Burnout. It strikes everyone at one time or another. More specifically, burnout related to work is becoming more and more popular especially for younger working professionals.
You might have gone to college, graduated, found a job, and realized that your role at work got old super quick. You might have felt uninspired, restless, and fed up when it comes to work.
There are various different causes of burnout. When I burned out at my job, it was because I was working so hard to pay off my debt (mainly my student loans). After graduating college, I felt like I was behind financially because my net worth was in the negative and I have student loan debt.
While it was admirable that I was willing to go above and beyond what I needed to do to hustle, pay off a ton of debt super fast, and try to get on the right track financially, it ultimately led to burnout.
Being burnt out is one of the worst feelings because often times you can’t just power through. You need to stop, address the problem, and put yourself first.
I’ve you’ve fallen victim to workplace burnout, here are ways to bounce back and get on the right track again.
1) Take a Day Off
One of the main reasons why you could be experiencing workplace burnout is because you’ve been overworking yourself and cutting back on important things your body need to function properly like sleep and nutrition.
Your body is not a machine and if you don’t take time off to rest sooner or later, you will start to break down mentally and physically. It’s extremely important to schedule time off for yourself so you can recharge. Let the laundry sit and sign out of your work email while you’re at it.
Every time I take time off for myself and get the proper amount of rest, I feel rejuvenated and always have new ideas and plans for work. I actually get my best ideas for how I can improve my work when I’m doing non-work related things like taking a walk, cooking, driving etc.
You may even need more than one day. One time I took a staycation and I wasn’t afraid to tell my boss or coworkers. How you use your paid time off is solely up to you.
If you can’t take much time off, schedule the off time you do have wisely and make sure you prioritize resting and taking care of yourself so you can decompress properly.
Back when I had a high-pressure job, I got into the habit of coming come on Fridays after work and taking a nice long nap. I know it sounds a bit lame to be taking a nap on a Friday afternoon into the early evening, but those naps gave me life and helped my mind and body get the proper amount of rest so I could be more energized in every aspect of my life.
2) Ask For More Help
You may be burning out at work because you have too much on your plate. Plain and simple.
At one of my previous jobs, I remember the manager confiding in me that he didn’t want to have the responsibility of being a manager because it was too stressful and he had way too much to do.
He didn’t even feel comfortable taking a vacation or leaving early for a doctor’s appointment because his workload was so heavy.
I was happy to hear a few weeks later that he set down with our boss to voice his issues and concerns and my boss agreed that he did have a lot of responsibility and decided to reassign some tasks and even bring in a new team member to split his workload.
No matter what you do for work, you’re going to need to work with other people in some capacity and you might even need to outsource some of your tasks to someone else. If you know that you’re doing the best you can at the job, there’s no shame in telling your superiors that you’re struggling with keeping up and it’s stressing you out.
They should be able to see your point of view and make necessary adjustments to smooth things out.
3) Let Something Go
If you’re one of those people who likes to overload their schedule with more and more stuff, you and I have that in common. Ever since I could remember, I’ve always been a go-getter who didn’t know how to slow down or say no.
I used to take a ton of college courses each semester and work two jobs while taking care of my son. Once I finished something, I was always looking for the next big challenge to tackle. That type of mindset and lifestyle may be admirable, but it creates a never-ending cycle that can really wear you down after a while.
There’s nothing wrong with having a busy schedule that includes a few demands, but you must know when it’s time to draw the line.
Back when I was working full time and running my blog and freelancing on the side, an opportunity came up for me to take tax preparation classes so I could become certified and make some extra money during tax season. The classes were free and I really wanted to learn how to do taxes so I decided to sign up for classes that would run for 3 hours on Tuesday and Thursday nights.
When I came to the first class, I was overwhelmed by the giant textbooks along with the homework assignment and I almost fell asleep before the class was over. After that one day, I decided to quit for the time being and come back to the idea of earning my tax preparation certification at a later time.
Clearly, I was maxed out with enough to do and I had to let something go for the sake of my well being.
4) Fix Your Work-Life Balance
How’s your work-life balance? If it’s all work and no life, you’re going to get burnt out eventually. It may not be tomorrow or even in a few months, but it will happen. While some people will argue that there is no such thing as work-life balance, whether you believe that or not you need to be able to separate work from your personal life.
It’s important to do things that make you happy outside of work regardless of whether it results in a major achievement or not. Do something fun every once-in-a-while whether it’s with friends or by yourself. Get clear on your values and prioritize something other than work like your health or your family for example.
Adding regular workouts to your weekly schedule or doing a fun DIY home project with a friend might even do wonders when it comes to improving your work-life balance.
5) Pivot and Change Your Career
Sometimes when you get burnt out, it’s a major red flag warning you that you need to change jobs. There’s nothing wrong with pivoting and working in a similar field with a less demanding job or changing your entire career and starting something new from scratch.
If you’ve been feeling burnt out for several months, the issue is most likely your job. I actually quit my job and started working for myself recently after burning out at my traditional job and realizing I wanted to do something completely different.
You don’t have to start a business if that doesn’t interest you. You can always update your resume and apply to other jobs, go back to school and get different credentials, or even take some time off to figure out what you want.
When considering leaving your job due to burnout, it’s best to have a full emergency fund in place which is why setting money aside for the unexpected every month is a must.
Summary
Burnout won’t go away on its own. It’s important not to ignore the symptoms and to take the necessary steps to rebuild your work-life balance, identify your limits and outsource when you can. We spend so many hours working each and every week. Don’t let burnout creep up on you by not taking care of yourself first.
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Agrere sometimes a day off serves to recharge batteries
A day off can do wonders :)
Tip number 3 is so important to avoid burn out! Lately I have been working 45-50 hours a week at my full time gig, and have had less time for my blog. In order to avoid burn out, I’ve been giving up some of my voluntary responsibilities at work.
It’s tough to juggle everything so yes, getting help from others and lightening your load of responsibilities can definitely help!
Great post on a very important topic. People fall sick often times due to burnout. We could take time off and recharge, or let our bodies get overwhelmed with stress and fatigue, in which case we will be calling in sick and taking time off.
Managing work / life balance is extremely important. No one can do this for us but ourselves.
Well said. Realizing you’ve burnt out and need to do something about it is a crucial first step.
I followed #5 in August of 2015. We had a plan to make ends meet (I don’t recommend quitting your job for the fun of it) by securing work and having an emergency fund.
I took a big paycut, but, my wife & I (plus baby) are doing great. The key for us was not succumbing to lifestyle inflation, meaning you have to keep working in a time-intense job to pay the bills. We cut our expenses to the bone and live frugally. Now we have to save to go on vacation and plan for large expenses, but, I’ve lost 15 pounds and get to sleep at night now. So the tradeoff has been worth it.
That’s great to hear that everything worked out. I agree that people should think long and hard about leaving their job and prepare financially if they can first. At the end of the day it may come down to your mental health though so it’s always good to save up regularly for the unexpected.
I’m still trying to find a common ground on the work/life balance. I’ve been struggling on that for a few years now. I have to make it a priority in 2017.
I’m glad to hear you’re going to prioritize it more next year. It’s tough sometimes, but doing something as small as taking the afternoon off, doing something for fun, or sleeping in on your off day can do wonders.