Burnout, Self-Care, Self-Love
“You can’t calm the storm, so stop trying. What you can do is calm yourself. The storm will pass.”
~ Timber Hawkeye
Overwhelm can feel like weathering a storm with your endless responsibilities swirling around you.
You have emails to answer. Dinner to put on the table. Children to pick up. People to please.
Where do you even begin?
The stress is enough to make you want to retreat under the bed covers and escape the world, even for a moment.
Fortunately, there’s no need to run away. You can learn how to manage overwhelm so you don’t burn out with a few tips you can start being in action with today.
Are you ready to calm the raging storm?
Let’s get started.
What Are the Symptoms of Overwhelm?
Symptoms of overwhelm often manifest during busy or difficult stages of your life. It can affect your mind and body in the following ways:
- Anxiety
- Muscle tension or bracing
- Shortness of breath
- Brain fog
- Irritability
- Forgetfulness
- Cluttered mind
- Difficulty sleeping
It’s normal to experience these symptoms every once in a while. However, if these symptoms are the “new norm” for you, then there’s an underlying cause you might need to address.
Why Do You Feel Overwhelmed All the Time?
Overwhelm often happens when you’re faced with more than you can handle.
You might be feeling overwhelmed at work when you set unrealistic expectations for yourself. Or maybe you’re feeling overwhelmed with life in general because you give away too much of your time and energy.
Another reason for your overwhelm is because self-care is optional for you. You neglect your mind, body, and spirit as you work through the stress. Your mind goes into overdrive and your body buckles under the pressure and stress.
If you’re not careful and do this for too long, you’ll eventually suffer from signs of burnout.
What is Overwhelm Really?
Overwhelm is a temporary state of being, often affected by how you manage your time and energy.
In life, you transition between stages of busy periods and rest periods. However, poor actions and habits that stem from poor planning can make those busy periods more stressful than necessary.
The secret to avoiding and recovering from overwhelm is to introduce new habits that improve your productivity, resilience to stress, and self-esteem.
How to Manage Overwhelm
Here are a few tips to help you conquer overwhelm and reclaim your life.
#1 Maintain an Evening Routine
Mornings are often the busiest and most stressful part of the day.
You’re rushing to get ready for work, dress the children for school, pack lunches, and make it out the door in time. The clock is ticking.
Instead of rushing through a stressful morning, ease into it by following an evening routine. By doing the following tasks the evening before, you can kickstart your mornings:
- School and work lunches
- Lay out your clothes
- Create an agenda for the next day’s schedule
- Quickly tidy up around the house
- Meditate to calm your busy mind
- Review your goals
- Set a bedtime to improve your sleep
Avoid burning out by beginning each day rested, prepared, and ready to go.
#2 Say No
Reduce overwhelm by screening the people and tasks that enter your life.
To do this, start with identifying your priorities and values.
My top three priorities are self-care, family, and helping my clients thrive. When somebody asks me to do something that doesn’t align with my priorities and values, I give myself permission to say “no.” Doing this helps me set healthy boundaries and avoid unnecessary obligations that can lead to burnout.
What priorities do you carry in your life? Is what you’re doing and how you’re living aligning with those priorities?
#3 Outsource What You Can
Trying to do everything yourself puts you on the fast track to burnout.
Accept that sometimes you can’t do it all and that’s okay.
If you need a helping hand, don’t be afraid to ask for it. Also, if you have the means, you can outsource some of your responsibilities.
For example, you can save time by getting your groceries delivered to you each week. Or you can hire a nanny to offload some of your caretaking responsibilities.
If you’re a business owner, you can delegate administrative tasks like handling emails and data entry to a virtual assistant.
List your own work and personal responsibilities. What tasks can you outsource to make your life easier or more efficient?
#4 Take a Walk in the Park
At work, you think about your unanswered emails and looming deadlines. At home, you focus on cooking dinner, washing laundry, and cleaning.
