BURNOUT - Part II

Wow… such an incredible response from last week’s post about burnout. I heard from several of you! So many good thoughts on how hard (and real!) burnout is, which sent me on a quest to one, deal with my own burnout, and two, seek answers to how to best handle it.  

I talked with a friend of mine who is a mental health counselor. She confirmed that yes indeed, burnout is both common and debilitating. Burnout feels spiral-ry… it feels like you are spinning out of control. You spiral repeatedly until you’re so exhausted that you want to crawl under your desk and sleep for the rest of the year.

The good news is you can prevent burnout! It all comes down to the commitment to daily mental health practices that recharge and relax you, which is probably no surprise in principle but can be super hard to actually do. After all, it takes self-discipline to choose your mental health practice over whatever demands are in your face screaming at you. 

You know…

...that yoga class is good for you, but your coworker emailed you asking you to finish one more report.

...taking a long bath would be best for you, but your mom texted you asking you to call.

...the days when you meditate go better than the days you skip, but the workday is calling your name and it’s so hard to make the time…

And here’s the thing… not everybody responds the same way to the standard “self-care” activities. You might find swimming laps relaxing while another person finds it a burden. You might love to paint but your friend finds it frustrating. You’ve got to figure out what works for you… and then you need to just do it.

So here’s my encouragement of the day. 

Ask yourself: What is your everyday burnout prevention practice? Don’t know? Take some time to figure it out. Play around with it! Test some options. Note what brings you joy and peace.

Then commit to taking care of yourself every day this week. Schedule it. Stick it on the calendar.

Me? I just got back from a retreat with my team to plan Reinvention Summit 2022. We stayed at Chinaberry Farm in Winston Salem. And yes, it was as gorgeous and inspiring as it looks in the pictures. That’s not something I can do every day, but once in a while it sure helps with burnout.

Here’s hoping you find ways to restore your mojo today, this weekend, and every day this next week!