When is enough, enough?

“Yet working from home is still working. And that explains why burnout is on the increase: 22% are currently experiencing job burnout and a fifth say they are more burned out than is usual.” -- American Workers Are Increasingly Burned Out, But Won’t Take PTO, Forbes

SUCH an important thing to remember. Which is totally difficult. Everyone talks about the need for downtime, the need for work/life balance, practicing self-care, shutting your brain down, stopping to smell the roses. I’m constantly on the search for “how” to do that exactly! And with working from home all the time, there is less of a physical separation between “work time” and “personal time.”

Personally, right now I am feeling the need to expand and explore new ideas. I think part of this is because of more uncertainty about what the future looks like than usual, but also I think it’s because I’m at home and not going to social events. And this creates the illusion that I have tons of time on my hands. So, I’m filling what was previously the “social outing time” with more work instead. This double-timing is what is burning me out. 

When is enough, enough? And, how do you recognize it? For me, it helps to plot things out on my calendar, blocking off the time for each idea, task, lunch or sleep. (Also known as “time blocking” in the productivity sphere.) However, if there is a hole, I’ll find a way to fill it. My personal challenge lies stepping back and being realistic about how much time things take and track my time accordingly. 

And it’s equally important to make sure that there is a good balance of output and input scheduled into each day. What is fueling me so I can keep going and keep creating? This can be an additional challenge when you love your work, like I do! 

A good visual is to think of yourself as a pitcher. A pitcher can only pour so much into all of the things they do and people they love before they need to take time and space to add more water. If you consistently keep filling yourself up each day, you are less likely to get to the point where you find yourself trying to pour full glasses--with only a few drops left. That doesn’t feel good for anyone involved. 

How do you keep yourself fueled so you can keep pouring yourself into your creative work? I’d love to be inspired by some of your ideas!