Burnout can happen to the best of us, it can sneak up if you are not paying attention. Do You Have Burnout? How To Improve Your Mindset – I will share signs of burnout, my experience with it and tips to keep it away!
Burnout is something that we often hear about, especially in today’s world. Over the last few years it’s been a common outcome many people face, including mothers and business owners…
What is burnout?
Burnout is a mental, physical and an emotional exhaustion that can that make you feel drained and lack any energy to cope with the demands of work and life.
“Are you biting off more than you can chew”?
My Burnout
I have felt this way before and it hadn’t occurred to me it was burnout until someone said it to me. I was at the end of the line, exhausted in my body and mind.
There is a guilt feeling I have as a self employed person and mother. If I’m not using every scrap of time to be productive, then I berate myself as lazy!
Sound familiar?
After spending years on a business that consumed all my thoughts, it finally pushed me into a stage of weariness. Then I was in the midst of losing a family member to cancer, which pushed me even further into an exhaustive state, making me lack any energy to strive for more.
In hindsight I was reaching burnout, and the emotional period made me see and learn to accept my burnout.
Could you have burnout?
Do You Have Burnout? How To Improve Your Mindset
Perhaps you have a niggling feeling too? Maybe your body has been trying to tell you something, so listen to it.
The below symptoms are linked to burnout:
We can’t focus solely on work. As much as getting money is great and very much a necessity, burnout is very real and can happen to most of us if we don’t address the problem before it hits us.
Does Burnout Affect Us All?
Do you find you are exhausted and the idea of doing anything seems like a giant obstacle?
You may be suffering burnout and your body is telling you to slow down.
Do You Have Burnout? How To Improve Your Mindset
Below are my steps of dealing with burnout, because I have been there too:
Rest.
As obvious as this may sound, we all need sleep. It is suggested a good 7 to 9 hours sleep will help you function. Lots of factors can contribute to not getting enough rest. But lack of sleep can have long term effects like higher chances of heart attacks, strokes, weight gain, depression, the scary list goes on.
Something I do to get myself ready for bed is a night routine. I switch off my mobile phone by 8.30pm and leave it in another room (so I don’t have any temptation to look at it!). I then read until I fall asleep. This routine is getting me through burnout, and I really notice the difference if I don’t keep to it.
Create a routine.
As well as my night routine, I try to create a morning routine. I know many people don’t have the luxury to do this. But if you can give yourself 10 minutes before the family get up, then it will serve you in good stead.
My routine:
I make my breakfast the previous night and leave it in the fridge so in the morning, I get up, go for a quick walk and come back to enjoy my breakfast. I make sure not to look at my phone (checking emails, looking up news – all this can affect anxiety!)
Stop seeking more, just say no.
It doesn’t help burnout if you are trying to push through by seeking out new work, new opportunities, new collaborations, whatever it may be. As productive as that may sound, it won’t make burnout disappear…it may just make it worse. Listen to what your gut is saying, if you want to say no – just say no.
This is the time to slow down and reassess what you want from your business, from your life – refocus and start from a base to work from.
Do something you love.
It may sound simple, but spending time doing something that nourishes your heart and soul can really help. For me, it’s writing a novel. Writing has given me a new direction and is helping me through this time.
So I hope these steps help if you have been exhausted and unmotivated. You’re not alone. It’s a cycle – we can’t be alert and focused all year round.
If you take one thing from this I would say- listen to your body, it will tell you to slow down – maybe you’ve noticed you’re tired, moody, gained weight, sad?
I think we can only push ourselves so much that our mind and body says “Enough!” and we’re at the mercy of it. So try not to let it get to that stage. Take care of yourself.
What About You?
Have you experienced burnout? I’d love to hear if you took any steps that got you back on the road to recovery..
If you enjoyed this, have a look at my previous posts such as I meditated for 1 week, here’s what I found out
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