There will always be days when we feel unmotivated, exhausted, unsatisfied and past caring. However, it is when this state of disinterest is prolonged that it becomes burnout.

Burnout is a growing epidemic in our culture, as it can affect anyone who is undervalued or overworked. However, it is most common in the workplace. When stress is a constant, problems begin to feel unsolvable and projects start piling up. There seems as if there is no time to get anything done, and even if there was time burnout leaves people feeling hopeless. 

How can you recognize the signs and symptoms of burnout? Some characteristics are those of increased irritability, fatigue, disengagement, and detachment. These symptoms play into lower productivity, increased errors, breakdown of communication, and an increased turnover rate.

While the challenges of burnout are difficult, if it is addressed promptly, you will become more resilient and engaged. Here are some ways to help resolve the burnout you may be approaching or experiencing. 

Resolve burnout by reaching out.

Whether it be family, close friends, or your team at work, reach out to those who you know will support and listen to you. Family and friends can provide care and a listening ear, while team members can help assess your workload and set reasonable expectations.

• Silence never solves the problem. Instead of suffering quietly, take initiative and start talking about it.
• Are you becoming burdened with projects that just aren’t getting done by other people? Bring it up constructively in a team meeting.
• Do you feel like you are always working overtime and never have time to care for yourself? Set boundaries and start saying “no” to requests that will most likely fill up your schedule and make you overextend yourself.

By doing this, not only will you be respecting yourself, but it will help others respect you more. Through reaching out and giving your burnout a voice, you begin taking that step to a healthier and more resilient you.

Resolve burnout by socializing.

Scheduling time to hang out with friends or colleagues helps to relieve the demands and stress of work. Strive to become more involved and connected with the friends you might have unconsciously pushed away in your attempts to mitigate your stress levels. While you may be tempted to become emotionally distant and detached, try to schedule social activities. Spending time with people you care about and who care about you will help you to feel more emotionally fulfilled and engaged. 

Resolve burnout by exercising.

Sometimes working out becomes the lowest on the priority list. Other things start to take precedence over physical health very quickly, and sometimes that becomes your work.

Even when you do make that goal to exercise a few times a week, by the time you get home from a taxing, stressful job, you feel as if you have no energy to put towards yourself. However, exercise is vital for your mental and physical health.

It has been shown to decrease stress levels, increase endorphins, boost memory, and improve productivity. Although at first exercising may feel like a draining chore, it will begin to improve your energy levels and your sense of well being, preventing the emotional and physical burnout you experience daily at work.

Resolve burnout by working with purpose.

Purpose? You might think that your job is working with purpose. However, this is not always the case.

Many times, work becomes purposeless in the rigmarole and tedious, ongoing tasks.  One project leads into another. Sometimes the first project is not even done before the next two or three projects begin.

This is when burnout starts. So what can you do? Start reframing the way you look at your work, and try to find value in each task. What is this specific task helping with and who is it impacting? What aspects of this project do you enjoy and why do you enjoy it? Focusing on the positive and changing your attitude can help you clarify your sense of purpose.

And the last thing you can do is…

Resolve burnout by sleeping!

Yep. Sleep plays a major role in your mental and physical health. So when you get into bed leave the technology behind.

Close your laptop, silence your phone, and power off your tablet. Leave everything that might tempt you from your precious beauty sleep outside your bedroom.

Why?

If you are not getting enough sleep, your brain ceases to function, your judgment decreases, and the likelihood of depression and burnout increases. These are only naming a few issues that can occur.

Scientific studies have shown that the average adult needs around 7-9 hours of sleep per night in order to function properly. So by prioritizing sleep and even writing it into your schedule, you will find yourself with the fuel necessary to go about your work cheerfully and mindfully.

Now you might be thinking that I just gave you another list of something you have to get done, but still don’t have time for. It can be overwhelming to incorporate all these principles at once, especially when you are already feeling burnout.

So instead of overloading yourself and stressing yourself out more, try to make just one of these things a habit or ritual in your daily life. Start small and then, when you feel comfortable and confident with one principle, add another one into the mix. Doing this slowly, one at a time, will gradually make a difference and the burnout will fade into resilience.

Care to learn more about burnout and how to resolve it?

Check out the links below:

• Melting Your Stress within 30 Days
• Stress Management Strategies for Stronger Performance
• Burnout Response: Workplace Strategies for Mental Health
• 5 Ways To Avoid Burnout At Work
• How Communicators Can Identify And Counteract Workplace Burnout
• 5 Things That Resilient Teams Do Differently

Copyright TIGERS Success Series, Inc. by Izabela Zagorski

About TIGERS Success Series, Inc.

TIGERS® Success Series provides a comprehensive, multi-pronged and robust system for improving both your work environment, profitability and project management team leadership success.

We specialize in training your managers in group leadership skills that build workforce cooperation and high performance team dynamics. Scaled to grow as your organization and leadership performance grows, our proprietary Team Behavior Profile, Management and Project Team Leadership  training workshops, and consultant/project manager licensing are based on the six principles that our extensive research found to be the right mix to make this happen.