You feel guilty about taking a break because you know that there’s always something that needs doing. This is because your environment is a visual reminder of the work that awaits you.
To help clear your mind, try introducing a change of scenery. Leave your phone at home and go for a 30-minute walk in the park. Enjoy the warm sunshine on your face and savor the fresh air filling your lungs.
Changing your physical location can ease your overwhelm and lift your mood. And taking regular walks in the park can improve your health and protect you from burnout.
Overcome Overwhelm with Self-Love
Overwhelm can sometimes feel like a raging storm that will never end. Instead of “escaping” the storm, learn how to weather it and do better next time.
However, this requires you to forgive and love yourself when you make mistakes. And that’s often difficult to do — especially when you have a world of responsibilities weighing on your shoulders.
That’s why I want you to 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!
Burnout, Self-Care, Self-Love
Do you work from home? If so, you’re not alone. A study from the US Census shows that nearly eight million people work from home. Technology is making it easier for people to do everything traditionally done in the office from the comfort of their homes.
Working from home gives you the added perk of saving time spent doing your hair and makeup, commuting and chatting with your co-workers at the water cooler.
However, there’s a downside to remote working: burnout.
In this article, I’ll be sharing some challenges of remote working and tips for improving your work/life balance when working from home.
Work/Life Balance: Working from Home vs. Working at the Office
Modern women are expanding their roles from traditional caregivers to doctors, CEOs, and more. However, this role expansion can expose you to signs of burnout, as you struggle to balance your work life with your personal life AND self-care.
Working from home, especially, can present the following obstacles when maintaining a healthy work/life balance:
- You’re exposed to more distractions at home in the form of unopened mail, clutter, ringing doorbells, and children playing outside
- Separating your home life and work life is difficult when both share the same space
- You can start feeling isolated if you work from home with limited social interactions
- A combination of these challenges and more can lead to burnout
Do you work from home and struggle with something else? Let me know in the comments below.
My Work/Life Balance System
Here are systems I personally use that you can apply in your own life to stay burnout-free.
Ease Into the Morning
Before I begin my workday, I give myself an hour to center myself and engage in my spiritual practices:
- Diffusing essential oils
- Meditating
- Reciting affirmation cards
- Journaling
These practices help me to greet the day at my own pace. Instead of rushing, I enjoy the morning silence with calm intention. This is why I rarely schedule early morning appointments with my clients. Before I give my time away to others, I first give time to myself.
Even Though I Work at Home, I Still Have Work Hours
My secret to staying productive is sticking to a set work schedule.
Imagine working only when you felt like it?
I don’t think I’d ever leave my warm cozy bed! Sticking to a work schedule helps you “leave home” to start the workday.
If you’re wondering how to structure your day working from home, here’s what a typical workday looks like for me…
> 8:30 AM- Work begins with answering emails, handling urgent tasks, and taking client appointments
> 12:00 PM – Take a lunch break
> 1:00 PM – Continue working
> 3:30 PM – Exercise and get my heart pumping
> 4:30 PM – Continue working
> 6:30 PM – Dinner and relax with my husband and cat
Structuring your day helps you stay intentional when it’s time to work, be with family, and wind down. Having a plan for navigating your day helps you create more balance and protect yourself from burnout.
What does your work from home schedule look like? Are you an early bird or do you prefer to work from the afternoon into the evening?
A DO NOT DISTURB Sign Keeps Me Focused (when I use it)
My biggest distraction is my husband, who likes to visit me while I’m working (and when he’s not traveling). When I’m on the phone with a client, I have to signal to him that I can’t talk right now.
If your spouse or small children are at home while you’re working, consider putting a sign on your office door that says DO NOT DISTURB.
This small tip can make a huge difference. It reminds your family that even though they’re home and relaxing, you’re still “working at the office.”
I Set Alarms to Keep My Day Flowing
Working from home, you don’t have somebody to tell you when to work on something else or to take your breaks. You’re responsible for that.
