Burnout, Self-Care
You normally do well at your job, right?
In fact, you may be one of the company superstars.
Accomplished. Talented. Successful.
But lately, you can’t seem to get much done. Projects you’d normally handle with one hand tied behind your back languish behind schedule.
You push yourself harder. Work longer hours. Sleep less.
Yet still, your performance is subpar. Especially by your high standards, leaving you distraught and disheartened.
Usually you dig in and try harder to achieve at your customary level. But now, trying harder only seems to make it worse – like you actually have both hands tied behind your back.
What’s going on?
I’ll explain.
Why You’re Not Performing Up To Your Usual Standards
Your lack of productivity and poor performance could be caused by burnout. But it’s not your fault.
Your workplace culture is almost certainly the culprit.
Here’s why.
Managers often create unrelenting workplace stress that leads to burnout. They pile unreasonably heavy workloads on you. You end up going to too many meetings that accomplish nothing.
Women like you, who are highly capable, are especially vulnerable to workplace burnout because managers tend to pile work on their most competent employees.
You may be even more susceptible to burnout if you’re a woman who expects a lot of herself, even when unreasonable demands are put on you. So it’s possible you successfully handled a monstrous workload until finally burnout caught up with you and tanked your productivity and performance.
Again, I have to stress, this isn’t your fault!
Now, let’s see what will help you get your well-being back.
6 Ways To Overcome Burnout-Related Low Productivity And Poor Performance
Here are 6 specific strategies you can use to bring yourself back from burnout-related poor productivity and performance:
#1 Book time with your manager and ask them for clear expectations for your performance in writing. Sometimes we worry ourselves into a frazzle while going far above and beyond expectations, because we’re unclear on what acceptable performance is. When you get confirmation that you and your manager are in sync with job performance standards, you won’t be incessantly worried you’re not meeting them.
#2 Take regular breaks during the workday for a brisk walk or stretch at your desk. Get outside and away from the office.
#3 Maintain reasonable work hours, including, if necessary, committing to yourself to leave at the end of a regular work day. Getting up and leaving at a set time might feel awkward at first when you’ve been used to staying until all hours. But let your well-being take priority.
#4 Keep your evenings free for personal time. Read, take a walk, soak in a hot bath – whatever nurtures you.
And I can’t stress this one enough:
#5 Eat wholesome, nutritious, unprocessed food. Diet is often one of the first things we neglect when we’re moving into burnout. I know, because it happened to me. A healthy diet will do wonders to support you to break free from burnout as well as help you regain your vitality as you leave burnout behind.
#6 Get my complimentary “From Burnout To Balance: A Simple 10-Minute Daily Self-Care Practice.” This practice has been shown to:
-
- Increase mindfulness, well-being, self-confidence, and personal power
- Increase your ability to concentrate
- Cultivate a greater resilience to stress, a positive mindset, and a sense of hopefulness and calm
- Decrease stress and stress-related symptoms like frustration, mood swings, feelings of overwhelm or lack of control, anxiety, depression, low energy, headaches, body aches and pains, muscle tension, chest pain and rapid heartbeat, insomnia, and frequent colds and infections
- Reduce or even stop worrying
Click here to receive my complimentary “From Burnout To Balance: A Simple 10-Minute Daily Self-Care Practice.”
Taking these steps will help put you back on a path to wellness, leaving burnout behind.
Let’s Raise Your Productivity And Banish Burnout
When you’re used to performing and delivering at a high level, you can feel devastated when your high standards slide and you can’t regain them no matter how hard you try.
It’s easy to get down on yourself. To believe if you just tried harder, you could once again perform at your customary level of achievement.
Instead, apply the strategies I’ve given you. Be gentle with yourself.
At Its Root, Burnout Is All About This…
Women with Type A perfectionist characteristics are most likely to suffer from burnout. You may be one of them. I get you! I too tend to Type A perfectionism. But I know the key to keep myself healthy and out of burnout – and it may surprise you.
The key is self-love.
Love yourself wholeheartedly and abundantly.
