Stepcase Lifehack: "Are you exhausted, annoyed, and ready to throw in the towel on something that once made you leap out of bed with joy every morning? I know that feeling well. It’s one I suffered from often in the past and still encounter occasionally. It typically signals an impending burnout.
Not the type of burnout you get from dropping your 93 Honda Civic into 3rd gear at 6,000 rpm’s. The type of burnout that makes you avoid work, question the value of your existence, and eat large quantities of Oreo cookies while watching bad television.
How can you avoid burnout and stay in a productive rhythm?"
5 comments:
Interesting thoughts. I like the idea of the "escape list" - it's essentially a to-do list for your current task, but it's more optimistic than "Task done, what's next?" Another burnout-breaker that I commonly use is rather than a morning ritual, I set aside time in the evening before going to sleep to destress and calm down. I turn off all the lights, lay down in bed and listen to calm music or a podcast (I recommend storytelling programs like This American Life, The Moth or RadioLab). I've found that doing this, I am able to not only relax and zip right off to sleep (tossing and turning being a persistent problem of mine), but also rest more contentedly, which in turn makes the days better. Just a personal suggestion for those looking for a strategy!
I like this article a lot. There are a lot of good suggestions. I especially like the volunteering one. I haven't stuck to that one since I've been here in Pittsburgh, but in high school I would do that as often as I could. It was always a nice break from my own schedule, and after volunteering, I always would feel energized and ready to get a new take on my work. However, some of these suggestions don't seem very plausible to me. The scheduling regular social activities and pursuing a hobby are nice ideas, but when you have an extremely busy schedule, those are the first things that tend to get cut from the plan. So while they might help your stress management and prevent burnout, often you just don't have the time to do them.
Very interesting thoughts. I will admit that i've been seeing some signs of burnout myself (along with what i am sure many of my fellow classmates have been feeling). This article centers a lot around taking care of the self, regardless of what else is going on. I agree with this completely, and know that it does good things. I think the eleventh step is what i need to focus on to make that happen, and its perhaps the hardest one to accomplish: have someone that keeps you accountable for your actions. If you're not taking care of yourself, you may not realize, but that second set of eyes is invaluable. We all need to learn that when someone says to take care of yourself, they're probably right.
I believe that sometimes, creating lists of things to do to avoid burnout can in fact add to the fact that you are being burnt out. I understand the need to “escape” sometimes, but sometimes it is important to just not do anything. As with many people, before bed I like to decompress and spend time doing NOTHING.
As many people will tell you, I am a huge proponent of making sure that you take care of yourself before dealing with just about everything else. Even though it is hard to say “NO” to things, it is far better in the long run for everyone to ensure that you take care of yourself first.
Post a Comment