May 14, 2022.

If you don’t make time to rest and re-energize, your body will do it for you through illness and burnout. Entering the workforce after graduation, I became aware of how people celebrate exhaustion as though it’s a medal of honor. I found myself feeling uncomfortable when I wasn’t busy because all the conversations were about how many all-nighters people are doing and the longest streaks someone could survive whilst sleeping at 3AM. Don’t get me wrong here, I celebrate applying effort to one’s work especially when it matters to the person. However, doing that at the expense of your physical or mental health is not right even if everyone is doing the same. I am also an advocate of working smart and not hard because after a certain number of hours of grinding, the return is practically zero.

To avoid burnout, one must understand that being busy does not mean being productive. The second is that your health should always come first. You cannot show up for anyone or anything if you are not in good health. And your work cannot be of the highest quality if you are burned out either. 

How to avoid burnout

The hardest hurdle would be not caring that you aren’t as busy as the next person. A good amount of stress that I felt came from other people pointing out that I was not busy or working as hard, which was not true. If you can figure out how to do a task in 30 minutes instead of an hour, do it and take a walk for the rest of the 30 minutes when you aren’t busy. Let other people sacrifice their health but don’t feel the pressure to join in. Work smart, not hard. Delegate your work if you can. A lot of the time we want to do everything, and we stretch ourselves too thin as a result. Sometimes you have people in your family who can even help you with some tasks for example siblings, parents, partners, and friends. 

Another way to avoid burnout is to find something you look forward to or enjoy and make time for it every week even if it’s just an hour. The impact of doing this is often overlooked, but people who tend to avoid burnout or manage it well often say they had something like a hobby that kept them going. Always make time for things that excite you because that puts you in a higher vibration state, which positively impacts your work. When you are in a high vibration state, your mind will be more creative, and you are more likely to think of solutions or take advantage of opportunities as they come.

Take a break and when you are on vacation, do not think about work. Your mental zip code has everything to do with how rested you will feel after the vacation. So, if you find yourself thinking about work during your rest time, you might as well have not taken time off.

Question of the day:

  • How am I prioritizing my health to prevent burnout?

Comment your thoughts and share with a friend who might benefit from reading this!