If this is a tall order for you, you can get extra care and support by signing up for my free From Burnout to Balance 7-Day Self-Love Challenge.
During these 7 days, we’ll look at what’s really going on beneath the signs of burnout like low productivity and performance. I’ll give you simple strategies for how to turn things around so you can get on the path towards balance and enjoy your life again.
If you’re ready to break out of the burnout cycle and desire to be…
- Relaxed and confident, knowing you’re tending to the most important priorities
- Energized, clear and focused
- Calm, easy-going and peaceful
- Sleeping like a baby and waking up rested
- Engaged, inspired and passionate about your life
Join me by clicking here to sign up for my next From Burnout to Balance 7-Day Self-Love Challenge. It’s Free!
Burnout, Self-Care
Some days it seems like everything is falling apart.
You used to spring into action to hold it all together, but now you do little more than raise an eyebrow at the chaos.
Having things under control used to be your forté. People counted on you. You prided yourself on ensuring your life ran exactly as planned.
But now you wonder what happened to the woman who could effortlessly orchestrate a million details. Somewhere along the way, she vanished. What was important to you no longer matters – you’re so far removed from your life you might as well be on another planet.
Because I’ve been through this, I recognize that feeling detached is one of the signs of burnout.
I’ll explain.
What Is Burnout-Related Detachment, And What Causes It?
When you’re in the throes of deep detachment, you feel utterly disconnected from other people or from your environment. You remove yourself emotionally – and perhaps even physically – from your responsibilities. You may frequently call in sick to work, stop responding to your family, fail to return calls or answer emails, or neglect to show up for commitments.
More than indifference, the detachment that comes with burnout is a consequence of burnout’s mental and physical exhaustion. You wind up in a classic burnout symptom of depersonalization – you don’t care about anyone or anything. And it’s a vicious circle because strong detachment isolates you from the support needed to overcome burnout.
While it’s only natural to go through periods when you enjoy your life less than usual, when the lack of enjoyment persists and you feel as though you’re viewing the world through the wrong end of a telescope, that’s a major red flag that you might be suffering from burnout.
Let’s take a look at some of the symptoms.
Signs You’re Suffering From Burnout-Related Detachment
Though paradoxically it can be tough to muster up enough energy to assess whether you’re in full burnout, there are some straightforward clues. They are:
- You get angered quickly and have less patience with people, even those close to you
- You call in sick to work on a regular basis
- You ditch events you used to look forward to
- You no longer care about making sure your life is organized and flowing smoothly
- Chaos no longer bothers you; you’re indifferent to it
I’ve written about related signs of burnout such as isolating yourself, feeling apathetic, and being depressed – they all intertwine and end up reinforcing each other. Which is why I urge you to take any and all of the symptoms seriously. Burnout is a threat to your physical and mental health; left unaddressed, it will significantly erode your well-being.
So, what will help you overcome detachment? Let’s take a look.
3 Ways To Cope With And Overcome Burnout-Related Detachment
#1 Bring some calming routines into your life
Routines can help protect you from the detachment associated with burnout. Engaging in a repeatable, specific behavior can help anchor your awareness of the present moment and reconnect you to a sense of purpose. For example, take 10 deep breaths before you start a new task. Savor the movement of your breath as it flows in and out. Feel your lungs expand and contract as you breathe.
#2 Check in regularly with yourself
The hardest part of warding off burnout is that we often don’t see it coming until it’s too late. That’s why it’s important to develop your self-awareness through reflection and regular reviews of your life and work. Self-reflection will bolster your belief in your own abilities, something that’s often lost when you’re deep in burnout-related detachment.
Ideally, you’ll check in at least once a day with yourself to assess your physical, emotional, and mental state of being. Perhaps early morning works best for you, as you set yourself up for the rest of your day. Or, in the evening before bed – review your day, note how you’re feeling, and set your intent to have a peaceful night’s sleep.
As well, schedule weekly, monthly, and even annual reviews to reflect on how you’re feeling, and if your life is going in a direction you’re happy with. Put them in your calendar, and treat them as seriously as you do any other meeting or appointment.
