Have you been feeling more tired than usual lately, mentally and physically? Can’t seem to shake yourself out of a “funk” and get your job done? Missing deadlines and the quality of your work is suffering? You could be dealing with burnout.

How to beat burnout
Sashell Williams

Have you been feeling more tired than usual lately, mentally and physically? Can’t seem to shake yourself out of a “funk” and get your job done? Missing deadlines and the quality of your work is suffering? You could be dealing with burnout.

Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. Burnout can usually be tied back to a person’s job.

Burnout typically occurs when people start feeling overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and are unable to meet constant demands. It affects productivity because there is a complete lack of energy; you may even feel hopeless or resentful.

While burnout isn’t medically diagnosed, it can lead to various physical and mental issues if not acknowledged or addressed.

For instance, despite being constantly exhausted, some people find it hard to sleep, and lack of sleep comes with its own issues. Isolating and avoiding interactions can also be dangerous. Doctors have also said that long-term burnout can make people more vulnerable to illness, such as colds and flus.

How do we beat burnout and still maintain our productivity?

Well, the first step is to acknowledge that you are burnt out. At times, we take on this “I’m gonna push through it” mentality and ignore the signs that our bodies are giving us. In the long run that does more harm than good. Ignoring the signs that you’re burning out – mental and physical exhaustion, isolating yourself from friends and family, inability to perform tasks at work and lack of enthusiasm – will only end up costing you.

After you’ve acknowledged that you’re experiencing burnout, there are a couple other things you can do to start feeling better.

Get more sleep. Sleep is important – the full eight hours. You might see videos online of people saying “successful people don’t sleep eight hours a day” and that might be true for some, but it isn’t for all.
Some people need a full night’s rest to be the most productive version of themselves, which will in turn lead to success. Additionally, if you’re already feeling burnt out, then losing sleep will only make it worse.

This next tip might seem contradictory to sleeping, but get moving! Exercise can help to improve your mood and boost your productivity. It can also make you sleep better. Just 30 minutes, take a walk, go jogging, hit the gym, whatever you prefer, just get your body moving.

Additionally, it’s been proven that the sun can improve your mood too. It increases the hormone in the brain that regulates our mood and can help with anxiety. So, maybe try an activity that gives you a combination of the two, like yoga, which can be done outside and it’s physical enough to get your blood pumping. With yoga, you can practice meditation which is another way to beat burnout.

Another tip is to set boundaries at work. If you’re feeling overwhelmed at your job because of the workload, then speak with your supervisor and see if you can arrive at some kind of compromise.

Say no to additional work when you already feel swamped. If you’re losing interest because of the way people are speaking to you, then establish that you don’t like being spoken to that way.

If you are an entrepreneur, setting your own hours then boundaries are even more important for you. Have dedicated off hours, where you are not working and are practicing self-care.

Also delegate tasks to members of your team, so that you aren’t doing everything. If you’re a one man or woman show, then set reasonable deadlines for yourself to complete projects, keeping in mind that you are only one person with 24 hours in a day.

Finally, talk to someone about how you’re feeling. Don’t keep your feelings bottled up. Find some support. It could be friends, family, a therapist but share your emotions with someone – especially your boss! Your boss needs to know if you’re feeling burnt out. They may be able to reassign some of your tasks, or give you some vacation time.

You could also start journaling, which is a great way to get your thoughts out of your head and on paper.

Remember your health is your wealth and will help you get this money.

Categories: MoneyMondaysJA