As someone who used to be terrible at recognizing the signs of overstress, overwork and burnout, I used to experience burnout every six to 12 months — so I feel like I can speak to you about this. It’s the opposite of fun! Hate it.Remembering the feeling of it right now is making me feel a little uneasy, I’ll be honest. Becoming a coach really forced me to look at how I handled stress and adversity. Emotional intelligence is real, and it’s really, really important to grow this skillset.
Here are a few warning signs of oncoming burnout:
• Not enjoying the usually enjoyable things. The idea of hanging out with friends, or spending some extra time with the kids, or whatever it is that is your daily enjoyable tasks — they don’t seem that enjoyable. And inside you feel like, “I should be enjoying this, what’s the matter with me?”
• A noticeable drop in productivity. Trying to get stuff done feels extra hard. Extra stuck. It’s as if trying to find the energy to get work done just feels impossible or like pushing a giant stone up a hill.
• Irritability and mood swings. You feel that tinge of reactivity or anger in an instant when something unwanted happens. I remember dropping something unimportant on the floor one time and then throwing a remote against the wall. Dumb. But in the moment it felt totally right. And like I was releasing some pressure. I actually felt better in the moment.
It’s important to remember that burnout doesn’t come on over days. It comes on over weeks or even months. And ignoring it is like a pressure cooker building and building until something blows.
The things that have helped me the most include these top tips:
• Emotional Intelligence practice (allowing your emotions to be experienced — let them out to play a little!). Simply acknowledging them and giving them some airtime makes them run out of power and deflate harmlessly. Also, pay attention to what might have caused the emotion in the first place. Sometimes it goes back to childhood — no one escapes childhood without some emotional scars. No judgment, just get better and stronger at managing your emotions and understanding what they are trying to tell you about moving forward.
• Regular breaks through the day. Recent research has confirmed that we are most productive during our (work)day when you work about an hour, and break for a few minutes to regroup, refresh, and refocus. Most won’t try this — but you should!
• Focus on the fundamentals! Full sleeps, nutrition that has minimal highly processed foods (i.e. eat mostly whole foods), and exercise like walking each day and lifting some weights. These do more for you than the world’s best medications. Take control of your health back. It’s pretty simple.
If you are noticing you are not quite feeling yourself, are less motivated than usual, and maybe even a little snippy, you might be getting a little crispy around the edges and getting burned out.
You know what to do. Make a commitment to changing one thing that will help you get more energized. Make it easy. Make it consistent. Never miss twice in a row!
Chris Wilkinson is a Business Coach who works with driven business owners seeking more focus and lifestyle freedom. For more information visit www.CoachingWithChris.ca or email Chris at info@CoachingWithChris.ca