Check in to see if you’re moving toward your most important goals. This will help you get re-invested in your life, and bring you out of that dreary sense of indifference.
#3 Start a journal
A journal is a great tool for recording what you’re thinking and how you’re feeling as you’re checking in with your physical, mental, and emotional states of being. You may choose a small pocket journal where you can jot down your feelings and thoughts throughout the day. You might prefer a larger journal that you keep by your bed to write down your dreams in the morning and reflections of your day at night. You can even have more than one journal, like I do.
There is no right way to journal. You can write whole paragraphs on what you discover or short phrases for quick thoughts that come to you. Whatever you choose to put in your journal is your personal preference and no one else will see it… unless you decide to share it. So no worries about whether you’re getting it right. If it works for you, it is right!
#4 Take part in my complimentary ‘From Burnout to Balance 7-Day Self-Love Challenge’
So often the lack of self-love and self-care is at the root of the emotional and mental exhaustion that leads to detachment. During these 7 days, we’ll look at what’s really going on beneath the signs of burnout. I’ll give you simple strategies for how to turn things around so you can get on the path towards balance and start enjoying your life again.
If you’re ready to break out of the burnout cycle and desire to be…
- Relaxed and confident, knowing you’re tending to the most important priorities
- Energized, clear and focused
- Calm, easy-going and peaceful
- Sleeping like a baby and waking up rested
- Engaged, inspired and passionate about your life
Join me by clicking here to sign up for my next From Burnout to Balance 7-Day Self-Love Challenge. It’s Free!
It’s Time To Enjoy Your Life Again
I know you might be down on yourself for disengaging and detaching from, well, pretty much everything.
But it’s not your fault. Burnout snuck up on you while you weren’t looking.
Let’s ease you back into enjoying your life. Apply these tips. Re-discover your self-love in the challenge.
Then feel your enthusiasm rekindle itself as you nurture yourself back to wellness.
And if you want more support, you’ve got it! Sign up here for my mailing list to receive regular tips and techniques to overcome burnout.
Burnout, Self-Care
Did you know that not only is isolation a sign of burnout, it can actually lead to burnout?
Here’s how…
When you are stressed and overwhelmed, you simply don’t have the energy to interact with your family, friends, and coworkers. They feel like a burden – one more darn thing to have to deal with.
So you isolate yourself, leaving you feeling lonely, misunderstood, and unappreciated. Which further intensifies your stress and feelings of overwhelm, and can eventually result in full-blown burnout.
In its early stages, you may brush off isolation as a temporary resistance to socializing. You believe it’s just a matter of not wanting to join your friends for lunch, or you close your door occasionally to keep others out.
You may convince yourself you need a little bit of alone time. But that little bit of alone time stretches into weeks when you decline invitations, shut yourself in your room at home for hours, or even resent people who try to connect with you.
In the latter stages of isolation, you may become visibly angry when someone speaks to you, or at work you may come in early or leave late to avoid interactions. By that point it’s possible you’re well on your way to burnout.
Ultimately you might feel ashamed of your situation, and are convinced you have no one to talk to about the conflicts and stresses that you’re facing.
One Of The Most Sinister Aspects Of Burnout
If you’ve ever experienced symptoms of burnout, I know you’re with me on this one:
When you are burned out you’re not happy, you’re exhausted, which makes it difficult to appreciate your life. So you tell yourself you should be grateful for everything you have, and that only makes you feel worse. And your concern that outsiders might feel you have the perfect life increases feelings of shame and contributes to you not asking for support.
Shame thrives in secrecy and isolation. Respected author and researcher Brene Brown is an expert on shame; as she says, “As a shame researcher, I know that the very best thing to do in the midst of a shame attack is totally counterintuitive: Practice courage and reach out!”
Burnout is isolating, and makes you feel weak. You want to power through and just get over it, but that approach doesn’t work. I’ve been there, and I know it’s a journey of taking one step after the other. One important step is to re-engage with others as part of overcoming isolation and burnout.
So let’s take a look at some tips that will help you deal with burnout-related isolation.
