5 Endurance Practices That Help Leaders Fight Exhaustion and Burnout

Everywhere we look, someone or something is trying to “optimize” us. Optimize your sleep. Optimize your diet. Optimize your productivity. As entrepreneurs and leaders, we buy into the belief that if we just tweak one more habit or download one more app, we’ll unlock our next level of performance.

But what if the real secret isn’t optimization, but endurance? We don’t need more biohacks, data or devices. We need more resilience, more recovery and more sustainability. Because optimization without endurance is like sprinting a marathon — impressive for a few miles, but nearly impossible to finish. (And I have run 12 of them.)

Most high performers I know, myself included, fall into the same trap. We tell ourselves, “I’ll slow down after this launch.” Or, “Once this quarter wraps, I’ll finally go on that retreat.” But the finish line keeps moving.

We’re succeeding by every external measure — revenue, growth, recognition — yet our nervous systems are a wreck. While I’ve learned to set my firm boundaries around fitness, sleep and nutrition, I work with and know several entrepreneurs who wake up wired and tired and their attention divided between Slack, spreadsheets and their Oura rings telling them their sleep was “fair” or “poor.” I’ve seen it in my clients, my friends, and before I made major changes, in myself.

Before the pandemic in 2020, I managed multiple team members, worked out intensely every day and had a nanny handling nearly everything for my kids. I was successful on paper, but tired, overwhelmed and most importantly, not in a state of joy.

That’s when I knew I had to change my overall operating system. I restructured my business to take on fewer clients in larger capacities, embraced more time with my kids and added lower-intensity days, breathwork and meditation to my routine. My productivity, joy and success meters all improved.

The problem with the ‘optimization’ mindset is that it teaches us to tighten to make everything more efficient, faster, sharper. Performance scientist Dr. Andy Galpin says in his conversations with Dr. Andrew Huberman, “Peak output isn’t the goal, repeatable output is. You don’t need to go harder; you need to go longer, more consistently, with rhythm and recovery built in.”

In Galpin’s research and throughout his six-episode Guest Series shows on the Huberman Lab podcast, he breaks endurance down into layers: aerobic capacity, muscular endurance and the ability to resist fatigue. In business and leadership, those same principles apply.

Your “aerobic capacity” might be your emotional bandwidth — how long you can stay calm, clear and creative before snapping. Your “muscular endurance” might be your ability to lead your team through uncertainty, quarter after quarter, without losing direction.

The best athletes, Galpin notes, don’t just train intensity; they train durability. They build systems that allow them to perform, recover, and perform again, sustainably. As leaders, we can (and should) do the same. Because when you burn out, your team doesn’t just lose your presence, they lose your pacing.

If you’re always sprinting, you’re teaching them that rest is not part of success. The companies that last are led by people who know how to shift gears, not just hit the gas.

So how do you build endurance as a leader? Below are five practices I’ve used, inspired by both Galpin’s work and my own journey, to replace burnout with balance and optimize for sustainability, not exhaustion.

1. Create a “drop everything” ritual

A “Drop Everything” ritual is a non-negotiable habit to rest or reset that you integrate into your routine. For me, it’s a daily 30-minute walk outside after lunch or my early morning workouts that I set hard boundaries around.

The key is that it’s a protected time where you drop everything to reset your mind and body. Perhaps yours is Netflix at night or sitting quietly with your cup of coffee. The ritual matters less than the rule: it’s non-negotiable.

2. Trade “how fast?” for “how long?”

Start asking a different question. Instead of How can I go faster? Ask, ” How long can I sustain this pace without breaking? At my marketing agency, I used to operate in constant launch and campaign mode, with every week feeling urgent.

Now, before any big push, I ask: What pace would make this sustainable for six months? That small reframe changes everything. It forces you to set realistic rhythms, build margin and lead from steadiness, not stress.

Related: Everyone’s Burned Out, So ‘Burnout’ Means Nothing — Here’s How Leaders Can Support Wellness Outside the Office

3. Teach your team what sustainability looks like

If you’re constantly online, responding at midnight or skipping vacations, you’re teaching your team that rest is not acceptable or even worse, it equals weakness. Model better behavior. Celebrate focus, boundaries, and recovery, not solely output.

Grayson Lafrenz, Founder and CEO of Cadre AI and Founder and Chairman of Power Digital Marketing, encourages his teams to take time to recharge. He regularly asks employees to identify their “instant recharge” activity — that small, reliable thing that resets their energy.

When Grayson is on vacation, he does not check email or Slack. Instead, he tells his team, “In case of emergency, text me,” and encourages them to do the same during their own time off. The reality? He’s rarely texted.

Grayson shared a story I loved about an employee who struggled to unplug before her wedding and honeymoon. To protect her honeymoon adventure, he had the team change her email password and sent her a message on behalf of the company: “We changed your password. Don’t even try to log in.”

That’s leadership through action. It shows your team that rest isn’t just allowed, it’s expected.

4. Use the “quadrant check”

I learned this from Dr. Galpin’s framework and adapted it to my personal check-ins. Draw four quadrants: Business, Relationships, Fitness, Recovery. Now rate each one from 1–10, but here’s the difficult and realistic part: they have to add up to 10.

That means if you’re giving an 8 to your business right now, you’ve only got 2 points left for everything else. You can’t give all four a 10, and that’s the hard truth most entrepreneurs avoid. The goal isn’t guilt, it’s awareness and accountability. Be honest about where your energy is actually going, not where you wish it were going.

Once per week, I do a quick quadrant check and write one small action next to my lowest score — text a friend, block a night off, stretch before bed. It takes five minutes but tells me everything about where I’m overextended. Endurance isn’t about doing everything perfectly; it’s about owning your choices, adjusting where needed, and building resilience over time.

Related: Skip the Coffee Meeting. Instead, Sweat to Success With Clients.

5. Train your nervous system like you train your muscles

Dr. Galpin says recovery isn’t just rest, it’s a skill. Like any muscle, your nervous system gets stronger with consistent reps of regulation and recharge. For me, that meant learning rhythm, not just intensity.

For years, I thought my competitive drive was my edge. I launched a business the year I had my first son, raced marathons, triathlons and even an Ironman consistently year after year. I was proud of my ability to “do it all.” But the same drive that fuels achievement can also drain joy. Now, instead of “maximizing every minute,” I protect my boundaries and recovery fiercely. The result? I am more productive than ever because I’m no longer operating from burnout, but from awareness of my balance.

That’s what endurance gives you: the ability to show up, consistently, even when life doesn’t slow down. As Dr. Galpin says, “The most powerful athletes, and people, are the ones who can repeat their best effort, over and over again.” That’s endurance.

In entrepreneurship, endurance means showing up for your family, your team, and yourself, not perfectly, but fully.

So this week, pause and ask yourself:

• What pace am I teaching my team?
• What’s one small ritual I can protect to recharge?
• What is the one non-negotiable that gives you the most recovery?

The non-negotiable does not need to be exercise or meditation, or a well-balanced meal. It should be whatever brings you the most recovery and joy. For some, it’s a game of pickleball or padel with friends, for others, it’s playing music, and for Dr. Galpin, it’s watching TV. For one of my doctor friends, it’s true crime podcasts. Don’t be afraid to try something intentionally unproductive.

Because if the finish line keeps moving, and it always does, the real win isn’t speed. It’s sustainability. You just need to build the strength to keep going.

Forward is still a speed.