• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

5 ways to avoid burnout at work

By
Verne Harnish
Verne Harnish,
Brett Krasnove
Brett Krasnove, and
Brett Krasnove
Brett Krasnove
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Verne Harnish
Verne Harnish,
Brett Krasnove
Brett Krasnove, and
Brett Krasnove
Brett Krasnove
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 8, 2012, 6:03 AM ET

1. Get away and review

Dave McLurg runs a business in Phoenix that helps his customers find their ideal careers -- and employers. But sometimes he has to do the same thing for himself. How? He books a day at a local resort and figures out whether he's spending time on the right tasks -- or just wasting it. After a recent trip, he hired a scheduler to straighten out his frantic work life. "It's really about focusing on my ideal role," he says.

2. Schedule small regular breaks

Many entrepreneurs feel guilty about taking any time for themselves, because their business already consumes most of their week. But if you don't, you'll begin to resent both your family and your company. Me? I find that the best way to keep my energy up is to plan something fun every Wednesday night -- even if it's simply watching a game with a buddy -- or have coffee with friends on Friday mornings.

3. Hang out with the family

Dale Donat, CEO of Mid America Metals, travels frequently for his Springfield, Mo., building-restoration business, which projects $8.9 million in sales for 2012. He's found that taking a week off to babysit his granddaughter while her parents are on vacation renews his perspective more than any company offsite. "It's just a breath of fresh air from dealing with business situations all the time," he says.

4. Lock down your vacation

It's easy to put off a much-needed break if you don't set the dates in stone, buy tickets, and make a deposit. Direct-marketing entrepreneur Paul E. Berman, who juggles five companies with $9 million in combined revenue, plans a couple of breaks a year backpacking in the woods. He says that after returning from hiking the Appalachian Trail earlier this year, he was "relaxed, focused, energized, ready to get back into attack mode."

5. Do something outrageous

Eight CEOs I know are raving about the nonprofit group Earth Train's recent weeklong seminar, Mother Nature CEO, held on a nature preserve in the jungles of Panama. In between kayaking, hiking, and camping, they picked up tips about innovation and social networking from marketer and bestselling author David Meerman Scott on the $3,900-a-head adventure. Seminars like this one are a great way to get away, relax -- and come up with new ideas. --Verne Harnish is the CEO of Gazelles Inc., an executive education firm.
About the Authors
By Verne Harnish
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By Brett Krasnove
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By Brett Krasnove
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Latest in
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Most Popular
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
Fortune Secondary Logo
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon
Latest in
broker
AIearnings
Goldman finds ‘no meaningful relationship between AI and productivity at the economywide level,’ but a 30% boost for 2 specific use cases
By Nick LichtenbergMarch 3, 2026
12 minutes ago
Top big bank CDs for March 3, 2026
Personal FinanceCertificates of Deposit (CDs)
Top CD rates from major banks on March 3, 2026: Chase CDs, Bank of America CDs, Citibank CDs, and more
By Joseph HostetlerMarch 3, 2026
36 minutes ago
Personal Financegold prices
Current price of gold as of March 3, 2026
By Danny BakstMarch 3, 2026
37 minutes ago
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman
AIOpenAI
Sam Altman says OpenAI is renegotiating with the Pentagon after an ‘opportunistic and sloppy’ deal
By Beatrice NolanMarch 3, 2026
41 minutes ago
JetStream co-founders sat on a sofa. From left to right: Jared Phipps (founder & COO), Jatheen “AJ” Anand (founder & CTO), Raj Rajamani (founder & CEO), Venu Vissamsetty (founder & Chief Architect)
AIcyber
Exclusive: CrowdStrike and SentinelOne veterans raise $34M to tackle enterprise AI’s governance gap
By Beatrice NolanMarch 3, 2026
48 minutes ago
Platinum prices for March 3, 2026
Personal Financemoney management
Current price of platinum as of Tuesday, March 3, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMarch 3, 2026
53 minutes ago
Most Popular
placeholder alt text
Middle East
U.S. military gives Iran a taste of its own medicine with cheap copycat Shahed drones, while concern shifts to munitions supply in extended conflict
By Jason MaMarch 1, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Slack cofounder says workers and CEOs can get stuck doing 'fake' work like pre-meetings and slideshows
By Emma BurleighMarch 1, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
MacKenzie Scott's close relationship with Toni Morrison long before Amazon put Scott on the path to give more than $1 billion to HBCUs
By Sasha RogelbergMarch 1, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Middle East
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard controls a sprawling business empire that dominates the economy
By Jason MaMarch 2, 2026
21 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, March 2, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMarch 2, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Your grandparents are the reason the U.S. isn't in a recession right now. That won't last forever
By Eleanor PringleMarch 1, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.