4 Tips To Help You Overcome Isolation And Re-Engage With Others
#1 Exercise
Isolation can feel like a heavy weight on your entire body. Whenever this feeling starts to overtake you, move your body. Whether you go for a walk, browse your favorite store, or even walk up a flight of stairs at work, getting yourself moving will offer some relief from feeling weighed down by isolation.
Exercise will also trigger your body to produce the feel-good chemicals called endorphins. Endorphins are a natural anti-depressant that can support you to feel happier, making you less likely to want to isolate yourself.
#2 Find Like-Minded People
Nowadays, whether you’re a knitter, hiker, or ballroom dancer, you have many ways to find out where they get together, so you can meet people who share your interests. Try searching for groups on Meetup, Facebook, or Instagram. If meeting people in person seems like too big a step at first, check out the communities on Pinterest to connect online with people you have something in common with.
#3 Reach Out To People You Trust
Although it can be a huge challenge to talk about things that you are struggling with, sharing them with people you trust can be an effective way to get back to your happy self. You may even be surprised to discover how many others have gone through the same thing as you. You could even end up helping someone you didn’t know was struggling, and who was afraid to reach out.
#4 Sign up for my free From Burnout to Balance 7-Day Self-Love Challenge
Re-discover your love and appreciation – for yourself. The From Burnout to Balance 7-Day Self-Love Challenge is a powerful next step that will give you the opportunity to engage with others and get support in a safe environment. During these 7 days, we’ll look at what’s really going on beneath the signs of burnout. I’ll give you simple strategies for how to turn things around so you can get on the path towards balance and start enjoying your life again.
If you’re ready to break out of the burnout cycle and desire to be…
- Relaxed and confident, knowing you’re tending to the most important priorities
- Energized, clear, and focused
- Calm, easy-going, and peaceful
- Sleeping like a baby and waking up rested
- Engaged, inspired and passionate about your life
Click here now to join me for my next From Burnout to Balance 7-Day Self-Love Challenge. It’s Free!
Let’s Break You Free From Isolation
Though isolating yourself may seem like a logical option when you feel stressed and overwhelmed, over time it robs you of your energy and enthusiasm for life – and it can lead you to full-blown burnout, a serious threat to your health and well-being.
I want better for you, and I know you want more for yourself than to slog through every day feeling exhausted and dispirited. Don’t let yourself stay isolated. I know it can be hard to take the first step to break free, so I offer complimentary tips, advice, and support in several ways; one of them is sending them to you by email. Sign up for my list here so you won’t miss out.
I know you can turn this around… and I’m here to help.
Uncategorized
The relationship between pessimism and burnout is like the classic “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” question.
Paradoxically, pessimism is one of the signs of burnout. Yet it’s also one of the conditions that, left unaddressed, can lead to burnout.
At first, pessimism may present itself as negative self-talk. Your normal perspective of seeing the proverbial glass as half-full may wane to a persistent glass half-empty attitude.
And at its worst, pessimism can move beyond how you feel about yourself and extend to trust issues with coworkers and family members, along with a feeling that you can’t count on anyone.
Pessimism, along with its close counterpart cynicism, is an early warning sign of burnout. You simply can’t feel positive about what you’re doing when you’re overwhelmed by everything coming at you in your life — and it’s easy then to misdirect your feelings of anger and disappointment about this toward, well, pretty much everyone.
Though you may normally feel enthusiastic about tackling new projects and taking on new hobbies, when pessimism takes over you’re unlikely to seek out new experiences because you believe there’s no point. You’re sure there isn’t any joy or interest to be found. And that belief sets up a vicious circle that mires you deeper in pessimism.
And pessimism isn’t just a mental state. It also produces stress hormones, so your physical health takes a hit too. Chronic activation of your stress-response system along with the overexposure to stress hormones can disrupt almost all your body’s processes. This puts you at increased risk of many health problems, including: anxiety, digestive problems, headaches, and heart disease.
Which came first, burnout or pessimism? Truthfully, when you’re in the throes of burnout-related pessimism, you probably don’t care which came first. You just want it to be better.
So let’s take a look at the six ways you can overcome pessimism and start to regain your cheerful outlook on life.
