Avoiding Burnout
They say doing what you love means you’ll never work a day in your life, but these days most of us are working so hard that we’ve forgotten what we loved in the first place.
Recently, The World Health Organization (WHO) included burnout in its International Classification of Diseases, claiming that it “refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context…a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed…”
The WHO noted that the syndrome was characterized by three dimensions:
1) Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion.
2) Increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job.
3) Reduced professional efficacy.
Doing what you love and being able to work from anywhere is the dream right? It’s obviously a great way to live with improvement to mental health. BUT, even when we are working out our passions, we can still experience burnout and sometimes can crash even harder. This is called passion burnout. Passion burnout is more widespread due to the fact that a work-life balance has been very deprioritized.
When you’re clocking your own hours, it can be really hard to stop… if anyone knows that it’s me!
When we equate work with what we love and the idea we’re “not really working,” it propagates a belief that if we love it so much, we should do more of it — all of the time, actually. Who needs a day off when you’re not really working?! You can work from vacation, you can bring the laptop to lunch… I’ve done it all. Not to mention, mainstream social media doesn’t make it any easier when it’s portraying a sense of laziness with “work harder” posts being shoved in your face all day. Meanwhile, all we really is just a day off!
If you’re reading this and you’re like me with have an intense drive and passion for your business, but you also need to learn to “shut it down,” this is for you!
Here are some ways you can recover from burnout and get your work-life balance back:
• Set a schedule! I talk about this a lot. I love to get by 5AM each morning and use those early hours to get ahead. This way I’m done by 3-4PM every day, unless I feel so inclined to do more work or have late coaching calls.
• Keep one OFF day each week. I take every Saturday off and limit my cell phone usage that day for work. I always plan something fun to do on Saturdays and nap a lot.
• Schedule trips. You need to take some time away, and if you can work remotely, sometimes that change of scenery can spark new creativity and breathe new life into your passion.
• Know your limits and try not to take on more than you can handle. I know this is a hard one. Be sure to make reasonable goals that also give you consistent time to unwind.
• Don’t be afraid to say NO.
• Organize your desk! I love notepads, sticky notes, checklists, and everything I could ever need to stay organized and focused. So much so, that I even have curated a box with things I use and things that inspire me. Check it out here!
• Make time to Unwind. Take an actual lunch break, stay off the social media, do something you want to do, read, walk around the block, get moving, ANYTHING.
For more boss babe tips to help you live your best life while running a business, subscribe to my Beauty Brand Coaching Newsletter here! Thanks for reading this week, and I hope this post helps you regain the passion and balance in your life.
XOXO,
Heather