How to Regain Your Energy When You’re Stressed and Overwhelmed at Work
Are you feeling tired, stressed and burnt out?
Does it leave you without the energy to focus on your career or any number of important things you know you?should?do but can’t seem to get to?
If so, you are not alone and there are many reasons you could feel exhausted, drained and lacking in energy.
It could be the job isn’t a good fit for you. Maybe it’s the people you work with or the way you’re approaching the work you do. Perhaps it’s your responsibilities outside of work or feeling worried about the state of the world.
Whatever the cause, it’s hard to feel good about yourself and do well when you’re in this state.
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to get back to feeling energized so you can progress towards your career and life goals sustainably.
It’s an ongoing practice. These three pieces of advice have helped me get back to a more constructive state of mind, plus the mantra I use to remind me of each step:
Start by slowing down
The mantra I repeat to myself when I feel like I’m falling behind or taking too long to get something done is this:
“Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.”
It’s a saying I learned from a mentor who watched his peers achieve fame and fortune ahead of him. But a decade later, most were no longer in business while my mentor had built a successful multimillion-dollar company and is a respected leader in the field.
Like the story of the tortoise and the hare, slow and steady wins the race.
Or as a colleague said, “it’s all in the preparation”. Better to take the time to build your foundation and prepare the path so your progress is smoother and faster in the end.
Which brings us to the next piece of advice.
Set boundaries
When I feel overwhelmed by too many commitments and urgent tasks, this advice from one of my fellow mastermind members has served me well.
“‘No’ is a complete sentence.”
Like the Nike slogan, you can just say no.
Saying no is foundational to setting boundaries for yourself so you can keep yourself from burning out.
领英推荐
Of course, there are graceful ways to go about it – for example, “Thank you so much for sharing this opportunity. While it’s not something I’m going to pursue, I’m deeply honored you thought of me.” You?can?offer to suggest someone else, but don’t feel like you?have?to explain yourself.
Developing your ability to say no?and establish your limits will keep you from being pushed beyond your limits.
This brings us to the third piece of advice.
Do less
When I feel stressed out about trying to get everything done when there simply isn’t enough time to do it all, this advice has been extremely helpful.
Instead of thinking about?how?you’re going to get it done, ask yourself?“who”?can help you get this done?
And the mantra that comes with it is the title of a book by entrepreneur coach Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy:?“Who Not How”.
In other words, you don’t have to do everything yourself.
You can delegate parts of the work (or even all of it) to a team member who would see it as an opportunity to step up. Or collaborate with colleagues to get the project done faster and better than any one person could do on their own.
As wonderful and dedicated as you are, you can’t be the answer to everything. So stop being the proverbial Atlas carrying the weight of the world and choose to do less.
You’ll be in a better position to achieve your goals by finding the “who” – that is, the person best placed to take on the task. This will free you up to do what you uniquely do, which in turn will help you feel energized again.
When you feel energized, you’ll achieve more in every area of your life
In a world where we’re always on, it’s more important than ever to learn how to manage your energy so you can enjoy your life while also achieving your goals.
These mantras have helped me to get through moments of overwhelm but I know it’s not always easy to manage these stressful moments on your own, which is why having an expert offer proven, simple practices you can implement into your daily life is so helpful.
I’m delighted to have my friend and award-winning life coach?Simon Alexander Ong?joining me for a special live interview to talk about his new book,?Energize: Make the Most of Every Moment, on April 5.
In this special live interview, Simon will introduce us to the art and science of energy management including:
If you want to stop feeling tired and stressed and lacking in energy and start feeling energized so you can enjoy your life while also achieving your goals, then join us on?Tuesday April 5th, 2022 at 3pm EDT / 8pm UK.
Save the date and?join us on LinkedIn?or?on YouTube.