#1 Stop negative talk. Start positive talk.
Speaking negatively about others or yourself will rob you of your optimism faster than ice melting in the desert. Stop the negative talk. Start positive talk. A tool that can be used to reprogram negative self-talk is affirmations.
Affirmations are statements you repeat in order to affect your subconscious and conscious minds, and they power up your positivity. How do they work? The subconscious mind is 90% of your total Mind and therefore has the greatest influence over whatever it is you wish to create. By repeating affirmations out loud, daily, they influence your subconscious mind and help replace limiting beliefs with more empowering beliefs.
#2 Cultivate an “attitude of gratitude”
Sit with a notebook and a pen, and take time to write down all the things in your life you’re grateful for. No matter how small it may seem, it’s important to acknowledge what’s good in your life. Perhaps it’s appreciation for the comfortable bed you slept in last night. Or the scent of rain-soaked flowers that wafts in through your windows. When you look for things to appreciate, you’ll find them everywhere. This will increase your optimism and positive self-talk.
#3 Focus on the possibilities, not the impossibilities
You become pessimistic when you focus on what isn’t possible. All you see are huge obstacles in your way. You feel overwhelmed by problems, and can no longer see yourself as capable.
Instead, focus your mind on the possibilities. Envision yourself overcoming even just one difficulty. Mentally walk yourself through the challenge, seeing yourself as capable and successful.
#4 Read inspiring stories
Remember how inspired you felt when you learned the stories of some of our most cherished heroes who persisted and achieved their dream? Recapture that feeling – read about Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln, or Eleanor Roosevelt. Or whoever inspires you!
#5 Open your mind for new possibilities
If you’ve closed your mind to new possibilities, you can plunge yourself into pessimism. Be open to creating or allowing new perspectives to show you a variety of ways things could work out. You may discover that solutions to problems or life challenges come in unexpected ways that never occurred to you before. Prepare to be surprised and delighted!
This practice has been shown to:
- Increase mindfulness, well-being, self-confidence, and personal power
- Increase your ability to concentrate
- Cultivate a greater resilience to stress, a positive mindset, and a sense of hopefulness and calm
- Decrease stress and stress-related symptoms like frustration, mood swings, feelings of overwhelm or lack of control, anxiety, depression, low energy, headaches, body aches and pains, muscle tension, chest pain and rapid heartbeat, insomnia, and frequent colds and infections
- Reduce or even stop worrying
Get my complimentary “From Burnout To Balance: A Simple 10-Minute Daily Self-Care Practice” here.
It’s Time To Regain Your Optimism
Being mired in the dreariness of burnout-related pessimism sucks the life out of you. You look ahead to the future and see…blah. Nothing inspiring. Your hope is gone, and you don’t seem to be able to get it back.
I know; I’ve been there.
But here’s the thing.
Because I turned around my burnout with its relentless pessimism, I know you can too.
Use the tips I’ve given you. And stay connected, because I’ve got more good stuff for you.
You don’t have to face your pessimism and burnout alone. I’m here to help.
Burnout, Self-Care
When was the last time you bounded out of bed excited to see what the day would bring? Or felt gratitude for the abundance of well-being in your life?
And how about laughing with friends until tears streamed down your face and you were gasping for breath?
If the answers to these questions don’t come easily, you might be experiencing a loss of enjoyment that’s one of the signs of burnout.
When you’ve lost your joy, it’s like you’re in an extended period of mourning – although it’s not entirely clear what you’re grieving.
You feel listless. All the world’s vibrant colors and textures have sludged into a grey mist. People who care about you entice you to activities they think you’ll enjoy. But your response is “Meh”.
I’m here to tell you: it’s not your fault! Burnout has got you in its grip.
Life Is Meant To Be Joyful But Burnout Can Sabotage It
You weren’t born to have a parched, dusty life as though you’re slogging through the desert with only a few far flung oases of momentary happiness.
Life is meant to be joyful! You were born to discover what you love; to delight in the things that bring you satisfaction and which fill you with a sense of purpose. But if you haven’t yet discovered what fulfills and satisfies you, you could easily become burned out and joyless when your days lack a sense of purpose.