And when you’re deeply focused on work, it’s easy to forget!
That’s why I set alarms for everything — when to take breaks, respond to emails, prepare for a client call, and when to end the workday.
This little alarm helps me fend off burnout by helping me balance work, self-care, and relaxation.
Set a Strict Cut-off Time for Work
Striking a healthy work/life balance can be difficult when your home and work share a space. This makes it easy to sacrifice relaxation to sneak in a few email responses or get a headstart on tomorrow’s workload.
That’s why I set a strict cut-off time for work. I know that whatever tasks come in during the evening can wait until the morning. Until then, I dedicate my time and energy to quality time with my husband and cat.
If you’re still having trouble “leaving work,” try going outside for a walk. When you step outside, imagine you’re leaving the office and when you return, imagine that you’ve arrived at home. Also, creating a designated work area that you physically leave makes separating work from home easier. These extra steps can help prime your mind and body for relaxation.
Do you have any other tips to share with your fellow home-workers to help them achieve better work/life balance? Leave them in the comments below!
Self-Love is Critical to a Healthy Work/Life Balance, Especially When Working from Home
Working from home can save you tons of time that would otherwise be spent on commuting and engaging in office gossip.
If you’re a workaholic and recovering perfectionist, like me, then it’s easy to use that time and dive into more and more work.
However, devoting too much of your time to work can tip your life out of balance. Instead, give that time to the other areas of your life — family, relationships, health, and most importantly self-care.
Caring and loving your body is the catalyst that sparks positive change in your life. That’s why I want to share a special challenge with you: 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!
Burnout, Self-Care, Self-Love
Do you ever feel like your life is spiraling out of balance?
When you experience success in one area of your life, you may neglect other areas of your life if you’re not mindful.
For example, spending too much time in the office can reduce the time you can spend at home with your spouse and children.
Or perhaps you’re making strides in your career and relationships but compromising your mental and physical well-being in the process.
Women are finding it more challenging to find meaningful balance in their lives, and you can probably relate. In fact, one study shows that working women struggle with balancing work and family due to “excessive work pressure, too little time for themselves and the need to fulfill others’ expectations of them.”
If that study discourages you, don’t worry. I have some tips to help you thrive in both your work and personal lives.
That’s right.
You can create the work/life balance you’ve always dreamed of.
What is Work/Life Balance?
Having a healthy work-life balance means working on your career and goals, while also creating time to enjoy life.
What is your idea of work/life balance?
What are the different roles you fulfill as a modern woman?
It might be a career woman, a mother, a wife, a caregiver, a businesswoman and more.
Creating a healthy work/life balance is about fulfilling all of your responsibilities without neglecting one area of your life for too long. This balance is especially useful for keeping you burnout-free.
Why Work-Life Balance is Important for Preventing Burnout
Traditionally, women were homemakers and men were the primary breadwinners. These traditional roles are being challenged, as dual-income households are becoming the norm.
However, this creates a challenge unique to women because society often expects them to fulfill two full-time jobs as a career woman and a homemaker.
As you struggle to do it all, you begin feeling stressed, exhausted, and irritable — all signs of burnout.
My hope is that this article reminds you to pause, reflect on your life, and ask whether you’re creating a healthy work/life balance in your life.
The Benefits of Work-Life Balance
When you create a meaningful balance between your different roles and responsibilities, you introduce some amazing benefits into your life:
Experience Less Burnout
Sacrificing your well-being and relationships to pursue your career can quickly lead to job burnout. You may experience exhaustion, disinterest with your job, and isolation.
Cultivating a balance will help you rely on your relationships for emotional support and practice a self-care routine that rejuvenates you when exhausted.
Increased Productivity
Doing less work so that you can practice more self-care can actually increase your productivity.
It’s difficult to progress in your career and personal goals when you’re running on fumes. Do this long enough, and you’ll experience more than stress — you’ll burn out.
Balance work with relaxation. When you’re rested, you can better focus and perform more effectively.
