Every year on the third week of January, Hunt For Happiness week is observed and encourages people to find and appreciate the small joys in life.
We’ve decided to use this week to compile a list of our tips and tricks to avoid burnout. Burnout is described as “a state of physical and emotional exhaustion” which can occur when you feel overwhelmed, anxious or stressed. In turn, this takes a toll on productivity, mood and motivation.
Keep reading to see a few of our tips to avoid burning yourself out.
Be Kind To Yourself
Feelings of burnout can also lead to negative feelings about yourself, perhaps you are wondering why you can’t reach a specific goal or what you need to change to become ‘successful’. However, the chances are if you can feel yourself reaching the point of burnout, then you have been pushing yourself too much rather than the opposite.
Taking time to offer yourself kindness and being empathetic towards your own needs is completely okay, and needing to take a break is fine too. Think of how you would treat a friend in this situation – would you call them a failure and that they needed to work harder, or would you offer compassion? Patience with yourself and recognising your hard work can really help to avoid burnout.
Set Boundaries
Reducing or limiting the time you take on other people’s responsibilities can help to manage your stress or anxiety levels. Making too many commitments or increasing your workload can easily overwhelm you, so it’s important to set boundaries and be comfortable with saying no.
This doesn’t make you selfish or lazy, but rather honouring yourself and your mental health by being selective with added responsibilities and therefore avoiding burnout.
Establish A Daily Routine
Developing a routine that works for you and establishing healthy habits can help to combat feelings of burnout. A few ways of doing this can include ensuring you are taking care of your body – this is so important because if your body doesn’t feel good then neither will you! Nourishing your body with food, sleep and movement are all so important to preventing burnout.
Another great habit to incorporate into your routine is downtime before sleeping, whether it’s diving into a new book, listening to a light-hearted podcast or rewatching your favourite movie, setting time aside to unwind before bed can lead to a better night’s sleep which will only improve your energy for the next day.
A great activity to incorporate into your routine can be practicing journalling or mindfulness. We know that writing down your feelings or meditating won’t work for everyone, but just spending 5 minutes to reflect on your day can really help to boost your mood.
What are your ultimate self care tips to avoid burnout and mentally reset? Let us know by tagging us on social media @CharlesClinkard
