It’s a good thing that farming is so all consuming. There is always something more to be done today, and something else that you know needs doing tomorrow, and both of them have to be done perfectly. There’s always another problem to be solved and a challenge to be met. And if all the field and shop work ever did get caught up, there’s still the office work, plus all the jobs on the “to-do” list like that visit to the lawyer.
Farming can take everything you can give it. Which — usually — is a good thing.
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Everything is moving and changing, all at the same time, and thanks to technology and electronics, it all happens faster than ever before. Nothing stands still, and you’re in the middle of it all.
That’s an exciting place to be. But it’s also a perfect path to burn out.
Burning out, by the way, isn’t what you probably think it is. It isn’t a crash. It doesn’t mean you wake up one morning and can’t lift your head from the breakfast table, totally dazed and unresponsive.
It’s worse than that, at least in a way, because if you were that catatonic, at least your spouse would make you see somebody about it. Instead, burning out is what happens when you switch to auto-pilot. You stop pumping mental energy into your work, you just do the jobs in front of you as they come up, one after the other.
You’re OK, the farm seems OK, but secretly you know you’ve fallen into a rut so deep, you can’t climb out.
Most days, you’re not sure why you’d want to climb out anyway. It’s been so long since your heart beat faster because of the joys and the victories of farming, and you’ve become so anemic in spirit, you know that today is going to be more or less as dull and routine as yesterday, and there’s nothing anyone can do about that.
You think life is always going to be stuck between gears. But that’s where you’re wrong, says Wayne Hussey, owner of Wayne Hussey Consulting Inc. near Guelph, Ont. which provides strategic planning for small business owners.
Instead, it’s probably going to get worse, with burnout outcomes such as financial stress, marital problems and health issues.
Hussey offers six simple strategies for putting the vigour back in your farming, although as always, check with your financial and other advisers before making major changes, and think any significant change all the way through before adopting it.
But also give change a chance. Reward yourself.
1. Dump the dirty job.What job do you really hate? Hire someone else to do it if you can, advises Hussey. If you don’t like a job like marketing, often you’ll procrastinate and not do it very well anyway. Or maybe you just can’t stand the idea of cleaning the grain bins. So don’t do it. Hire someone else. It may cost less than you think to hire it out, says Hussey, and you’re creating employment and building relationships at the same time. Push yourself to try it. The concept of hiring out work seems to be hardest for men who are prone to thinking they need to do everything themselves. So here’s a new rule: Trying to talk your wife into doing the jobs you don’t want to do doesn’t count! Instead, push yourself to change. And then make concrete plans — whether for fun or for the farm — for the time you’re saving.
2. Invest in time management courses.It’s called the biggest lesson that many farmers never learn. Time management is more important than anything else, even money, says Hussey. “Time is the scarcest resource. You need to run the business, not have the business run you.” Many school boards, community colleges and universities offer inexpensive courses in time management. Find them by Googling for continuing education courses in your area. Then apply what you learn. You’ll be surprised that these tools and tactics actually do help you become a more effective person, and happier too.
3. Do your own bank deposits.This sounds simple but you’ll get great satisfaction from driving to the bank to handle some transactions, says Hussey. “This is the money you earned from your hard work.” Yes, you can do it all online. And yes, it takes time, which might seem to conflict with Tip 2 above. But by inserting yourself in the money process, you’ll see what you have accomplished. It will become more real than ever.
4. Seek Out Learning Opportunities.Attend a conference with like-minded people. Going to a chemical workshop at the local dealership is fine, but Hussey wants you to do more. Stretch yourself. Take a course that you may have to travel to get to. Take one that is taught by people you don’t ordinarily see. Get new insights and new ideas. Or book a nice hotel for your family or your partners and turn it into a team-building or strategic-planning exercise. Mix a few work sessions into the fun. Fill a flip chart with brainstorming ideas about future possibilities, or set up dialogue sessions to unveil a draft of your new business plan. “Too many business owners say, I don’t have the time,” laments Hussey. Instead, he thinks it’s a serious mistake not to do it. You’ll be fresher, happier, smarter and more engaged.
5. Adopt a charity.Find a cause you consider worthy and support it by volunteering your time. You can donate money or products too, and you can also make it possible for any employees to make donations as well. But make sure you invest some of your own time. Be in contact with the cause you support. You’ll benefit from the sense of giving back, says Hussey. “It may seem like an odd idea,” continues Hussey, “but I’ve seen positive results with this many times.” The caveat of course is that you should make sure it’s something that you really believe in and that you find meaningful, not just something you think would be good for your business.
6. Get involved in a community event.Similar to adopting a charity, supporting a local event financially and with volunteer time will generate not only goodwill but also a sense of camaraderie, says Hussey. Community events like the Fall Fair or the Santa Claus Parade are the glue that hold communities together. You’ll meet people that you didn’t know had moved to town, and you’ll find that even the people down your own road have more interesting lives and do more interesting things than you ever knew. There are many effective ways to reward yourself for your hard work that don’t have to involve spending a lot of money. Remember above all, money doesn’t buy happiness but doing work that’s personally meaningful does. By putting your efforts towards those things that are most fulfilling for you, Hussey says, you’ll avoid burnout and lead a happier, healthier and more balanced life.
How do you spend your 168 Hours?
How many times a day do you think, “I don’t have enough time!” Many of us feel out of control. We rush through our work, snapping at those closest to us because we’re so stressed. Time is scarce, we recognize, but we don’t feel we can do anything about it.
We all get the same 168 hours each week, but whether you feel stressed or in balance will depend on how you budget that time.
One way to get a better sense of where your time goes is to record how you spend it. Laura Vanderkam, author of 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think, says on her website, “If you want to get out of debt, you record your spending. If you want to use your time better, you should keep a time log.”
Vanderkam suggests thinking of yourself as a lawyer billing your time to different projects. Keep track of your time for a couple of weeks. Then decide if the numbers reflect the number of hours you’d like to “bill” to these projects.
If you aren’t spending your time on the things you want to be doing, you need to allocate your time differently. Going through this exercise at the very least will make you more aware of how you spend your time and you may find places where you can use your time more effectively.
To make it easier, Vanderkamp posted a blank time log on her website which can be printed as a pdf file or downloaded as an Excel file. The log is available at www.my168hours.com. Make some time today. Check it out.