Stronger Relationships
If work dominates your life, your personal relationships can suffer.
You miss your friends’ birthday parties. You and your partner go on fewer dates. You can’t take off work to make it to your daughter’s piano recital.
Striking the right work/balance can help you avoid this. You can learn how to cultivate your close relationships while pursuing your career and personal goals.
Tips for Achieving Work/Life Balance
Before we dive into tips on achieving a better work/life balance, remember to click here to sign up for my email list to receive additional advice on managing and preventing burnout.
#1 Negotiate With Your Employer
If possible, negotiate some changes with your employer to help you achieve a better work/life balance.
Ask if it’s possible to work from home a few days out of the week. This will reduce your weekly commute time and give you more opportunities to be at home with your children.
Some employers are also flexible with their benefit packages. See if it’s possible to accrue more vacation or personal time. This allows you to schedule more mini-vacations throughout the year, helping you keep burnout at bay.
#2 Use Calendar Blocking
The key to achieving a better work/life balance is time management. Calendar blocking can help you maximize the limited hours you have in a day.
When calendar blocking, you are scheduling time in your calendar to accomplish a specific task. For example, you can block off 6:00 to 7:00 in the evenings for house chores and then 9:00 to 10:00 for your nightly relaxation ritual.
Calendar blocking encourages you to be more intentional with how you spend your time. It reduces procrastination and helps you make time for your priorities — and that includes self-care. Self-care is non-negotiable in leading a healthy work/life balance and calendar blocking ensures that you make time for it in your schedule.
#3 Maintain a Morning Routine
Drawing on the previous tip, consider calendar blocking a morning routine to kickstart your day. A morning routine can encourage more balance in your life while protecting you from burnout.
Mindfulness activities, like meditation and yoga, help you practice deep breathing. Deep breathing has been shown to reduce stress, lower heart rate, and improve mood.
Exercise is also a great addition to your morning routine. You can build your strength, stamina, and endurance, which increases your energy levels — all helpful when tackling the stressful day ahead of you.
If you’re starting out, don’t add too much to your morning routine. Add a couple of activities, build the habit, and then add more if you’d like.
#4 Ditch the Perfection
A perfect work/life balance is a fairytale. There is little chance that your workweek and home life will go exactly as you would like it to.
Work may get busy and will require you to work overtime. The next week, your children may get sick, and you need to stay home to care for them.
Since you can’t be perfect, you can only do your best and stay organized. Striving for perfection can lead to burnout, as you overwork your mind and body.
Instead, accept that your priorities will shift throughout the year. The trick to a healthy work/life balance is to stay adaptable and continue to practice self-care as you juggle your changing responsibilities.
Work/Life Balance for Women Starts With Caring for Yourself
Good organization and time management will be your superpowers when achieving a healthy work/life balance.
You know what else is an important superpower to develop in order to experience work/life balance?
Self-love.
Join me for my free From Burnout to Balance 7-Day Self-Love Challenge and get my support with caring for yourself.
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!
Burnout, Self-Care, Self-Love
If you’ve undergone any type of home renovation, you know what it looks, sounds, and feels like.
Blankets of sawdust everywhere.
The banging and buzzing of hammers and heavy machinery.
Your patience thinning with each unreturned call to the contractor.
Money draining from your bank account for those unexpected expenses that pop up.
The endless list of factors to deal with and decisions to make is enough to trigger severe signs of burnout.
I get it! I’ve been dealing with home renovations and restorations for seven months now. Here’s my story and the strategies I’ve been using to avoid burnout and maintain my sanity throughout the process.
The Renovation Saga
This saga starts in June 2019 when we were installing hurricane impact windows and replacing our window treatments. We thought that was all until…
July 2019 greeted me with not one, but TWO separate leaks that rained down on our laundry room, hallway, and master bathroom, bedroom, and closet. The plumber fixed the leaks, but the cabinets and carpet were so waterlogged and moldy, they needed replacing.