So if you’re mired in unhappiness, despairing of ever feeling purposeful and optimistic again, let’s take a look at what can help you overcome burnout and regain your joy.
6 Questions To Ask Yourself When Your Joy Is Gone
Losing your enjoyment of life can often make you feel like you want to escape to something better. The problem is, there are no guarantees that your new circumstances will be any more joyful or fulfilling.
Zero in on that feeling of wanting to escape. When you dig underneath the feeling, you’ll uncover some clues to your burnout-related loss of enjoyment.
To start, I recommend you take time to ask and answer these questions:
- Do you want to take a break or go on vacation to get away from something specific?
- What do you love most about your life?
- What do you want to remove from your life?
- How do you like to recharge your energy?
- Is there any regular activity or event that you enjoy?
- What gives you a sense of purpose?
Once you answer these, you’ll see that one overarching way to bring yourself back from burnout is pretty simple: commit to doing what you love, and what’s important to you.
Now let’s break that down into some specific actions.
How To Put The Joy Back In Your Life And Move Past Burnout
#1 Schedule what’s important to you
Put whatever is important to you in your calendar be it a massage, some alone time, or having dinner delivered. Treat these activities with the same respect you give to other events like meetings or your kids’ activities. Think of them as checkpoints or life-savers – because they are. They’re your own unique ways to care for yourself.
Any time you start to feel overwhelmed, you can examine your calendar and reassure yourself that you don’t have to stretch yourself thin for long. You simply need to get to the next checkpoint.
#2 Book at least one daily period of rejuvenation time
Even a 15-minute pause in the middle of your day will help revitalize you. Put a short block of time in your calendar at least once a day. It may not seem like much, but knowing you have even one period per day for downtime will help you feel refreshed along with taking the time to recharge.
#3 Reschedule your self-care session if you must miss it
I know. Life happens and sometimes you may not be able to keep your self-care appointments. For example, if you know you’ll be traveling, be sure to plan ahead and reserve a self-care spot in your calendar for immediately after your scheduled return.
#4 Adjust your self-care activities as necessary
Your needs will change over time as your life changes. Keep in touch with yourself through the changes to understand what will best nurture you. Perhaps a treat such as a pedicure is no longer as rewarding as it was, but a workout at the gym would be perfect. Change it! Do what is right for you at your stage of life.
#5 Sign up for a complimentary “Break Free From Burnout” consultation with me
This session is the perfect way to give yourself extra nurturing and support. In this 60-minute consultation you’ll:
- Get simple and practical tips for how to break free from your burnout symptoms
- Create a clear and compelling vision of the burnout-free life you want
- Tap into greater energy and inspiration
- Explore how having a partner on your journey will provide a shortcut to all that you desire.
Click here now to get your complimentary “Break Free From Burnout” consultation.
Let’s Get Your Joy Back!
A lot of people who read posts like this smile, nod their head in agreement, and implement precisely zero of these tips.
But not you. You know wisdom that’s not put into practice is wasted. That’s why you’ve already made a commitment to care for yourself, and to re-infuse joy into your life.
On their own, none of these self-care tips will catapult you to wellness. But each of them, little by little, will help bring you back from burnout and re-ignite your happiness.
So, are you ready to be joyful? Are you ready to go from burned out to balanced?
Then it’s time to start caring for yourself.
P.S. You don’t have to do this alone. Sign up for my free From Burnout to Balance 7-Day Self-Love Challenge. During these 7 days, we’ll look at what’s really going on beneath the signs of burnout and I’ll give you simple strategies for how to turn things around so you can get on the path towards balance and enjoying your life (again).
If you’re ready to break out of the burnout cycle and desire to be…
- Relaxed and confident, knowing you’re tending to the most important priorities
- Energized, clear and focused
- Calm, easy-going and peaceful
- Sleeping like a baby and waking up rested
- Engaged, inspired and passionate about your life
Join me by clicking here to sign up for my next From Burnout to Balance 7-Day Self-Love Challenge. It’s Free!
