How to Avoid Burnout + What Does Burnout Even Mean?

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I know you’ve probably seen the hilarious GIF of this man where it says “me trying to balance work, social life, etc.” I can relate to this 100%! Seriously…how many times a week do you just wish there were more hours in the day to get everything done?

Let me tell you…almost anything can be managed but it’s definitely easy to burnout. After experiencing this once before in the past, I developed some “healthy habits” to help avoid burnout. I want to share those habits with you just in case you find yourself in a similar situation.

But first…what is burnout and what are the signs of it?

If you asked me in person, I would probably say, “It’s when you have too much going on and you’re just sick and tired of EVERYTHING!” While that is an accurate description, we’re in a different setting so let me elaborate a little bit more!

From the article “Burnout Prevention and Treatment” on Helpguide.org written by Melinda Smith, M.A., Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., Laurence Robinson, and Robert Segal, M.A. (read the entire article here), burnout is defined as a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It happens when you’re feeling overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands. As the stress continues, you start to lose the interest and motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place (see, sick and tired of everything like I said).

Common symptoms or signs of burnout are:

• Feeling tired and drained most of the time
• Feeling helpless, trapped, and defeated
• Sense of failure and self doubt
• Withdrawing from responsibilities
• Skipping work or coming in late and leaving early

How I Avoid Burnout

I never in a million years thought that burnout would happen to me, but it did. Once it sets in, it’s very hard to get out of simply because responsibilities never take a break even if we do. These are some of the habits that I practice now to avoid getting to that point again:

Plan

I mentioned in my post, “7 Tips to Implement Now to Crush Your Goals“, that I am a planner that needs structure. Huge desk calendars, wall calendars, planners, I have them all. Organizing my “to-do” tasks down to the hour stops me from looking at a day ahead and thinking where do I even start. For example, I used to feel really guilty when I went to the gym because I could have been doing homework or working on the blog. Fitting the gym into my planner from 2 to 3 PM works perfectly. Now, this activity has a specified time where it fits in with other plans.

Let It Out

It is waaay easier to fall into burnout if you hold all of that frustration and despair in. I have no problem at all calling my parents so that they can talk some sense into me. Talking to someone that you trust or even journaling helps A LOT!

Exercise

If I’m feeling stressed or have a lot on my mind, a good run on the treadmill or about 15-20 minutes on the StairMaster is like instant therapy. It’s just something about a good cardio session! Do you agree?

Take the evening or day OFF

Honestly, sometimes we have to remind ourselves that everything can just wait. One evening or day to just relax and do absolutely nothing won’t make a huge difference. We can get so caught up in achieving a goal or reaching a certain point but the truth is, whatever you had to do will be there tomorrow.

Take care of you first and pay attention to the signs of when your body and mind just need rest. When I’m planning, I ALWAYS choose a day of the week where I will get home after work and do absolutely nothing! This is usually when I catch up on my Netflix shows in my fuzzy robe and slippers. Best feeling ever!

Plan trips

Give yourself something to look forward to! If I look ahead on my schedule and see nothing but work, work, work…ahh, hello anxiety! It’s never-ending. I made it a point to have trips written on my calendars even if it’s just a shopping trip in a nearby city. Especially if you’re planning an extensive vacation, most likely you’ll see that the big things that were stressing you out were actually smaller than you thought.

Let’s chat! What are some things that you do to relax when you become overwhelmed?