But guess what happened when I told the insurance company I was falling ill from the mold?
They didn’t believe me!
Instead, I had to hire a mold inspector out of pocket to prove my case, and the insurance company finally approved our claim.
Great! We can finally get this moldy carpet out of here and install brand new hardwood floors.
Then our project manager GHOSTED me.
He was supposed to get back to me with quotes and a plan of action. But after constant requests for updates, I didn’t hear back from him for over a week.
I reached a boiling point. Enough is enough, I thought. I felt I had no choice but to assert myself with an email outlining my demands and expectations with a 24 hour deadline or they would lose my business.
I was reminded that standing up for yourself is the best course of action. I received an immediate response from our project manager, and the renovations were set to start in December 2019.
While we were excited about our new hardwood floors, more stress and inconvenience awaited us.
Our project manager informed us that it would take less than three days to finish the installation. During this time, my husband, my cat, and I stayed in a hotel.
But there were delays. The finish date was postponed three times.
Our three-night stay in a hotel turned into an entire week. But they still were not finished by the end of the week.
Even so, it was time to return home and attempt to live my life alongside the noisy renovations. (Yet our hardwood floors are now complete!)
If you’re going through a renovation similar to mine that makes you feel like the world is turning upside down, I empathize with you. When you’re feeling lost or helpless, use the self-care tips I’m about to share to strengthen and empower yourself.
How to Prevent Renovation Burnout (Or For Whenever Circumstances Feel Beyond Your Control)
#1 Stay Empowered With a Morning Routine
During a renovation, you can often feel at the mercy of the chaos and construction around you.
This renovation disrupted my daily life — I was displaced from my home, negotiated with insurance adjusters and contractors, and my home was transformed into a construction zone.
At times, I admit, I felt helpless.
To stay empowered, I maintained my morning routine.
A morning routine helps to center you. It prepares you for the busy day ahead.
Here are some morning rituals I practiced, even when I was staying in a hotel:
Visualization
Before I have a chance to feel bombarded with the upcoming day’s responsibilities, I go to my happy place.
Every morning, I visualize myself at my beachside house. The waves gently lap at the seashore. The tropical flora dances gently in the ocean breeze. I sway peacefully in a cozy hammock tied between two palm trees. Everything is tranquil.
I’m home.
Even when your home is a cluttered and dusty renovation site, you can still retreat to your inner sanctuary through visualization.
Practice gratitude
When your patience is thin, and your endurance is low, close your eyes and remember what you’re grateful for.
If I ever felt like renovation fatigue was about to kick in, I thought about how supportive my husband has been for me. I genuinely believe this difficult, but shared experience has brought us closer together.
When renovation burnout creeps up on you, take a moment to practice gratitude. It may help to remember that having a home that is undergoing improvements is a blessing and a privilege. While the process may be stressful, know that you’re creating a better home for you and your family.
Massage on essential oils
It’s often difficult to carve self-care into your daily schedule, especially during a renovation.
That’s why I recommend applying your favorite essential oils during your morning routine. Aromatherapy can trigger your body’s relaxation response — your mind and body calm down, your heart rate slows, and your cortisol levels reduce.
Also, sensory self-care is a great way to kickstart your morning. Massaging essential oils on yourself directly targets your senses of smell and touch, telling your body that it’s time to wake up and start the day.
When you face the rest of your day from this mode of calm groundedness, you’re better protected against stress and burning out.
#2 Call to Your Higher Power
The fastest path to burnout is doing everything yourself. You can feel empowered and independent, but you’re not invincible or immune to burnout.
That’s why those who desire perfection and control falter during a home renovation. You might even feel stripped of power within your own home.
Strangers are tearing down walls or hammering new floor panels into place.
Contractors don’t respond to your calls or emails.
Or you’re forced to move out of your home for a few days.
When this happens, try handing the situation over to your higher power — even for a few moments.
