Striking the right balance between personal and professional life can be challenging. Between the altered working conditions ever since the Covid 19 pandemic and increasing expectations at home and work, many people have started to feel physically and mentally drained. A restless and unfocused mental state can significantly affect workplace productivity and lead to procrastination as more and more work continues to pile up.
Emotional, cognitive and physical exhaustion are the main symptoms of a burnout. A person finds it hard to concentrate even on the tasks that were previously enjoyed by him. Essentially, a person is unable to connect to his daily routine and self-doubt starts to increase gradually. One of the most important things you can focus on while going through a burnout is “shifting your perspective.”
This article will help you know more about-
What is Burnout?
The World Health Organization describes burnout as “a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” Its impact on one’s mental health is considerable, as people can experience extreme emotional exhaustion and depersonalization.
The term ‘burnout’ was coined by an American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger in the 1970s.
Burnout specifically refers to occupational stress and is not classified as a medical condition. One becomes particularly disengaged from his work and surroundings and does not feel any interest in taking up any task. Burnout is very common and affects about 70 percent of employees.
Stages of Burnout
Burnout in the beginning seems harmless and is usually associated with “too much ambition”, which then slowly turns to you neglecting your physical and emotional needs by prioritizing others before yourself.
A study conducted by Michigan State University talked about the 5 stages of burnout. They are as follows-
● Honeymoon Phase
The first phase refers to the initial burst of energy, which is applicable in the beginning of any business venture or job. People are usually highly productive and creative in this phase.
If people resort to good coping strategies, then this phase can surely be experienced indefinitely.
● Onset of Stress Phase
This stage begins with the gradual awareness of some days being more challenging than others, with a decline in optimism and job satisfaction. However, people usually tend to brush off their work-related stress and continue working normally.
● Chronic Stress
The third stage marks an increase in procrastination, tardiness, and irritability. At this point, people may start experiencing frequent headaches and increased fatigue.
● Burnout
The burnout phase leads to the total abandonment of any form of self-care, with a developing pessimistic outlook on life in general. People start to feel intense dread even when they think about work and may start taking regular sick days to avoid stress.
● Habitual Burnout
This is the last stage, where burnout becomes an integral part of one’s daily life. Habitual burnout can also possibly lead to burnout syndrome. The person suffering from “habitual burnout” tends to experience chronic anxiety, extreme fatigue, and complete isolation.
6 Strategies to help Overcome Burnout
Though burnout can impact your personal and professional life adversely, effective management strategies can help you overcome it and bring you back on track. Finding healthier ways to be productive while being resilient and determined is key to recovering from burnout.
Here are 6 strategies you can practice to overcome burnout-
● Start by Acknowledging it
Acknowledge the symptoms of burnout and start addressing your mental and physical symptoms. Instead of focusing on work all the time, limit it to only working hours. Take time to wind down every evening and relax during the weekend.
Once you acknowledge your symptoms, it will be easier for you to bring about the necessary changes in your life.
● Reach out to Others
Self-isolation is very common when struggling with burnout. It is always best to reach out and talk about your problems to the people you trust the most. It can be a co-worker, friend, or family member.
If you are not comfortable with sharing your problems with them, you can consider going to a therapist. Sharing your problems with someone else can tremendously lower your burden and lead to mental clarity.
● Start Practicing Effective Time Management techniques
Burnouts tend to happen when your work dominates your daily life. You need to start resetting your priorities. Make a list of all the important things and make sure you are not overworking yourself.
There are several time management strategies and productivity gadgets out there. A few of the strategies that have been proven to be effective include-
i. The Ivy Lee Method
Ivy Ledbetter Lee, the founder of the Ivy Lee Productivity Method, first introduced this productivity technique to Charles Schwab, the owner of Bethlehem Steel Corporation (the largest shipbuilding company in the US at a point) in 1918. Following this method for three months, Schwab saw a significant increase in his productivity level as well as the company’s progress, and so he wrote a check for $25,000 (approximately $500,000 today) to Lee.
According to this method, you must assign yourself not more than six tasks per day, in order of their importance- from most to least. Write these tasks the day before, and start working on them from the beginning when you arrive at work the next day. Don’t move on to the next task till the current task is completed. Move the unfinished tasks to your list for the next day and repeat this cycle daily.
This is a fairly simple productivity technique that helps you manage your priorities well. It will help you simplify complex tasks and will help you get started without wasting time. It also emphasizes doing one task at a time, which will help you focus much better than if you were to multi-task.
ii. The Eisenhower Box Strategy
The Eisenhower matrix talks about categorizing your tasks based on their importance and urgency.
This method requires you to make a to-do list on the following basis-
- Urgent and important tasks
- Urgent, but not important
- Not urgent but important tasks
- Not urgent and not important
This productivity method will help you eliminate those tasks that aren’t important as well as urgent, so you can focus on tasks that are actually necessary and need to be done within a time limit. You can optimize your productivity on the tasks that actually matter.
iii. The “2 List” Strategy by Warren Buffet
According to the Warren Buffet “2 List” Strategy, you need to write your top 25 career goals. Then, out of those goals, circle the 5 goals that are your top priority. Now, you have 2 lists with yourself- list ‘A’ and list ‘B’. The list ‘A’, containing 5 goals will be your primary goals, while the remaining 20 goals, though still important, are not as urgent.
This productivity technique focuses on ‘ruthless prioritization’. which means that you need to complete the first 5 tasks before you can move on to the sixth one. This list can be created for both long-term and short-term goals.
The top 5 goals will be of utmost importance and will help you progress further without hindrances.
Such strategies will help you get more organized and help you strike an equilibrium between work and leisure.
● Start Using a Stress Journal
Every time you feel overwhelmed, write down what exactly triggered you. You can also keep a stressor tracker on your phone. Write down what caused you to feel emotionally overwhelmed, and how you reacted toward it.
Once you start observing the pattern, you can conclude what to do and what not to do in the future. Analyzing your common patterns will help you understand your drawbacks and overcome them.
● Self-Care is Vital
Unfortunately, you cannot snap back quickly from burnout. It takes time, dedication, and determination to get out of the situation. Practicing self-care becomes essential when you are in the recovery process. Self-care isn’t time-consuming, nor is it done by only youngsters. Self-care is for everyone.
Self-care focuses on prioritizing your mental and physical health. A few habits you can start today are-
- Getting a good night’s rest
- Doing at least some form of exercise daily
- Focusing on a healthier diet
- Trying a hobby or a relaxing activity to soothe the mind
- Practicing good hygiene
- Staying connected and socializing regularly
- Being mindful of your goals and priorities
● Control What you can and Learn to Let Go
Let go of the things that are beyond your control. Focus on what you can actually control. Unprecedented events are inevitable and some accidents might happen that are beyond your control. To stop stressing about things that are uncontrollable, you can start by practicing meditation and mindful breathing.
Positive affirmations are also helpful to get into the right mindset and stop sweating over trivial matters.
End Note
Overcoming burnout is challenging, but not impossible. Burnout does not only affect your work life but also every other area of your life. The symptoms of burnout like self-doubt, sense of failure, loss of motivation, loss of interest and disengagement, depersonalization, excessive fatigue, and reduced performance are hard to deal with at first. You might feel that there is no way out of it.
However, dealing with burnout is just like any other process- it takes time. What matters more is your determination to overcome it. Unrealistic expectations at work can make burnout a frequent thing. However, practicing the above strategies can help you just remain in phase one of burnout indefinitely, which is characterized by optimism and job satisfaction. Therefore, we must distinguish our personal life from our professional one, in order to decrease the frequency of burnouts we may have to face.
