I’m often asked how home-based business owners can repair damage caused by overworking. My answer is always the same: Recovering from overwork requires a commitment to reintroducing balance into your life and lightening a heavy schedule.

Burnout in the home office occurs after months of relentless work, fueled by a lack of boundaries between the home and the home office. Continually working nights and weekends, in addition to juggling a demanding workweek, eventually causes burnout symptoms such as stunted creativity, problems with decision making and a lack of vigor.

Burnout won’t go away on its own, but taking steps to modify work habits can alleviate it. By lightening your load and giving yourself enough breathing room to rejuvenate, you can repair the damage that’s been done. Here are some tactics for overcoming the tendency to overwork:

– Keep a work journal. For a two-week period, write down the hours that you work and what you accomplish during this time. Include details such as what you do, how long it takes and what time of day you do it.

This will help you identify low-level tasks that can be passed to someone else. It may also help you pinpoint the time of day when you are most productive. Tackling your most challenging work during these hours of peak productivity may help you get more done in less time.

– Delegate. Scan your work journal for items that someone else could handle. If you work alone, this may mean hiring a high school student to handle administrative tasks once per week or outsourcing small projects to freelancers. Even taking a small step, such as hiring a bookkeeper to balance the books and cut checks can reduce your workload by a few hours each week.

– Make a commitment. Review your journal and write down the steps that you will take to control your tendency to overwork. You may decide to start work later two days per week or to avoid working on Saturdays. Goal-setting studies have shown that making a commitment on paper increases the likelihood that you’ll meet your objectives.

– Start slow. If you’ve been overworking, returning to a normal schedule probably won’t happen overnight. You’ll gradually have to regain your personal time.

Start by shaving an hour off your workday a few times each week. Avoid using this time to handle mundane tasks such as paying bills or cleaning house. Instead, do something fun and rewarding such as trying a new sport, taking a class or visiting a friend.

– Exercise. Fill some of your newly acquired free time with physical activity. Dig your tennis racket out of the closet, join a gym or call a neighbor to join you for a morning walk or jog.

Working out decreases stress and raises energy. This will help rid your body of burnout feelings, faster. In addition, you can involve others in athletic activities, which will help you regain the social interaction you may have missed by working too much.

– Reevaluate. If you don’t see any opportunities to reduce your workload each week, it’s time to reevaluate the way you operate your business. You may need to accept fewer jobs or to raise your prices so that you can hire an assistant.

You might also be agreeing to faster project turnaround times than are reasonable. It may be time to reevaluate deadlines and to take more time to complete the work you accept.

Alice Bredin is author of the “Virtual Office Survival Handbook” (John Wiley & Sons) and a nationally syndicated columnist.