Deal With Burnout: 3 Things You Can Do Today
Yesterday I had to be reminded that I can deal with burnout. I’ve been diligently working to create a life I love, and I’m doing a good job of it. But man, it can be exhausting nonetheless.
If you’re feeling the same way, let’s work through it together.
I think there are two types of burnout: stress burnout and purpose burnout. Either way, you are dealing with an imbalance in your life.
Stress burnout is when you are giving all your energy to other people and their agendas and forgetting to take care of yourself. That’s not what I was experiencing.
Purpose burnout is when you know what you want out of life, you are focused on it, you work toward it every day, and it starts to consume you. That is what I was experiencing.
I actually cried, and I hardly ever cry. I went through a period in my life when I cried for literally at least a half hour every day, so ever since then, I just don’t cry much. That was my sign that I was teetering on the edge of burnout.
What signs is your body giving you? (Let me know in the comments.)
So I pulled my husband into our bedroom for a talk, and here’s what we came up with:
Keep scrolling to see what we came up with.
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- You need a day off! Or at least half a day. When you build a life you love, your work life and personal life become one. For example, I work for a few hours, do something with my family, work some more. It’s awesome, and I’m not complaining. But, I’m not ever really giving myself a break. So I committed to taking this upcoming Sunday off completely.
- You need to do something meaningless. I know this sounds counterproductive, but it is necessary to be productive long-term. My husband reminded me that in my “free” time I am still working. I’m not reading fiction books anymore, I’m reading The Boy Crisis because it’s a cause I want to support. I’m not watching fun, lighthearted shows, I’m watching videos of Simon Sinek and Jordan Peterson, among other greats. So last night I watched Workin’ Moms, a Netflix original comedy, and it felt really good. Plus, I slept great ?
- You need to invest your time wisely. I’ve been exploring different ways to make money while I grow this organization. I thought maybe transcription work was the way to go. My goal was to become an editor, which meant I had to invest quite a bit of time up front to get there. I dedicated a lot of time to it last week, with little pay back and quite a bit of frustration, so my husband suggested that I drop it. Done! Onto exploring better options.
Now it’s your turn. What do you need to do today to deal with burnout, or avoid it altogether, so you can continue to create a life you love?
Do you need to schedule a day off? Do it now!
Do you need to do something meaningless? Name it now, and then do it ASAP!
Do you need to invest your time wisely? Name something you are not investing your time in wisely, and let it go!
Maybe you could use some help energizing yourself:
How to Energize Yourself Before Taking That Leap of Faith
How I Energize Myself to Take My Leap of Faith
Let me know what you decide to do in the comments.
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Have a BALANCED day!
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Do you need to schedule a day off?
I usually take time, every week, once I feel that I’ve earned it. My mind usually shuts down a bit and “sinks” into the body to let me know.
Do you need to do something meaningless? Name it now, and then do it ASAP!
I do crosswords a few days a week. Or use the website AOTY and go through supposed Albums of the Year I’ve never heard yet. Always interesting. Everything from the bizarrest, darkest avant garde to experimental hip hop.
Do you need to invest your time wisely? Name something you are not investing your time in wisely, and let it go!
This is a toughy because it’s more about a variety of small habits that lead to plenty of entropy in life that take up time time time. I guess it would be doing less in many instances. Instead of having to clean up, learning to avoid lots of actions that involve clean-up.
I need to go on and read some more posts as my problem is always reconciling what I want with what’s available and having to remind myself there are no limits other than the ones you believe in. I’m definitely getting closer. Thank you for sharing the post and personal info!
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts with all of us! Yes, crosswords or any puzzle can be a great way to clear your mind. I work on Sudoku puzzles for close to an hour altogether every day. As far as avoiding “clean-up”, that’s a big part of what The Expectation Gaps is all about. Knowing what you want, what’s important to you, and being intentional with your time and actions so that you don’t have as much clean-up later on. Stay Curious!