There are times when you want the work routine to vanish from your life. Maybe you need a vacation or a break from your daily routine. Some other times, you feel even worse. There is a tiredness that you have never experienced before. You are emotionally exhausted; feel depersonalization and your self-esteem hit an all-time low. This is the condition called burnout and it is pretty normal in the hyperactive world of today. The bottom line is that neither it is normal to stress nor it’s going away soon. The question is why you have to worry about it? It’s because, with the symptoms of burnout, every day is bad, every activity is worthless and every person around you is annoying. However, the biggest problem is that you cannot live like this. To make it easier for you, here are the five strategies that can be utilized to get rid of this condition and get back to your normal life.
1- Power down
In times of burnout, remember that you are not a machine that works on electricity. You are a human with a limited capacity and oftentimes, this capacity runs out as you have to deal with work stress on a continuous basis. You need a break not only from work but also from your unnecessary social contacts. You can disengage from the technology for as long as you can and connect to nature and the things you love.
2- The Three R Approach
Another strategy to deal with burnout is to adopt the three R approach. It is a wholesome approach that starts from working with symptoms and ends at building future immunity from burnout. These 3 R stands for Recognize, Reverse, and Resilience. The first R lets you recognize the signs and symptoms of burnout. The second R helps you reverse these symptoms by availing appropriate support and managing stress. The third R helps you in building resilience by enhancing physical and emotional health. This approach also helps in avoiding future burnouts and dealing with it.
3- Meditation
Burnout is an opportunity to connect with your own self and appreciate yourself when you are feeling low. Sit in a quiet and airy place and focus on your breathing for 10-20 minutes. Though it is a simple approach, it is one of the most effective ones. A study in Social and Cognitive Neuroscience stated that it is found to reduce stress and anxiety by as much as 39%. Building a habit of meditation every day for 10 minutes will help to significantly reduce your stress and pressure in the medium and long term.
4- Health and Fitness
It is a common practice to either eat excessive sugary foods or starve completely in case of burnout. Both approaches harm the well-being of an individual. While in a condition of burnout, remember to eat healthy such as Omega-3 fatty acids, reduce intakes of sugars, nicotine, caffeine, and alcohol. In other words, practice mindfulness while eating and living in a situation of burnout. It will help you recover quickly while building a resilient attitude. With healthy food, a healthy attitude of living is needed. It is possible during burnout that you leave any physical activity or exercise as it makes you feel low and tired. Hence, it is advised that this strategy should be saved for the later stages after developing meaningful connections with your inner self and others. Once you feel a little better, you can start a five-minute aerobic exercise to make your mood stable and decrease the level of stress.
5- Mini Retirement
One of the main reasons for burnout is the type of life that revolves around work and nothing else. But all the work and no play make you a dull and burnout person. Sometimes, the answer to this exhaustion is to leave the routine and take a vacation from work life. Some people leave their jobs or some take all the available vacations day to reboot their energy. You can take whatever works well for you. It will help you think thoroughly about the situation you are in and even could introduce you to new and unexplored opportunities.
Conclusion
If you feel the symptoms of burnout even after using these five strategies, don’t be afraid. You need to reconsider the career transition. You can leave the job that is giving you a hard time or choose a more liberating career for yourself. Even if these strategies do not cure your burnout, they will provide you the real reasons for your burnout. Getting to know the real reasons behind that burnout will help you decided what the best options for you are. Probably if you don’t enjoy what you are doing anymore, then switching to a new career that reflects your passion, values and your future vision is the perfect fit for you.