Liberate yourself from the stress, anxiety, and exhaustion of a long-term renovation by praying or reading your favorite texts.
Know that you need not endure this trying time alone. Your higher power is always there, watching over you, empowering you, and supporting you.
#3 Ask Yourself What Adversity Can Do For You
This renovation has tested my patience and resilience.
While my morning routine certainly helped, it sometimes wasn’t enough.
I had to dig deeper.
I needed to shift my perspective towards this renovation.
If I had asked myself what this renovation was doing to me, my response might be that it was stressing me out. It was inconveniencing me. It was interfering with my holidays.
However, my thoughts change when I ask myself a different question.
What was this renovation doing for me?
This renovation offered endless opportunities to practice patience and gratitude. It allowed my husband and me to bond over this experience. It also revealed my mental toughness and resilience when I thrived during this renovation nightmare. And I got new hardwood floors!
So, the next time adversity happens in your life, ask yourself what is it doing for you?
It’s challenging at first. But stick with it, and you’ll discover strengths and benefits you didn’t realize earlier.
To receive additional advice and tips on thriving and staying burnout-free, click here to sign up for my mailing list.
What’s Next
We installed our new windows in June 2019. It’s been seven months since then, and my home is still undergoing renovations and new surprises.
Our hardwood floors are finally installed, and they look great!
However, we’re still navigating through the aftermath — decluttering, organizing our belongings, and cleaning the thick layers of dust throughout our home.
Even so, I continue to practice my morning routine to empower my spirit, sharpen my focus, and protect me from burning out.
Renovations can be stressful, and self-care is often the first thing you sacrifice when you’re trying to get everything done. However, you could quickly burn out when the renovations chip away at your resolve and patience.
That’s why I want to remind you to love and care for yourself, especially during a long-term renovation. Instead of succumbing to burnout, care for yourself with 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!
Burnout, Self-Care, Self-Love
You’re driving home, exhausted from a long day at work. You walk through your front door, only to be greeted by…
Stacks of mail sitting on the kitchen counter…
Newspapers and magazines laying around the living room…
Half-finished projects on the dining room table…
Hampers of laundry in the hallway…
Piles of paperwork covering your desk…
UGHH… right?
Clutter is like standing in quicksand. You’re slowly sinking and you can’t escape.
And if you let clutter swallow up your life, you risk burning out – fast!
There are many different types of clutter you’ll encounter — physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.
In this article, we’ll be exploring physical clutter and how it causes burnout. I’ll also share a few tips on how to declutter your physical environment to assist you in avoiding the signs of burnout.
What is Clutter?
Physical clutter is the accumulation of stuff in your life. It often creeps up on you without notice. Maybe you have certain places where you mindlessly leave your things – items of clothing, pieces of mail, receipts… Slowly, things pile up and before you know it, you’re drowning in clutter.
Eventually, your home becomes a source of stress rather than a sanctuary from the outside world.
Is Clutter Bad For Your Health?
Visual clutter is a physical reminder of an unfinished task. Stacks of dishes are reminders to wash them. Piles of unopened mail are reminders to open and review them. When you put these tasks off, they take up space in your brain and cause extended stress.
Your brain loves organization, so a messy environment conflicts with your brain’s desire for efficiency. When this happens, your brain signals your body that you’re stressed and anxious.
Clutter also creates unnecessary friction in your life.
How often are you late to work because your car keys were buried underneath all the clutter? How much time do you waste trying to find an important document when it looks like your desk was hit by a whirlwind?
Your health can endure if this happens a few times.
But if this happens regularly, you may experience symptoms of clutter stress syndrome. You can start feeling anxious whenever you walk through the front door or guilt over being unorganized. And if you let clutter take over your life, clutter stress syndrome can lead to serious burnout.
When you declutter your home, you remove the visual reminder. Your space feels lighter. Also, energy flows more gracefully through your home when it’s not obstructed by unsightly clutter.
