Preventing Burnout: 5 Small Ways to Boost Your Energy

I don't know about you, but this is the time of year where I feel like I can actually slow down and catch my breath. At least in North America, the week between Christmas and New Year's tends to be quiet, as businesses slow down, people take some much needed time off and we wind down another year. 

It's also a time where we can address burnout. 

It's completely normal to feel tired, run down or like you need a break after the hectic holidays - travelling, spending time with family, missing someone who is not in your life any more - there is a lot to contend with! 

But if you notice your tiredness goes well beyond the normal - you may be dealing with burnout, or approaching it. 

The good news is that there is something you can do about it. And this is a great time of year to go back to basics and reset any bad habits that got you here. 

What is Burnout?

A state of burnout can be described as feeling depleted and exhausted physically, mentally, and/or emotionally. 

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. - Psychology Today

If you’re burned out, you’ve been burning the candle at both ends. You’ve been on autopilot, hustling and bustling without taking enough time in between to rest and recharge – and it’s caught up to you.

I think most of us can relate to being busy at times. Parents can especially relate to this, as you can get quite busy raising children and running kids around town to attend practices and events can put an even greater weight on parents timewise.

But even if you don't have children, it's still easy to become ultra-busy - you try to fit in work, volunteering, seeing friends and family. Perhaps you are a caregiver, or a foster parent. Maybe you took on a side gig to make more money over the holidays. The point is - it's not hard to get busy and push ourselves too far.

It's important to recognize and identify where your burnout comes from.

• Is it work related?
• Did you just commit to too much this last month?
• Is it a larger problem in your life?
• Do you need to work on boundaries?

The following five tips can help you prevent burnout, or begin to recover from it if you are already there.

While many of these ideas fall into the camp of self-care (Which can be a highly effective tool when it comes to burnout recovery), you may also benefit from speaking to someone about what you're going through. 

Job Burnout? Maybe It’s Time For a Career Change→

5 Things You Can Do to Prevent Burnout

Get Enough Sleep.

This may seem basic, but you’d be surprised at how many people don’t get adequate sleep. They stay up late working, watching television, partying, or fiddling with social media. Then, they’re up at the crack of dawn, off to work.

They drink caffeine to help them through the day and continue this cycle day in and day out, at least until it catches up to them.

To help prevent burnout, be sure you’re getting between 7 and 9 hours of sleep each night. If you absolutely can’t right now due to say, having a baby at home who wakes a few times a night, then try to take a nap each day to make up for lost sleep.

Get used to having a bedtime routine that soothes you and helps you relax. And, get to bed at a reasonable hour.

15 Bedtime Rituals to Practice for a Good Night's Sleep→

Track Your Time.

Can you actually pinpoint how much free time you have each day? 

It’s easy to get stuck on autopilot and just keep busy all day and evening. You may complain about how busy you are because you feel ultra-busy. However, maybe you’ve got more free time than you think and you’re just not utilizing it.

Take some time over the next week to track what you do with your time. Then, take note of how much free time you actually have. If you can’t find any free time, determine what you’re doing that you don’t need to be doing.

For example, maybe you’re scrolling social media for two hours a day total. Well, you don’t “need” to scroll for that long, do you?

You could cut an hour and free yourself up to do something that relaxes and recharges you. Sure, maybe Facebook or Instagram helps you relax.

But there are other, better ways to rest and recharge, such as:

• meditation
• sitting in nature
• slipping into a hot bath
• or simply sitting in silence

Determine what relaxes you and take time to do those things regularly.

Get a Hobby.

Do you have a hobby that you enjoy? A creative outlet?

Taking time regularly to engage in a hobby that you enjoy can help prevent burnout. Unlike some daily activities that tend to take your energy, such as working, a hobby tends to give you energy.

When we get excited about doing our hobby, our brain's reward system kicks in - motivating us to partake in the event. 

You will then start to kind of kick-start the cycle where then you start to expect to enjoy the experience again, and then you become more motivated to seek out that experience. - Dr. Ciara McCabe, professor of neuroscience, psychopharmacology, and mental health at the University of Reading¹

Hobbies provide a much needed outlet for our physical and social selves. Learning new skills can have a significant impact on our self esteem and resilience as well as giving us a sense of purpose.

You may only see yourself as a parent, or a spouse, or your occupation. But hobbies expand on those roles - you can be a veterinarian and a Scrabble champion, a pickleball enthusiast, a bird watcher. Hobbies allow us to spend time simply doing things we enjoy. And that, on its own can help relieve and pressure. 

Surround Yourself With Support.

Another thing you can do to prevent burnout is to surround yourself with some positive, supportive people. It's quite easy to get into the routine of going to work and coming home alone. This makes it easy to isolate and avoid others, or only have interaction on social media.

It's also really easy to avoid reaching out for support when you are struggling. Research indicates that those who have at least one good friend and engage with them regularly tend to live happier, more peaceful lives.

• Do you have a friend or two that you can count on?
• Are you spending quality time with them regularly?

If not, make the effort to cultivate at least one good friendship so you can journey life with that deep bond. If you need extra support, consider reaching out to a therapist. You certainly don't have to go through this life feeling alone. It might take some effort, but it's worth it.

8 Important Ways You Can Start to Nurture Your Friendships→

Inspire Yourself.

Life can become busy and things don’t always go as planned. That’s just the way life seems to go. A great way to keep yourself from experiencing burnout on any level is to regularly inspire yourself. 

• What is it that inspires you?
• Listening to music?
• Watching inspirational videos?
• Reading books?
• Hiking in nature?

Just like finding new hobbies, take time regularly to feed your soul with uplifting, encouraging things. It will take a solid commitment to investing in yourself like this. It’s easy to get caught in the “hum drum” cycle of life, so it will take some doing to aim to inspire yourself daily.

But - it’ll make a difference in your attitude and help prevent burnout.

Refreshed, Recharged, Rejuvenated

As you journey through this life, it might get busy at times. However, if you’re aware of how you can prevent burnout, you’re much more apt to face life refreshed, recharged, and rejuvenated.

• On a scale of 1 to 10, how busy do you rate yourself?
• Do you think you’re headed for a burnout?
• If so, what can you do to prevent this?

Give yourself permission to slow down, breathe deeply, relax, and recharge more often. I’m fairly certain this is the kind of life you’d like to get used to.

Source: ¹ Fortune.com

Photo by Ketut Subiyanto