How Can You Avoid Burning Out?

United States, 2020.

Burn-out from overwork is something to watch out for even in ordinary times, especially if you are a high achiever and are always pushing yourself to do more. Burn-out can not only make you miserable; it can also affect your productivity, jeopardizing the work that led to the burn-out in the first place.

If burn-out is a concern in ordinary times, it is even more so in the extraordinary times we live in now. Between COVID-19, political polarization and social unrest, the economic crisis, and environmental catastrophe, there are plenty of external stressors to keep us awake at night. On top of that, even if we are lucky enough to be able to safely work at home, our new working conditions can have a major impact on our body and our emotions. Many people have noted how draining constant Zoom meetings can be, and work/home balance is harder when your work is at home, a home you may have to share with a spouse and children. Add on the fact that many of us cancelled our usual vacations because of the pandemic, and we are all on the edge of burn-out, if we haven’t already gone over the edge.

It’s vital that you find ways to recharge throughout the day

Given this danger of burn-out, it’s vital that you find ways to recharge throughout the day. We are all different, so there is no single answer that works for everyone. Instead, you will have to experiment, trying different things until you find the ones that are right for you. These don’t have to be large things, just little habits you can develop that help relieve your stress and give you a needed break from constant work. I suggest committing to trying something new every week until you hit on what works for you. You might try five minutes of stretching every morning, or turning off your phone during lunch, or taking a walk around the block (with proper social distancing, of course) in the middle of the afternoon.

My burn-out was revealing itself through my eyes, which were starting to hurt when I focused on a computer screen, which I do much of the day. Besides seeking proper medical advice, I also tried a number of small changes in my behavior, both to relieve the burden on my eyes, and to decrease my stress, which was contributing to the problem. I realized that artificial, overhead light was making my eyes worse, so I cleaned up my back porch, making it a pleasant spot to sit, and now do most of my work out there in natural light.

Art has always been an important outlet for me, so I plunged into the new (for me) medium of watercolors. Though I usually shy away from creating representational art, I’ve discovered that I enjoy playing with color and creating simple, natural shapes such as flowers and leaves. I developed a new routine of getting up early and having breakfast on my porch while painting my watercolors.

I am also being more aware of my body and the emotions it is carrying. Every time I’m about to meet with a client, I take a deep breath to reset myself and bring me into the moment. This allows me to experience what I am feeling and move through it - not to change what I am feeling or pretend I’m not feeling frustrated or tired or whatever, but to accept it and move through it.

These are some of the strategies I’ve developed in the last few months, after some trial and error, to help me avoid burning out. Your own strategies will probably be different (though I really do recommend watercolors). If you are having trouble thinking of things to try, look to the “Golden Three” of sufficient sleep, nutritious meals, and moving your body. Is there something that you can try to allow you to sleep better or longer, eat better, or move your body more or more often? You may think you are too busy and that completing the next task on your to-do- list is more important than taking care of yourself, but if you don’t spend a bit of time everyday on yourself, your work as well as your life will suffer.