We’ve all experienced it at some point – that vicious cycle of insomnia, exhaustion, irritability, frequent illness, no motivation, feeling emotionally overwhelmed and being easily triggered. This can be described with one word – burnout. In this article, we discuss the different stages of burnout, how to avoid burnout and how to achieve success without burning out.
What is “Burnout”? According to Healthline, burnout is described as a “state of mental and physical exhaustion that can zap the joy out of your career, friendships, and family interactions.” Healthline states that burnout can be caused by constant exposure to stressful situations like caring for an ill family member or working for long hours on end. Even mothers and fathers can experience burnout at one point or another. In this post, we specifically look at career-induced burnout.
Burnout can typically be divided into 10 stages.
- Excessive drive or ambition
- Pushing yourself to work harder
- Neglecting personal care and needs and start focusing on work more
- No time for nonwork-related needs
- Inner conflict and blameshift – blaming clients, your superior, or the situation
- Withdrawal from your family and social life
- Behavioural changes – easily triggered, don't feel like yourself anymore
- Anxiety
- Depression, feeling empty and numb
- Mental or physical collapse - Total burnout
Have you identified which stage you're at on the above scale?
Whichever stage you find yourself in, there are small changes you can make to stop the progression of burnout and eventually avoid it altogether.
1. Take regular breaks
If you’re experiencing burnout as described above, you might find yourself having thoughts of running away or giving up. But doing this will do nothing but make you feel worse, and it will affect the progress you’ve made up until this point, in a negative way. Instead of giving up, try taking small, regular breaks during the day. Stepping away from your workspace every now and then allows your brain to relax and lowers your stress levels, which will make your stress more manageable. Taking a coffee break while getting some fresh air for 10 minutes, or eating your lunch outside the office are two easy but excellent ways to reset and come back refreshed and focused on your next task.
2. Stay fit
Who’s got time for that, right?! While it might seem counteractive to get up earlier to work out, the benefits of getting your blood pumping early in the morning will reflect in your mood and energy levels throughout the day. The reality of deprioritising your fitness levels is that if you fail to look after your body, your body will eventually fail you. If you’re frequently getting sick, hitting the gym might actually help cure that. Studies have shown that exercise causes change in antibodies and white blood cells (the body’s immune system cells that fight disease) and also fuels the brain’s stress buffers. But apart from viral infections, another great health risk that comes hand-in-hand with stress is heart disease. According to THIS article, the CDC confirms that physical exercise also helps to reduce your risk of conditions such as heart disease, type-2 diabetes, anxiety attacks, and even dementia.
3. Eat balanced meals
Your mom had a point when she forced you to eat your vegetables as a child. But the other food groups shouldn’t be discarded. Snap Fitness confirms that eating a well-balanced diet provides you with important vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to keep the body and mind, strong and healthy. Eating well can also help ward off numerous diseases and provide you with energy, allow you to sleep better, and improve brain function (notice how this is the exact opposite of what you experience during burnout?). We get it – sometimes (every day?) you need to stuff your face with the first thing you lay your eyes on just because you’re half-starved from not having time to eat a decent meal all day. But it all starts with prioritising and making better decisions.
4. Prioritise your time
Burnout can cause you to fall behind on a project / in your work, miss your deadlines, and even deliver subpar work. If you’re experiencing burnout, chances are you’re dedicating a lot of time and energy to the wrong areas. As a result, you end up focusing on tasks that are tedious, less meaningful, and possibly very time-consuming. Prioritising your time means choosing to spend time on the tasks that will push you closer to achieving a goal. You can counter wasting time on tedious, time-consuming tasks by investing in automation software to lighten your workload. More and more leaders are turning to the technology that’s available to them to help ease the burden and run a more productive operation. According to this article by Forbes, “The time saved by digitising low-value but necessary business processes, also gives workers more time for upskilling.” The article continues to say that “Both managers and employees should look for opportunities to automate the most time-consuming and less meaningful parts of their teams’ jobs to keep motivation and engagement healthy.”
5. Listen to your body
If you’re feeling sick or tired, a lot of the time it’s because your body needs a break. Nerve pain, chest pain, chronic headaches, stomach pains, insomnia, and injuries that won’t go away. You’ll probably treat these symptoms with medication and stimulants, but these are the types of signals that your body gives to tell you that it needs a break. We are excellent at distracting ourselves from the signals our body is trying to send us because we don’t like being told to slow down. What we need to realise is our bodies operate 100% in our interest. Your body wants you to not only survive but to thrive! Take a moment to do a body check right now and be completely honest with yourself. What do you feel? What is your body trying to tell you? If you’re feeling sick, in pain, in some discomfort, or tired, it’s telling you to take things slower. It’s telling you to give it a break. If you feel like that’s not a possibility, you might find yourself having no other option when you’re completely burnt out.
6. Find enjoyment in the small things
This seems harder to do when you don’t even have time to eat a proper meal, right? Wrong. The digital age we’re in has conditioned us to spend too much time on our cell phones. Finding enjoyment in small things is as easy as putting your phone away for 10 minutes. Since you’ll now be getting more fresh air while taking a coffee break, leave your phone in the office and focus on the feel of the morning sun on your face while taking your break. Or spend those 10 minutes looking at the clouds or – as much of a cliché as this might seem – stop to smell some flowers in the garden. Finding enjoyment in the small things is a very simple way to refocus and it doesn’t have to take up much of your day.
So, you’ve been pushing too hard for too long and you KNOW you need to slow down. But will slowing down mean failing to achieve your goals? How do people manage to become successful WITHOUT burning themselves out? Let’s take a look at these steps you can take to succeed in your career without burnout:
- Self-care is king
Do you want energy? Then you have to prioritise looking after yourself. You cannot pour from an empty cup. Decide to eat a balanced meal instead of that Mcdonald's Meal. Decide to only work late once or twice a week and decide to go to bed at a reasonable time. Decide to not neglect your body and to give it what it needs and deserves. Decide to take care of yourself.
- Boundaries, boundaries, boundaries
No is a full sentence. When it comes to your time, boundaries are important. It starts with saying “no”. And remember – once you’ve set that boundary, it’s important to keep it up. If you give in once, people will expect you to do so every time.
- Routine
They might seem dull and unattractive at first glance, but they give you sustainability without having to think about it. Routine also helps you form good habits and makes you more efficient.
- Know your VALUES
The sky is the limit when you align your goals and your actions with the kind of life you want to live. Dream big, set your goals, and take aim. And remember, long-term consistency beats short-term intensity every time.
- Know your WHY
That way you don’t have to find motivation, you just have it. Getting up every morning has just gotten a whole lot easier. And that tiny little bit of progress you’ve made has just gotten so much more valuable and noteworthy. Steve Jobs said, “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” We say: For everything else, there’s automation software.
- Get self-aware
Burnout comes and goes and it’s very easy to fall back into old habits. It’s a slippery slope. You’ll have to stay aware of yourself and your habits to make sure you avoid it.
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