How to Declutter Your Space and Prevent Burnout
Are you ready to alleviate clutter stress syndrome and start enjoying life again? If so, I can’t wait to share these tips with you.
#1 Organize Physical Clutter in 15-Minute Bursts
Planning a full-scale decluttering and deep cleaning of your home can feel overwhelming. Depending on the size of your home, this project may take an entire weekend.
Rather, build a smaller daily habit of tidying up.
Set a timer for 15 minutes of dedicated cleaning. Do your best to avoid distractions. You’ll be surprised how much you can accomplish if you focus intensely on one task for 15 minutes.
Focus on putting away out-of-place items and clearing surfaces. This will have the greatest visual impact.
Do you have a similar tip to build the habit of decluttering into your life? Share it below in the comments. I’d love to know!
#2 Does It Spark Joy?
Marie Kondo is an organizing consultant and author of the popular book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing.
In her book, she teaches people how to simplify their lives by decluttering.
One tip she teaches is to take inventory of all your belongings. Next, pick up each item and ask yourself, does this spark joy?
If not, remove it from your life.
The philosophy behind this tip is to practice intentionality with your belongings. The items you surround yourself with should serve you, spark joy, or inspire. This tip might be especially helpful if you’re prone to hoarding items.
One thing that sparks joy for me is a gift from my husband: a rose quartz angel figurine. This beautiful angel reminds me that a higher power is always supporting and guiding me.
How about you? Comment below one thing that sparks joy in your life.
#3 Don’t Forget the Digital Clutter
Digital clutter is important to address because much of our lives are spent on the internet.
Businesses are moving online. Social media is making it easier to communicate. You can even shop for groceries on a mobile app.
However, digital clutter is easier to accumulate because there’s no physical accumulation in the real world.
When you’re using your laptop, look at how many browser tabs you have open. If there are over ten tabs open, ask yourself if it’s necessary to jump between those different sites.
Can you better sharpen your focus if you had only two or three tabs open?
Take a look at your digital files. If you’re a student or if you work online, how are your documents organized? Are they scattered on your desktop or haphazardly placed in miscellaneous folders?
This unorganized approach can leave you feeling stressed or annoyed when you can’t find the file you need. While this may not seem like a monumental issue, remember that burnout isn’t always isolated to a single incident. Sometimes, it’s an accumulation of small things over time.
Take some time to organize your digital files. You’ll thank yourself later when you can easily access them because they’re correctly labeled and stored.
Decluttering Can Improve Your Well-Being
Clutter often weighs us down and can shorten the path to burnout.
After you declutter your environment, you might feel lighter — as if a burden was lifted from your mind and body.
However, it’s easy for clutter to creep back into your life. Do your best to transform the above tips into daily habits for yourself. Similar to practicing consistent self-care, don’t forget to give your physical space your time and attention. Regular self-care and decluttering are essential for burnout prevention and your overall well-being.
Decluttering is just one way to fortify yourself against burnout. For more tips on burnout prevention and management, be sure to sign up for my email list.
Burnout, Self-Care, Self-Love
When you express compassion towards another person, you wrap them in a kind and caring energy. Within that energy, that person feels your love, empathy and desire to ease their struggles.
For many people, perhaps even for you, it’s easy to express compassion when your loved ones are undergoing hardships.
But can you direct that compassion inward?
When you’re tired, overwhelmed, and feeling the signs of burnout, can you express love and forgiveness towards yourself?
It can be a little difficult, right?
You might even feel guilty about practicing self-compassion. And this guilt likely stems from internalizing a few myths about self-compassion.
What Self-Compassion Is Not
It isn’t self-indulgent
Self-compassion isn’t a convenient excuse to “treat yourself”. Rather, it’s a deliberate practice of directing kindness inwards, especially when you’re scattered, forgetful, and drained from overworking yourself.
You aren’t a stone wall, immune to the daily hustle and bustle. You’re human. You feel things. You need things. You desire things.
You especially need time for yourself to avoid burning out.
