Burnout and overwhelm are common challenges for many people who juggle multiple roles and responsibilities in their personal and professional lives. If you feel like you're running on empty and losing your motivation, passion, and joy, you need to take some time to recharge your batteries. Here are some tips on how to do that.
The first step to recharge your batteries is to identify what is draining them in the first place. What are the main sources of stress and pressure in your life? Are they external or internal? Are they temporary or chronic? Are they related to your work, relationships, health, finances, or something else? Write down the top three or four stressors that are affecting you the most and how they make you feel.
If you are in need of a recharge, ask yourself why. Is this stemming from: 1. Workload and responsibilities. 2. Emotional well-being. 3. Physical health. 4. Environment. 5. Social connections. When you can pinpoint the key cause, you have the power to take the necessary steps to alter the situation. If we take workload and responsibilities as an example. 1. How can you prioritise your tasks to manage your workload more effectively? 2. Are there any tasks you can delegate or ask for help with? 3. Can you negotiate with your supervisor for a more manageable workload?
Knowing your sources of stress is the first step to tackle your stressors. An easy practice to implement daily is to reflect on the day, and see what added to your stress or what made you feel more relaxed. Doing this over the course of a week, you can identify your top three or four stressors.
One thing that really helps me manage my energy is understanding how my personality is linked to my energy levels. Being an introvert, time spent alone is important to recharge your batteries, while interacting with others can be draining. On the other hand, an extrovert will actually gain energy when spending time with people, but they may feel low and uninspired if they're alone too much. Before you go into different stressors that are wearing you out, make sure to understand how your personality affects your energy balance.
To recharge your batteries, start by pinpointing the sources of stress in your life. Identify the main stressors, whether they stem from external factors or internal struggles. Distinguish between temporary and chronic stressors, and assess if they relate to work, relationships, health, finances, or other aspects of your life. List the top three or four stressors that have the most significant impact on you and reflect on how they make you feel. This awareness is crucial for developing effective strategies to manage and alleviate stress.
Write ?? everything that comes to mind of what may be causing you stress. There is power in putting problems down on paper. Our mind tends to conflate obstacles, challenges and stresses. But when you can look at them objectively on paper, you’ll more clearly begin to see the path forward for each item and the stress will subside.
The next step is to set some healthy boundaries and prioritize your tasks and activities. Boundaries are the limits you set for yourself and others to protect your energy, time, and well-being. Prioritizing is the process of deciding what is important, urgent, and valuable for you and what is not. Learn to say no to the things that are not aligned with your goals, values, and needs. Learn to delegate, outsource, or eliminate the things that are not essential or enjoyable. Learn to focus on the things that are meaningful, rewarding, and fulfilling for you.
To recharge when feeling burnt out, establish healthy boundaries and prioritize your tasks. Boundaries help safeguard your energy and well-being by defining what you will and won’t tolerate from yourself and others. Prioritizing involves distinguishing between what’s urgent, important, and valuable to you and what’s not. Embrace saying no to tasks misaligned with your goals, values, and needs. Delegate, outsource, or eliminate non-essential activities. Concentrate on meaningful and fulfilling pursuits, enabling you to manage your energy better and focus on rejuvenation.
If your bucket is full, anything added will make it overflow. One way to avoid this is to establish clear boundaries, learning to say no and protecting your energy. Make sure you know what your goals are, what deserves your attention, and see what you can eliminate or outsource.
We often feel stressed because we set unrealistic expectations with ourselves. Ie. a never ending to do list. When we feel a sense of accomplishment our stress levels decrease -- with a never ending to do list that is difficult to achieve.
Boundaries need to be iron clad. Often times, burnout develops because we constantly sacrifice our recovery time. We need time to rest and recover. Be clear with your boundaries or else you keep piling on stress without adequate recharge time.
Recharging requires that we MAKE, not find, the time to do that. Clarity of priorities and boundary setting are critical ingredients, but it can be easier said than done. Reframing your perspective on boundaries can be helpful. Setting boundaries isn't merely something that we "should" do, but rather, it is one of our fundamental responsibilities. Our organizations rely on us to set boundaries-- that's how we actually complete the work that we were hired to accomplish, focusing on our biggest priorities. This doesn't imply a lack of teamwork; it signifies an understanding of organizational priorities, and the personal boundaries needed to also have time outside of work for the rest of your life.
