Burnout

Good morning amazing people! I know all of us are getting tired, yet receiving tons of work. This can cause us to overwork ourselves and continue to do work nonstop. I have realized for myself that I started getting into a mindset where I need to be working 24/7 and doing all the work and fulfilling obligations for the coming weeks. I needed a reminder to slow down and take a minute. In this post I want to share signs of burnout, why burnout can be detrimental, and what you can do to alleviate or prevent it. 

You may not be “burnt out,” but burnout may be on the horizon and it is important that we deter it before it consumes us. Burnout can look like having no motivation, constantly being tired, feeling like you have no hope, and more. I tend to feel it most through exhaustion. I have found that many times I ignore signs of burnout and continue to push through which makes the recovery process so much more difficult. If you feel tired of your own life or like nothing is exciting this may be burn out and you will want to do something that refills your bucket. You may not be feeling the extreme side of these things, but you could still be feeling it and you need to do something about it. When I have been burnt out, I have felt defeated and trapped. 

Burnout can be with any number of things: social, emotional, and/or physical burnout. Burnout is ever increasing among our society because of the growing pressure and emphasis on productivity. We constantly feel the need to go, go, go. We think work is always productive, but sometimes the most productive thing to do is rest. When we try to do too much all at one time to be productive, we actually decrease productivity. 

Burnout sucks all the energy from your body until you feel as dry as the Sahara. This sounds harsh, but let’s not normalize this all-consuming negative feeling. Burnout seeps into all other aspects of life and can even make you contract sicknesses such as a cold or flu. 

Once you notice burnout it is important that you start to rectify it instead of continuing to work work work. A few of the things I do are take a nap, stop exercising, take a break from work, etc. Of course we can’t stop doing the work that is due, but a lot of the stress and overworking comes from extra work that we put upon ourselves. I want you to take a look at your list of things to do and think about what you actually have to do. I promise you can erase a few things on your list and make time for yourself. The ideas listed above are ways to replenish yourself, but sometimes we are looking for more exciting ways. Many times when I am on the brink of burnout I want to do something to reignite a spark in my life. I want to show myself that although I am going through a tough time, there are still exciting activities within my life. With this, an ideal night would be to invite friends over and either cook or order takeout and talk, have fun, and let loose. Other things I love to do are either dedicate my night to watching/going to a hockey game, baking/cooking, going to the beach, going out, etc. On a more extreme side, travel always replenishes my soul but of course I know this is not in the cards most of the time. 

Depending on the type of burnout I am feeling I will then chose the best course of action. Sometimes this means taking a break from working out, but sometimes this means doing an hour on the peloton and hitting a PR. Working out is a way to show myself how much power I hold and how capable I am. 

If none of these work, try to switch up your routine. Spice things up a bit. All in all though, I think everyone (I am totally speaking to myself here) needs to observe their lifestyle and make sure they are making choices that are going to support their mental, physical and emotional health in the long run. Say “no” to things you don’t want to do, surround yourself with people that are looking to support you, and listen to yourself. Also, find something in everyday that makes you happy to be alive. There is always at least a little something. You may have to dig, but it is there. When we give energy to the small things that make us happy, they become bigger and brighter and we become happier people. “Focus on the good and the good gets better.”