It isn’t selfish
Love and kindness is an infinite resource. When you enjoy it for yourself, you can create more and share it with the people around you.
You’re entitled to appreciate and celebrate yourself. I encourage that you do so, and often.
When you love and care for yourself, your improved well-being helps you recover and shields you from burnout.
It isn’t for the weak
Self-compassion is for the strong.
When your inner and outer worlds pull you in every direction, highlight your flaws, and drain your energy, it’s difficult to be kind to yourself.
But having the strength to express kindness and forgiveness to yourself when you’re feeling burned out…
That demands incredible strength and resolve.
How Does Self-Compassion Help You Avoid Burnout?
Burning out often leads to feeling guilty because you know you can do more or do better. This adds to the frustration and other symptoms that accumulate after pushing yourself too hard for too long.
At this point, you’re exhausted, stressed, and desperate for a solution.
Self-compassion protects you from reaching this critical breaking point, by encouraging you to take care of your body and mind.
Expressing kindness to yourself teaches you to accept your short-comings. Forgiving yourself gives you permission to learn and grow from your stumbles.
What are some challenges in your own life right now? What events are leaving you drained or stressed? Keep these in mind as you read through the following tips for practicing self-compassion.
4 Tips on How to Cultivate Self-Compassion
#1 Practice Mindfulness
When you’re feeling overwhelmed, sit down in a comfortable chair and close your eyes.
Listen to your body.
Do you feel any tightness or heaviness? How about any aches or tingling? Notice them and accept they exist.
How about your mind?
Do you feel like your thoughts are scattered? Are you experiencing moments of self-doubt or guilt? Notice them and accept they exist.
Be fully present within your body and mind. This self-compassion exercise helps you accept your thoughts and feelings without assigning judgment.
Self-compassion isn’t about fixing yourself. Rather, it helps you notice your struggles and accept that they’re a natural part of life.
#2 Forgive Yourself
Perfection is a myth.
The faster that sinks in, the quicker you’ll recover from mistakes.
If you’ve set your New Year’s intention but you’ve already fallen off track, take a moment to accept that you’ve stumbled. Forgive yourself, and then take small actions to get back on track.
The trick to preventing burnout is shifting your perspective.
Don’t judge yourself for the number of times you’ve fallen. Rather, celebrate each time you practice self-compassion by forgiving yourself and standing back up.
#3 Make Space for Your Inner Advocate
You’re probably deeply familiar with your inner critic.
Sometimes your inner critic is helpful. She points out areas where you can improve. But sometimes she is overflowing with pessimism. She fills your mind with self-doubt and worry.
It’s time to introduce your inner critic to your inner advocate.
When your inner critic faults you for unfinished errands or pushes you to overwork yourself, your inner advocate will be your voice of reason.
Each time your inner critic slings negativity at you, let your inner advocate shield you with reminders of your strengths and achievements.
You’ve done so much to get to where you are today. Your inner advocate can be your spokesperson for self-kindness and encouragement.
#4 Give Yourself a Break
Try driving a car without any gas in the tank. It just doesn’t work.
It’s the same when you burn out. Your body and mind won’t function the way you need them to.
Self-compassion gives you permission to take breaks when you need to.
And it doesn’t have to be a week-long vacation; it can be a night to yourself.
Practice sensory self-care by running a warm bath with candles. Massage on your favorite lotion. Eat a wholesome meal.
These brief moments of self-compassion teach you that breaks are necessary to your well-being.
Love Yourself Today
Self-compassion is challenging. It’s difficult to accept and love ourselves, especially when we’ve fallen short of our goals.
You build self-compassion into your daily life by prioritizing it and making it a habit. To form a long-lasting habit, you practice it deliberately and consistently.
Self-compassion is no exception. When you practice the above tips everyday, it becomes easier to recover from your mistakes and to forgive your shortcomings.
To help you create the habit of self-compassion, I’m gifting you with 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 compassionately 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!
