How do you manage your energy and avoid burnout?

Learn your limits and stick to them. Our bodies give us plenty of signals - mental and physical - when we’re stretching ourselves too thin. Keep an eye out for these signals and act accordingly. When we ignore these warnings, our output quality worsens, we over-exert ourselves, and we hit that brick wall of burnout that’s difficult to recover from.

Tip for Managing Your Energy: Regulate Your Nervous System 1. Practice Deep Breathing: Take slow, deep breaths to activate your body's relaxation response. It's like hitting the reset button for your nervous system! 2.Try Mindfulness: Engage in mindfulness activities like meditation or body scan. These practices help calm the mind and bring your nervous system back into equilibrium. 3.Prioritize Sleep: Quality sleep is essential for regulating your nervous system. Aim for consistent bedtimes and create a relaxing bedtime routine to signal to your body that it's time to wind down. 4.Limit Stimulants: such as coffeine etc. By consciously managing your nervous system, you can optimize your energy levels and enhance your overall well-being.

To steer clear of burnout, it's crucial for me to channel my energy into what truly matters. I make sure that everything I'm currently involved in connects to my long-term goals. Take writing articles, for instance; I envision where I want to be in the next five years by consistently contributing. Having a clear daily schedule, coupled with a structured approach to tasks, has been a game-changer in maintaining my energy levels. Of course, there are downtimes, but sticking to my disciplined routine helps me bounce back quickly.

Practice Self Compassion. Set boundaries on when you take meetings, eat lunch etc. Don't be afraid to say NO and say it more often!

Managing energy and avoiding burnout requires three critical strategies: 1. Prioritise self-care by ensuring appropriate sleep, balanced eating, and frequent exercise. 2. Establish clear boundaries between work and personal time to prevent overwork. 3. Take breaks: ? Schedule frequent getaways to refresh. 4. Delegate tasks: ? Divide responsibilities to prevent feeling overwhelmed. 5. Practice Mindfulness: ? Use techniques like meditation and deep breathing. 6. Maintain Organisation: ? Use planning tools to manage time efficiently and avoid stress. 7. Seek Support: ? Reach out to friends, relatives, or support groups for emotional assistance. These practices help to maintain energy levels and prevent burnout.

Setting boundaries starts with prioritizing your non-negotiable items. Much like filling a jar with rocks, pebbles and sand: 1. Place in the non-negotiable rocks (e.g. exercise, spending time family, walks, learning, etc.) 2. Put in the pebbles that you must do (e.g. tasks at work) 3. Put in the sand as much as fits - everything else that “should” be done. If you don’t follow this order, the rocks won’t fit the jar. Remember though - boundaries must be flexible to support your life. Because no one's life fits in a jar.

1. Set boundaries with ourselves -nonnegotiable personal development tasks each day -subtract habits and thoughts that don’t serve us 2. Clear outcomes (daily + weekly, reverse engineered from monthly) -clear goals organize our mind and bring clarity and remove chaos -clarity brings momentum -less wasted energy

Boundary setting is a challenge for some people. However, when clear boundaries are set, it allows you to use your allotted energy more effectively.

Never had much success using techniques to halt or slow down burnout, tried with the best professionals in the business. Run till the race is over; if you wish to win, run fastest, if you realize you are outclassed, go for a personal best, but most won't take that path and have to justify some failures or hope for a good manager looking out for your health.

Setting boundaries and priorities can be tough. Sometimes it feels like saying "no" is a four-letter word, but it's actually a superpower in disguise. When you learn to say "no" to things that drain your energy, you open up space for the things that truly matter and give you joy

It starts with Saying No and not worrying about consequences. Many a times, we equate saying no and losing our jobs immediately. That's just a crisis in our end. I am the most guilty of it. However, saying no and avoiding having to respond to every message and turning around a document in less than 24 when in reality it sits somewhere for the next 6 weeks is the experience one needs to start saying no. We are in the era of "do boat load of work and still be shown the door". You don't have to say "I won't and I can't". You instead say, I have 5 other things on my plate and my plate is full for the nearest foreseeable future. I can either find you someone who has bandwidth if it is urgent or pick it up after I finish my current tasks

It's important to think about which activities generates and drains your energy. This applies to every part of your life. For example, in the case of the workplace, having time to work on prototyping new product designs gives you energy. Whereas, having to do reports on what you designs you've been working on drains your energy. From there, you can start to get an idea of your balance, and if you're doing too many things for too long that drain your energy. No workplace is perfect, you cannot design your workday so that everything is energy generating. But by knowing what drains your energy, you can try to minimise it where possible.

Renewing your energy is like hitting the reset button on your life. It's like the difference between a phone that's always on low-battery mode, barely able to keep up, and a phone that's fully charged and ready to tackle the day...It’s really about finding what works for you and then building those moments of self-care and nourishment into your daily routine

I agree with Anish. I would also add, we have to be committed to restoring and renewing our energy more frequently, that way we won't feel so drained. Life is hard to balance, i know we can do it.

This is an excellent point and I haven't been great at this in the past. Recently, I began journaling and it is a game changer.

Managing energy requires a proactive approach. Stay attuned to your body and mind's signals. Prioritise high-impact tasks during peak energy times and incorporate regular breaks in between work sessions. A healthy lifestyle with exercise, nutrition, and adequate sleep will help you replenish your energy at a much faster pace. Delegate tasks and seek support when needed, and practice mindfulness to regularly reflect on your energy management strategies.