13 Oct 5 Tips for Burnout Prevention
When is the last time you asked for help…and didn’t feel guilty, embarrassed or ashamed afterwards? Women struggle to ask for help without feeling some type of post-ask remorse. Why is that? It’s not like we don’t realize our plates are full, or that we’re only human! No, we don’t usually recognize that and instead we stretch and stretch ourselves to the point of burnout. Sound familiar?
So we’re all on the same page, let’s define burnout. According to Psychology Today, burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress. Though it’s most often caused by problems at work, it can also appear in other areas of life, such as parenting, caretaking, or romantic relationships. Basically, any living person can experience burnout (and probably will) at some point in their life.
In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized burnout as a syndrome linked to chronic stress at work. InHerSight has also found that burnout is one of the leading reasons why 73 percent of women say they want to change careers. Wow! Yet, we continue on the struggle bus heading straight to Burnoutville. Unsure if you have a one-way ticket on that bus? How many of these signs and symptoms are you experiencing now or have experienced in the last year? If more of these than not are ringing true, time to get off that bus ladies!
While the source of your burnout may be complex and may not be resolved with one solution, here’s a few tips that have helped me steer clear of Burnoutville that might serve you too.
#1 | Add a little movement to your day. Put your body in motion and sweat out the stress that plagues you. The gym is my saving grace. That’s where I got to burn the stress, work through mental roadblocks, and sweat the angst that keeps growing when I feel overworked, stressed or just plain tired.
#2 | Set boundaries. Don’t overextend yourself. Learn how to say “no” to requests that just add more to your plate. This can prove difficult at times, but you need to remind yourself that saying “no” allows you to say “yes” to something you actually want to do. This is my Work-In-Progress!!
#3 | Nourish your creative side. Creativity is a powerful antidote to burnout. Try something new, start a fun project, or pick up a favorite hobby. I am a big fan of coloring books! I can spend hours on a weekend coloring beautiful pages.
#4 | Ask for help superwoman. Recognize when you need to bring others on to get the job done…and then ask for help. There is no shame in this game. You’re only human after all, so start acting like it!
#5 | Find your happy place. Whether it’s for five minutes or five hours, break away from your day, detach from technology and just chill. Make the time to recharge the way your body needs you too in order to reset. In fact, add it to your calendar and make that a non-negotiable meeting…with yourself!
At Biz+LifeCon (Oct. 21 & 22 in Denver, CO and virtual), we have several sessions tackling different sources of burnout and offering up ways to navigate through them. From caregiving and entrepreneurship to self-sabotage, money and more! CLICK HERE to check out the agenda and buy your in-person or virtual ticket today!