater your business inefficiency is likely to be. Rather than investing your time and energy into the activities that can massively move the needle, you are tinkering with tasks or struggling with your own learning curve to figure out how to do something that isn’t your strength.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m a life-long learner, and I love to learn to do new things. However, there are some things I just don’t need to understand. For instance, I don’t know how to code a website, and I feel no need to learn. So, thank goodness there are geeky people who do love to learn how to write code to make things digitally work on the web.
It’s a significantly better use of my time to hire out the tasks that don’t need me or can be done more efficiently by someone else.
Cost #4: Hoarding Opportunities
Here’s the flip side of the cost above that you might not have considered… did you ever think about how your willingness to delegate tasks that are not in your zone of genius actually provides an opportunity for someone else to earn a location-independent income by helping you?
In other words, by overworking yourself and holding onto all the tasks for yourself, you are hoarding opportunities for potentially meaningful and valuable work for someone else. Yes, there’s the classic financial argument that if you bill out your time at $60/hr or more and can pay someone else to complete a task for you for $15/hr, then why the heck would you continue to do something poorly and cost yourself that potentially billable hour.
However, I also think there’s a human, heart-centered argument to be made here too. We value our location-independent lifestyle. All of the tasks that we can do with a laptop and decent internet connection could be done by someone else with those same tools. So, why not support someone else who has a passion for their entrepreneurial lifestyle and a zone of genius that’s different from yours?
We all need each other, and by sharing the work we can all lift each other up as well.
Cost #5: Entrepreneurial Guilt
Have you ever felt guilty because “there’s so much to do?” Have you ever been trying to enjoy your travels but internally saying “I should be working?” If these thoughts are familiar, then you’ve experienced entrepreneurial guilt.
Entrepreneurial guilt is almost status quo for most workaholics. Since there’s always more that you could be doing, there’s a sense of pressure that you should be constantly working. It’s this challenge in particular that inspired the strategies I teach in my brand new, FREE Masterclass “3 Keys to Feel Productive & Awesome Every Day.”
As entrepreneurs, if we don’t learn how to overcoming this feeling of guilt, then we will never find the satisfaction and success that we’re aiming for in our lives. It’s time to pitch out the entrepreneurial guilt!
If you’re curious how, then sign up for my Masterclass this February 2020. Click the link below for exact dates and times to join me live and kick this challenge to the curb!
Cost #6: Travel Regrets
You chose this lifestyle because you wanted to be free to explore the world, and if you’re spending even more time stuck at a desk in a less than comfortable co-working space or plopped on your Airbnb couch… well, that’s not quite what you had in mind, was it?
Location-freedom is only one part of the story. If you can’t create more time freedom too, then it’s hard to enjoy all those amazing places you’re choosing to visit. Don’t let another day go by where you’re stressing about “Should I be on a scooter exploring the rice patties or getting some work done?” You really can do both, but you might need some different strategies and systems to make it happen.
Join me for the free Masterclass and learn how you can eliminate the guilt and start creating even more Freedom in your amazing location-independent life.
I can’t wait to see you there!
