How to Prevent Burnout

What is burnout?

Have you ever hit that point when you start realizing you're really tired ALL. THE. TIME. and you can't seem to recover or catch your breath, and it's like you're just moving forward because you have no other choice?

That's burn out.

And you know your burn out is bad bad when you take that lovely vacation, relax, sleep for 12 hours every day, come back to work or school and you've been there 5-minutes before you are already back into a jaded, grumpy, tired stage.

Once you've hit that stage of burnout, that one week lovely vacation just isn't enough to escape the exhaustion, frustration, and depression.

So how do you resolve it?

Back Off and Slow Down

Can you take time off? FMLA, Short Term Disability, reduced hours at work or school, one less after school activity?

Relief won't be immediate. It will take time and effort being intentional and selfish with your time to resolve and prevent burnout. Set healthy boundaries with friends, family, and co-workers. Think about whether you can really commit to that extra project at work or school - chances are you might not be able to if you've hit that bad bad stage of burnout.

In need of a vacation

My experience

During Graduate school, I was working 12+ hour days 7 days/week for 3 years (driving 2 hours one-way to school, working 20+ hours, internship 3-4 days per week), then I continued after graduating by holding a full time job then going to a PRN job in the evenings and weekends, and teaching Martial Arts 2 nights per week. Then I switched to a different full time job, dropped the PRN, but maintained the teaching 2 nights per week and added one night per week covering an evening group at my full time job.

I slowly started getting better before I picked up another part time gig teaching an Undergraduate course one night per week, replacing one of the Martial Arts nights.

I kept this up before I decided I wanted to start my Private Practice, so I started doing that during the evenings I wasn't teaching.

I finally decided to take the leap and move to full time Private Practice where I only work 4 days per week, take a real lunch break, and still only teach 2 nights per week.

Frequently saw sunrise and sunset

It has taken me 6 months, read that again, 6 MONTHS to even START to recover! I am finally at a place where I feel like my brain has SOME capacity to start remembering things or learning new things! That one extra day per week to be at home, catch up on work-stuff, do household stuff, have alone time, make art has been so beneficial!

This buzz word "self care" "self care" "self care" is so accurate but so complicated to implement in our current society where we have to work ridiculous hours just to make enough money to live, then have to complete household stuff, do homework, go to school, try to have some semblance of a social life or even spend time with a spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend or take care of pets.

How to prevent burnout?

Take time for you.

Whether that be utilizing your PTO, taking short term disability, dropping an after school activity, or cancelling plans for an evening to enjoy some pizza and watch the new episodes of Demon Slayer or spread Democracy in Helldivers 2.

Self care doesn't have to mean going on a vacation to the Bahamas or hitting up the Spa every Thursday night.

But it does have to be consistent. We can't wait until we've hit that intense stage of burnout before we start thinking "Oh I should really do some self care".

Start now: pick a day, time, place, activity WHATEVER and enjoy YOU time... Frequently and consistently.

Relaxing can be a cup of coffee and a good book