Preventing burnout and staying motivated while in a demanding career

Key tips:

• Define what work-life balance means to you and regularly defend it
• Restructure activities that exhaust you into ones that fuel your energy
• Be intentional about scheduling meetings at optimal times of the day

Are you working a demanding job that makes it challenging to find time for either family, friends, hobbies, or passion projects that are important to you?

This is something that I have grappled with throughout my career.

When I started as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley, I was regularly working 100+ hours a week. Ten years later, my work schedule remains demanding while the number of causes and organizations I want to support is ever-expanding.

As I think about the next few decades, I anticipate still having a demanding job with lots of unpredictability; however, I aim to avoid allowing this to get in the way of making time for causes and people that are important to me.

Even during busy periods at work, one passion project that I strive to make time for is hosting open-invite Zoom discussions for young professionals and job seekers. These sessions are close to my heart.

As a first-generation college student, I got to where I am today by picking the brains of mentors who were 10-20 years ahead of me so when people earlier in their career reach out to me, I feel compelled to help. These Zoom events are the best way I can think of to make advice easy to access for those who want it.

Below is my approach for preventing burnout and staying motivated. If you are able to apply some of these strategies to your life, you might find yourself more energized and less tired.

1 | Define what work-life balance means to you and regularly defend it

You can’t rely on your company to deliver work-life balance to you on a silver platter. It is something you must actively make happen for yourself. 

First, define what work-life balance looks like to you. You might need time to care for a child, practice your religion, or exercise. These are examples of common fundamental boundaries that many people want to avoid compromising on at all costs. 

Many companies genuinely strive to help their employees achieve work-life balance; however, this is often not realized. Two common pitfalls I have seen are:

• A manager has not achieved work-life balance throughout their career and this creates a team culture that does not encourage doing so
• An employee has either not drawn and/or communicated boundaries to their manager

Always communicate and defend your work-life boundaries. Yes, there will be times you should make exceptions, but these should be kept to a minimum or else they aren't truly boundaries.

Many years ago, the Boston Consulting Group teamed up with Harvard Business School to create a system called Predictability, Teaming, and Open Communication (PTO) to improve BCG’s culture and work-life balance. Through PTO, at the start of every project, teams align on their working norms/preferences and individuals highlight personal goals which are important to them such as health, fitness, family time, etc. 

While at BCG, my experience has been that PTO is highly effective, but like all tools/frameworks, it is only effective when people make the personal choice to leverage them. At the beginning of my projects, I make it a priority to ensure that I communicate my personal goals. Doing so helps me prevent burnout and stay motivated which is ultimately in the best interest of my teams.

This can also be a great mechanism for colleagues getting to know one another better. Work alone does not define people. Providing teammates with a window into what is important to you beyond your job is a great way to build camaraderie, improve morale, and sustain even the most demanding work environments.

2 | Restructure activities that exhaust you into ones that fuel your energy

One useful trick I use to prevent burnout is to identify activities that I think energize me and examine whether any of these are in fact tiring me out.

For example, giving back by mentoring others energizes me, but holding 1:1 conversation with every person that reaches out would quickly burn me out.

On the other hand, carving out a few hours each week for a Zoom session with a group of 20-30 people is definitely feasible. I save time and these sessions are one of the things I look forward to the most each week.

It the same activity – giving back to college students and young professionals – but results in a different outcome in terms of the impact on my levels of energy.

3 | Be intentional about scheduling meetings at optimal times of the day

When your schedule is packed and you can’t make it to events, especially at the last minute, it contributes to the feeling of exhaustion. This feeling keeps many people from committing to things outside of work which actually could have energized them!

My solution is to instead be intentional about what time of day I plan activities outside of work which will give me energy. For my Zoom sessions, I host them in the early morning, before the work day starts.

Due to work, my availability in the evening is relatively unpredictable, but the chances of something work-related popping up at 7:00am or 8:00am is much lower. 

Stay motivated!

What are some tactics that you have found helpful in terms of setting boundaries and preventing burnout in your own life?  

Have you come across any books, podcasts, thought leaders or articles that you have personally found impactful?

If so, I would love to hear from you in the comments below. Some of your suggestions might also help other readers find the balance they are seeking.

Additional Resources

List of upcoming open-invite Zoom discussions

• www.tristonfrancis.com/events?
• If none of the upcoming topics cover the content that interests you most, please send me a message as I always welcome topic suggestions

Zoom recording of an open-invite discussion I hosted on preventing burnout:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jwFEIGKcwo

Background on Predictability, Teaming & Open Communication (PTO) at BCG

• https://hbr.org/2009/10/making-time-off-predictable-and-required
• https://www.ted.com/talks/leslie_perlow_thriving_in_an_overconnected_world
• https://www.bcg.com/publications/2018/making-workplace-work-dual-career-couples

Book recommendations

• Sleeping With Your Smartphone: How to Break the 24/7 Habit and Change the Way Your Work by Leslie Perlow
• The 100-Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity by Lynda Gratton & Andrew Scott