Remedy for Burnout
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Q: What is burnout? (right from Wikipedia)
We all feel tired, overwhelmed or stressed at various times in life, this is normal - it's called LIFE! But when you hardly have energy to do even your normal daily activities, or find it hard to get out of bed in the morning, every morning, you may be flirting with burnout.
So what's the remedy?
My philosophy in life is that you can't change people, and you typically can't change things, but you can change yourself. And if burnout comes from "excessive and prolonged stress" then maybe some wisdom on how to manage stress would be helpful.
1) Take Care of Yourself
I find that stress gets to me more when I am not taking care of myself. i.e. Exercise, eating healthy, reading great books, listening to inspiring music, seeing beautiful things.
2) Take time each day to re-charge
Whether it's a morning walk, a great book, some great music, whatever it is that re-charges your batteries, do it.
3) Know for Whom You Work
Now this applies specifically to those of us who are Christians, who are just as susceptible to burnout as anyone else, and should be aware that we are living our lives for something, and someone, far greater it should keep us encouraged and strengthened. It does me.
4) Ask for Help
One of the biggest problems I see with burnout is that the person was not asking for help. They were doing everything themselves and not delegating to others who are more than willing and able to do the work with you. This is what I call working smarter rather then harder. When one person must put up 100 chairs, it's stressful, but when you have 10 people putting up 10 chairs each, it's a piece of cake! Plus you have fellowship.
5) Start Right
I am reading a great book called, Today We Are Rich by Tim Sanders and in the book Tim talks about "easing into your day" rather then jumping right out of bed into the newspaper, TV, emails, calls, etc. But rather take the first 15 - 30 minutes of your day and feed yourself. Enjoy a cup of coffee with a good book, or a good podcast or some inspiring music.
6) Take a Day Every Seven
This is the Sabbath principle God talks about in Exodus 20. We should take one day every 7 days to just relax, play, have fun, chill, etc.