The third step is to practice some self-care and relaxation techniques that can help you restore your physical, mental, and emotional balance. Self-care is the act of taking care of yourself in a way that supports your health, happiness, and growth, while relaxation is the state of being calm, peaceful, and stress-free. To achieve this, consider getting enough sleep and rest, eating nutritious and balanced meals, drinking enough water and staying hydrated, exercising regularly and moving your body, meditating, breathing, or doing yoga. Additionally, you can read, write, or listen to music; spend time in nature or with animals; connect with supportive and positive people; have fun, laugh, or play; and pamper yourself with a massage, a bath, or a spa.
Self-care and relaxation is different for everyone. Knowing yourself, for example through personality tests, you can identify where your energy comes from and how you recharge. If you are not sure what relaxation techniques help you, try out different things and prioritize self-care.
It is important to disconnect to recharge. If you can't completely disconnect from your devices, try to at least disconnect from the source of the stress. Sometimes a simple break from your normal routine can provide the necessary reset to recharge.
One of the biggest areas I work on with my clients is finding 5 minutes for you. Whether that’s to breathe, centre, relax with a cuppa. It’s important to prioritise you. I find 2 hours for me most days. Me & the people around me are better for it. I’m a big advocate that movement/exercise is separate to your self-care. Movement is for the body, self-care is for the soul. There are 288 5 minutes in every day. Take one for you. Take your time, if you don’t, someone else will.
Be consistent with your bedtime. I’m in bed and asleep by 8 PM, seven days a week, and I wake up, without an alarm clock, between 4:30 AM, and 5:30 AM. One of the things I do during the day to help recharge my batteries is, weather permitting, I go outside and ground (bare feet on the ground) while I’m sitting, hopefully, under the sun. As I do this, I’m reading my Kindle. After a session of doing this, I am energized.
After prioritizing and setting boundaries, the third step is to practice self-care and relaxation to restore balance. Self-care involves supporting your health, happiness, and growth, while relaxation fosters a calm, peaceful state. Ensure adequate sleep, nutritious meals, hydration, and regular exercise. Incorporate mindfulness practices like meditation, deep breathing, or yoga. Engage in activities you enjoy, such as reading, writing, or listening to music. Connect with nature, spend time with supportive people, and indulge in relaxing experiences like massages or baths. These practices contribute to overall well-being and rejuvenation.
The fourth step is to reconnect with your purpose and passion. Purpose is the reason why you do what you do, the impact you want to make, and the legacy you want to leave. Passion is the enthusiasm, excitement, and joy you feel when you do what you love. When feeling burned out or overwhelmed, it can be difficult to remember your purpose and passion. To reconnect with them, remind yourself of your vision, mission, and values. Review your goals, achievements, and feedback to reflect on your strengths, skills, and talents. Rediscover your interests, hobbies, and dreams as well as rekindle your curiosity, creativity, and learning. Ultimately reclaiming your autonomy, freedom, and choices can help you reconnect with your purpose and passion.
Try starting a side project that reconnects you with your interests you haven't been in touch with recently. If you've been data heavy, reach for something more creative to recharge.
After practicing self-care and relaxation, the fourth step is to reconnect with your purpose and passion. Purpose is your underlying reason for actions, while passion is the joy derived from activities you love. During times of burnout, it's crucial to rediscover these elements. Reflect on your vision, mission, and values. Review goals, achievements, and feedback to recognize strengths, skills, and talents. Revisit interests, hobbies, and dreams to reignite curiosity, creativity, and learning. Reclaiming autonomy, freedom, and choices can aid in reconnecting with your purpose and passion, providing a renewed sense of direction and motivation.
Lean into the concept of "deep play". These are activities that are rewarding on their own, but take on additional layers of meaning and personal significance. Don’t put a price tag on everything you do. Enjoy some activities for their own sake. The rewards of deep play are far more valuable than anything money could buy.
