3 Habits That Helped Me Recover From Burnout and Stay Motivated

I’m happy to share this guest post from my friend, Mindi Weik . She has a vulnerable story to share about burnout that we can all learn from.

Your mental health matters. And I’ll never stop saying that. I’ve learned this lesson the hard way in my career. I’ve suffered from burnout and high-stress levels more times than I can count.

In this post, Mindi shares three effective ways to foster mental wellness so you can stay focused on your goals and prevent burnout.

We’re human; we stumble.

Whether a resolution, intention, or goal, it can be hard to maintain momentum. You might grow exhausted or become derailed.

Whatever the case, start by reminding yourself that stumbling is OK. We’re here to talk about ways to pick yourself back up when that happens!

Shifting

Last year, I stumbled. More than once. Despite this, I tried to maintain multiple spinning plates. This led to severe burnout.

If you’re unfamiliar with “spinning plates,” it’s a balancing act, somewhat akin to juggling. Imagine someone holding a small wooden pole, precariously balancing a spinning plate. This feat takes work and attention, but it can be done.

Now imagine that person balancing another pole, another spinning plate. This is harder.

What if they held several poles and plates? More plates means the plates are more likely to fall or stop. We only have two hands!

Burned out, all of my plates suffered. Quality dipped, and it was perpetually harder to keep them spinning. You can probably see where this spiral leads.

When we notice that we’re not performing at our best we can:

• Drop certain plates
• Take a break

Drop certain plates

Dropping all the plates is the worst-case scenario. When you drop everything, you stop, and growth halts.

It’s possible to be forced here by unexpected circumstances. But, if we see the metaphorical train coming, we can jump off the track!

When we do nothing to address oncoming burnout, all the plates fall. They likely smash to pieces unsalvageable. We can catch ourselves and consider other options to avoid losing all of our plates.

The best way to do this is to pause and evaluate each plate. To be most effective, be honest with yourself.

• Do I need to do this right now? Is this a self-imposed pressure?
• What’s the worst that could happen if I drop this plate?
• What’s the best that could happen if I drop this plate?
• Am I spinning this plate for myself or someone else?
• What do I want to accomplish?

Compare the plates. Is our hands-on side project work the most important? Or is time better spent working to improve effectiveness at work?

The individual decision varies, but it’s important to examine thoroughly to identify if you spend your time where you desire or need to. Then you can drop plates that don’t help you progress or are okay to drop. Like a plastic plate that can easily be picked up later, maybe it’s reading a technical book or a personal project you can pause and resume in a few weeks or months.

Want to learn more about how Mindi recovered from burnout? Read the full article:

https://www.besidescode.com/p/3-habits-that-helped-me-recover-from