How to Defeat Burnout

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Feeling burnt out?

I know your pain. It happens to all of us at some point or another. Unfortunately, It’s a common problem plaguing passionate, hard-working people like you.

Burnout may feel like a devastating, inescapable pain. But it’s not a permanent circumstance. You can regain your motivation. You can regain your passion for your work. And you can defeat burnout.

Today’s blog will teach you how to defeat burnout.

First, let's address how burnout happens…

How burnout happens

Burnout comes from the following sources:

-Chronic stress

-Energy depletion and exhaustion

Burnout is a type of chronic stress that feels inescapable when you're experiencing it.

It can happen because you’re working tight deadlines. Maybe you took on more than you can handle. Or perhaps you’ve been doing the same task over and over again for months or even years. 

There are many factors that can lead to burnout.

Symptoms of burnout

Chances are you’ll know you’re burnt out, regardless of whether you know the symptoms or not. But this burnout has likely been building gradually without you realizing it. 

Then one day, boom! You feel as if you can’t take the stress anymore. You’re exhausted and ready to quit.

Symptoms of burnout include:

-Cynicism

-Negativity

-Lethargy

-Anger

-Depression

-Hopelessness

How to defeat burnout

Defeating burnout can be a slow process, so be patient with yourself. 

In essence, make your work more fun. Find ways to make your work fresh and exciting. You need to rekindle your love for what you do.

Make your work more fun by doing more of what you enjoy about your work. 

Do more of the easy tasks that don’t require a lot of effort. Or get creative and gamify your work tasks. Of course, this can be more or less difficult depending on your job and employer. So, do what you can.

If you're having trouble making your work more fun, then you can at least do stuff to take care of yourself such as:

-Eat nutritious food

-Take a nice walk

-Take a hot bath

-Meditate

-Spend time with friends and family

-Practice yoga

Taking care of yourself is a great tool to give yourself energy. This energy can reinvigorate you and be the spark you need to get going again.

Keep your recovery process simple

Don't overcomplicate the burnout recovery process like many blogs recommend you do. You don’t need a 7-step burnout recovery process or need to use 10 tips to beat burnout.

This only adds more stress on top of your burnout.

Instead, cut back on what you're doing. Or take time off if needed. But don't give up entirely on what you're doing... Burnout is a temporary problem that can be remedied.

Less is more. You can increase your workload once you regain your passion and energy. 

Find 1 or 2 elements of your work you enjoy. Or find 1 or 2 elements you don’t hate doing while burnt out. Focus on those tasks. Revolve your workday around those tasks. Sandwich the unenjoyable tasks (if you need to do them) in between fun tasks while you’re burnt out.

Wrapping up

Burnout isn’t a permanent problem. You can defeat burnout! 

Make your work as fun and enjoyable as possible. 

Take the burnout recovery process day by day. Make each day a tiny bit better than the day before. Don’t try and do everything all at once. Burnout takes time to recover from. 

That being said, you can regain your passion and energy back quickly. It depends on the severity of your burnout.

Be patient.