The burnout phenomenon has become so prevalent in everyday life that the term has settled into today’s lexicon. Whether mental, physical or emotional, an onslaught of uncontrollable stress can show up like a sucker punch or creep up on us slowly, affecting us at every angle. In the face of unmitigated change and uncertainty, you might feel like you’ve been losing your grip on what once felt secure. Burnout is unsettling and demands conscious effort in overcoming it – which is why doing so is called a ‘battle.’
If it feels like you and everyone you know is exhausted, you’re not alone. As the world faces unforeseen changes, you’ve been tasked with coming up with solutions when not yet knowing the problem. Spreading yourself too thin, being pulled in too many directions, losing sleep without time to refuel… Soon you’ll feel like you can’t go any further, and you’ll roll to a halt. This is a wake-up call for many, usually those who love their job or are trying to juggle multiple at once. Rather than push yourself until you feel a jump-start in your energy again, start by slowing down. It’s now time to take care of yourself, on and off the clock.
“It’s better to burn out than to fade away.” For Neil Young and so many rock stars of the 70s, living fast and dying young was the way to go. To live an exciting, unapologetic life was better than a long, superficially mediocre existence. What’s misunderstood here is that it’s possible to burn both bright and strong.
The place to start is in recognizing that you are simply tired. Running low on battery doesn’t feel good, especially when you wake up in the morning already drained. It could take saying, I’m tired of being tired, for a swell of energy to return. Moving past this might not require a career 180 turn, but finding the love for your job again will take some (more) work. This isn’t something that will be solved through a quick fix, but when you find your groove, it’s something that will last long.
As we enter the months when most people experience seasonal affective disorder (literally SAD), now is the time to preemptively protect your well being. Unmanaged stress and long hours are the greatest opponents, putting essential workers and workaholics at greater risk of the insidious pressure. If you find yourself in a work culture that doesn’t openly acknowledge or appreciate mental health, take the initiative to change that.
Sharing your experiences with someone will open the door to help, and unlocking that door between you and your work life will help adjust any boundaries that you’re struggling with. Tell someone what is working for you versus what isn’t, and they will probably want to help. Breathless, anxious and at home alone, confiding in a friend will remove some of the weight sitting on your chest – even if it’s over a Zoom call.
Whatever self-care looks like to you, do it. If your to-do list can fill up with emails to send, projects to finish and reports to study up on, you can add one more to your routine, even in small doses: prioritizing relaxation. This could look like journaling, skincare, stretching and practicing compassion in a comfortable space. Spending eight to ten hours in front of a computer screen can grow dull, exceedingly when you’re stuck in one spot. And if working from home, social isolation can shrink our mental and physical space. One way to break the cycle is by taking (social) microbreaks. At first, your mind will still run with all the things you have to do, and any pause will feel like a waste of time. Breathe through this and know that everything that needs you will wait for you. A change in your environment could be all it takes in redefining what it feels like to be healthy.
If you’re out of personal days for the year, disconnecting completely from stress at work might not feel feasible, so it’s time to get creative in building mini vacations in between habits. Mentally prioritize your nighttime routine or learning to cook a new meal. When you find love in other areas of your life, that enthusiasm will filter into your energy for work. Why are you grateful for your job? Reflecting through journal prompts or meditation could recalibrate why you took the opportunity. If feeling out of place at work or like you’ve outgrown the company or industry, consider what it would mean to move on. Knowing what doesn’t work for you at your current role makes it that much easier to know what you do want in your job hunt.
There are times when the healthiest option is to say “no.” Setting limits on how work influences your life and fuses with your personal life is your move, and it’s up to you to respect those boundaries. Burnout is the relationship between your expectations and reality, and the struggle to match those at work. In untethering your personal well-being from your satisfaction or productivity at work, you can say goodbye to the Sunday scaries.
