Restaurant managers work A LOT of hours, sometimes upwards of 80-100 per week. You’re constantly on your feet, in a high-stress environment. Dealing with moody customers, late vendors, and (insert an adjective here) employees every day, with no weekends off might cause a bit of a burnout.
So how do you prevent burnout? Here at Red Book Solutions, we’ve compiled five great tips to help you prevent that all-too-common restaurant burnout.
Find a Hobby
Your restaurant takes up most of your waking hours, but other than sleeping, what else are you doing to manage stress? Look for a hobby. While some restaurant managers might enjoy a morning run to clear their heads before a shift, others would be better served with a creative hobby, like painting or writing, to stimulate the mind with things other than shift changes, and inventory.
Build an Exercise Routine, and Do it Before your Shift
While you’re burning calories by being on your feet during a shift, it is important that you get some extra endorphins in you to start your day. Exercise gives you that healthy kickstart that is much better than coffee and Red Bull.
Recognize Burnout Patterns
One of the most important aspects of burnout is being able to recognize the symptoms of burnout. If you find yourself getting poor sleep, being forgetful, showing signs of depression and bursts of anger, you might be experiencing burnout. Start there, and develop a personal check-in for yourself every day, and be mindful of these traits, even writing down instances as you experience them.
Stop Trying to Do It All Yourself
Manager’s experience burnout because they believe in the mantra “If you want something done right, do it yourself,” which ends up creating more tasks for them then they know what to do with. Learn to trust your employees, and find ways to delegate tasks that might fit their skillsets, freeing you up for tasks suited to your vision and creativity.
Schedule a Vacation, and Take It
You’ll find those managers who brag “Well, I haven’t taken a vacation in 20 years!” While it’s a nice sentiment, that Caribbean vacation you wanted to take 10 years ago could’ve prevented the severe burnout you have now.
Go Away for a Week
It will help clear your mind, and will also teach your employees how to run the restaurant without you, which will help your operation in the long run.