Yes, another blog about avoiding burnout
How to avoid and prevent burnout
I’ve seen SO many articles about avoiding burnout recently, I almost feel burnt out at the thought of another one, but this one is different – trust me.
A lot of what I see is an idealistic version of reducing burnout. Yes, it would be lovely to take regular holidays to beautiful parts of the world. It would be nice to have someone else cook dinner a few times a week or pick up the work you need to do once the kids have gone to bed. But let’s be real for a minute – that’s not possible for everyone, and to keep on talking about avoiding burnout like everyone has unlimited funds, flexible bosses, the ability to exercise more and support networks on tap, can contribute to more stress, anxiety and loneliness.
So, I’m not going to do that here. Instead, I’m going to ask you to start thinking about parts of your everyday that individually don’t seem like a big deal, but stack them all up and they can contribute to the feeling of burnout.
The NHS define burnout as “a feeling of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion”. Emotional and physical burnout may seem quite different, but they go hand in hand, and together they can give us a good read on how we are doing and what we may need. If our brains feel frazzled, our bodies will follow suit – and vice versa.
ways to avoid burnout that are actually achievable
Forbes recently reported on a survey by Microsoft which claimed that workplace burnout is becoming an international crisis. So what can we really do to stop it? Outside of work, the pressure to always be up to date on everything going on in your life, both on and off screen is very real. WhatsApp groups that are constantly pinging, emails at all times of day and night, kids’ social calendars. It may feel never-ending. Yes, you probably do need to stay on top of it all to some degree, but not at the detriment of your mental health.
So how can you take some moments to pause during the day, to buffer things slightly, and avoid a big crash? A big factor is being able to regulate our nervous systems - which, if you live a busy life, will be overloaded on the regular. Here are a few suggestions to help build in circuit breakers, and hopefully help you to keep things a little more balanced:
Take a longer shower
A moment of peace, calm, a moment to think – extend that time by a few minutes – set your alarm five minutes earlier if you need to.
Do not disturb
Use the do not disturb function on your phone – the fact that it doesn’t show your notifications may feel a bit unsettling to begin with, but if you can adjust to that, you may be able to access the peace that it brings. To not have the temptation of a notification drawing you into your phone and the multiple to-do lists that exist there, can be the best gift you give yourself.
You can change your settings so that you don’t miss key updates from your most important people, but DND can help you filter out the things that really can wait, and give you a bit of breathing space.
Set your screen curfew
Be strict with your screen curfew before bedtime – some people swear that you need to stop looking at a screen for 2-3 hours before bed, but that’s not realistic for everyone. Start small, try 20-30 mins, and increase it (if you can) as you go along.
Get an alarm clock
This is the only thing I’m going to suggest that costs money. Going old school and getting an alarm clock can be a game changer for a couple of reasons.
If you wake in the night, you can simply glance at the time and not engage your brain in your phone and anything on there that may increase your stress hormones (adrenaline and cortisol).
The same goes for ditching your phone alarm to wake you in the morning. We tend to have a surge of cortisol within the first hour of waking, so you’ll naturally be more anxious / stressed in the morning. Try and wait for this to regulate before pushing it up further by reaching for your your phone.
Rest isn’t lazy
Think about how you use your time off – it might be tempting to use the time to tick off all the things you’ve put off doing, or spending time with everyone you need to catch up with, but make sure you get time to rest as well.
By the way, rest doesn’t always mean sleep. It means anything that helps you recharge – watching your favourite series, or spending time in nature – these can be as calming for you as hours of sleep, if not more, for some people. They can help regulate your nervous system, which is key for managing stress and anxiety.
Radiators and drains
Think about who you’re spending time with and how they make you feel.
This may sound controversial, but we all know those people who drain our energy by just being in their company. They may be among our best friends or family, but it doesn’t hurt to think about how you are feeling and what you may need, when making social plans.
Consider spacing out your social arrangements with certain people and think about what you need out of your arrangement – are you already quite drained and need a pick me up? Do you have enough energy spare to give away to others?
One for people who menstruate
Consider how you feel energetically at different phases of your cycle and consider aligning your diary / exercise routine a bit more.
At some points in your cycle you may not feel like going for after work drinks for example, or running that 10k you signed up for, but at other points those things are totally doable and may exactly what you need.
Listen to the clues your body is giving you - if you’re continually pushing against them, burn out will have a better chance of winning.
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