The best motivation comes from passion. Discovering and using your passion will give you the outer and inner energy to keep moving forward and be productive. One way to find your passion is to think about what you care about. What do you want to see improved in the world? Then, see how you can use your strength to contribute to that cause. The more you use your strength to contribute to the cause, the faster your passion will be revealed.
The fifth step in recovering from burnout and overwhelm is to seek help and support from others. You don't have to go through it alone. Professional help, such as a therapist or coach, online resources like courses or podcasts, peer help like a group or community, and personal help like a friend or family member are all available. Burnout and overwhelm are not permanent or inevitable. By following these steps and taking action, you can recharge your batteries and regain your energy, motivation, and joy. Remember that you are a human being who deserves to live a balanced, healthy, and happy life.
After reconnecting with your purpose and passion, the fifth step is to seek help and support. Recovering from burnout and overwhelm doesn't require facing it alone. There are various avenues for assistance, including professional help like therapists or coaches, online resources such as courses or podcasts, peer support in the form of groups or communities, and personal assistance from friends or family. Burnout and overwhelm are not permanent; taking these steps and seeking help can help recharge your batteries, restoring energy, motivation, and joy. Remember, as a human being, you deserve a balanced, healthy, and happy life.
Whenever I am stressed, sometimes just talking to someone close to me helps. Often, stress can come from doing things alone, and not asking for help. Next to that, it is okay to seek professional help if you need it - there is no shame!
Finding like minded individuals to lean on as an outlet is incredibly powerful ???? It’s something that really helped me when coping with the emotional roller coaster of building a startup. Often family and friends just doesn’t cut it. They don’t always understand (especially as an entrepreneur). Find someone / a group of like minded individuals that are objective, yet can relate. Talk openly with each other, share your challenges and feelings. You will suddenly feel a burden lifted off your shoulders ????
Take a break from all devices and input and go surround yourself with nature. May it be a park, forrest, garden etc. Feel the earth beneath yourself to feel grounded and give yourself a warm and loving hug.
Stop pushing. Stop judging yourself. Stop trying to fix it right now. When you're burnt out, it can be exhausting to do the observing, the analysing, the considering what needs to change, considering the actions, making more decisions.... It can add more overwhelm, self judgement, shame, anger, frustration, despair, desperation, apathy, and so many more unwanted thoughts and feelings. Allow yourself do nothing, be distracted, or be whatever you need to be in the beginning. Forcing action or processes when you're already struggling is not going to help you move forward. The tiniest steps are where to start, simple things that bring ease, before tackling the bigger stuff can make a huge difference. Food, water, sleep: start there.
Introverts are notoriously bad at asking for help so those who care about them would do well to pay close attention. We don't want people prying or fussing, but it might help us to open up when we most need support. This often looks like being in our corner and being prepared to be in companionable silence with us if necessary.
If this is something that lasts for days, you are already in a big problem, but there is a solution. What is more important is to start acting upon it the moment you realize that. The first thing you should do is to change whatever you are doing immediately and go for a walk, spend some time with close people, or hit the gym or whatever makes you feel better. Then, when you are better, you can start analyzing what is the root cause of that feeling. When you identify that, start implementing things like self-care, task prioritization, setting clear boundaries. After that, think about your goals and your purpose, and align your daily actions with them if they are not aligned. If that does not help, ask for professional support ASAP.
From my experience it’s time to take a step back and to create a plan purely based on self care including - - daily walks - going to the gym to workout - yoga/ Pilates or Thai chi - book regular massages - facial reflexology - meditation - healthy eating - focus on sleep hygiene - reach out and ask for support For me all of these things have really helped me to cope and manage family illness.
When I'm burnt out, I turn to 5 very basic, but effective, techniques: (1) mindfulness meditation to ground myself and reduce stress. (2) I also implement the Pomodoro Technique, breaking my work into short intervals with frequent breaks, to manage overwhelm and maintain focus. (3)( (3) I engage in regular physical activity, whether a brisk walk or yoga, which helps me disconnect and rejuvenate. (4) I prioritize sleep, aiming for 7-8 hours to restore my energy. And finally (5), I practice gratitude journaling to shift my focus from stressors to positives, enhancing my mood and outlook. These strategies collectively help me recharge and regain my balance.