Signs of Burnout and How to Come Back
I am going to get real for a minute and admit, I am BURNT OUT. I love my work and I get so much joy out of helping others but I have been working around the clock for the past 2 years. When the pandemic hit, back in March 2020, and everything slowed down a bit, I took that opportunity to use every free moment (not having a commute, random hallway conversations, extended meetings, even the time saved by not getting “ready” for work in the morning), to focus on my health coaching business. I am so luck and so grateful that I’ve had this time and I’ve been SO productive. I’ve also managed to get in the best shape of my life mentally and physically, until about a week ago. I hit a WALL. Like the biggest wall of my life. I realized that I have been non-stop from morning to night and I hadn’t stopped to evaluate because I assumed there was an expiration date and we’d all return to the office and business as usual. Well, I ran out of gas. I questioned everything I’ve been doing, drank wine and ordered Sugar Taco (vegan Mexican by Tina Louise and it’s bomb), missed workouts, missed content creation and then felt really shitty that I failed to hit my goals over that week or so. What I did do, was spend time with Dave and Weiland, walk around one of our favorite parks, read a little of a book and magazine and it made me realize that I haven’t given myself the chance to do any of those things that I enjoy, with freedom. Yes, there are hikes and family beach days, etc., but always with time limits that I need to get back and write a newsletter or blog post or catch up on podcast editing. I’m always thinking about what content can be created out of every moment and then trying to multi-task, rather than living in the moment. I am good at this, but at what cost? You know what I realized? It’s not working. I coach my clients out of burnout and here I am in the exact same situation. I am unconsciously coming at life from a scarcity mindset. That there’s not enough time and there’s too much to do, and what that does is close you in and limit your time and mental space. I’m afraid to breathe, to let go of control a bit, to lose something intangible. What I’m reminding myself of now, is that I need to take some things off my plate. I need to do less. In order to create space and allow for creativity and lower cortisol levels, I need to let go a little bit. Luckily, I’m able to see this in myself and prevent full blown melt-down burnout before it’s too late. Think you may also be on the verge of burnout? Here’s what to look for and how to prevent it:
Signs of Burnout:
Exhaustion - you may feel like you’re dragging yourself out of bed every morning
Cynicism - a lack of interest in the work you’re doing
Feeling Useless - like you’re not effective despite doing the work
Other signs include depression, hating your job, irritability, a wandering mind, trouble sleeping, digestive issues or discomfort, headaches, and self-medicating with alcohol, drugs or food. You may also find that you take more sick days than usual.
Remedies:
Take time off, especially if you have a job that provides paid vacation. Even if you don’t GO on vacation, do something other than work. Road Trips, sitting in bed reading, even popping into coffee shops to Pinterest your next vacation will give you the relief you need.
Prioritize your sleep - turn your phone off an hour before bed and read. Even better, go to sleep!
Carve out time for creativity. Stop by the craft store, make a vision board, an art journal, take some cool photos with your phone, paint, whatever gets you out of your head
Stop glorifying “busy” and basing your worth on how much you can achieve. You won’t get much further if you don’t stop and take a break!
Delegate. Hand off tasks to others, even if you’re a control freak. It’s like ripping off a band-aid; once you do it, you wonder why you hadn’t sooner!
Schedule YOU time. Even if it’s an hour a week, put it in your calendar and make it a priority. Schedule a workout that you enjoy and don’t feel MORE stressed by, take a walk and listen to a podcast, read a book, whip up a new recipe, just allow yourself the time to recharge and BE.
Listen to your body. If you feel run-down, stressed, overworked, tired...get in touch with your values. What is it all for and is it in line with the life you want to live. If so, take some time to recharge so you can continue at your best. If not, take some time to make some adjustments.
Deep breath in, deep breath out!
I hope this helps and you give yourself the permission to step back to ALLOW progress, rather than running yourself into the ground to the point that you have nothing left to give. In the meantime, I’ll be over here Pinteresting chicken coops for my future farm in Topanga!
