Got Burnout? - Let's Talk About It
What causes people to leave their careers? Lately, we've been inundated with the term "quiet quitting" while we've also seen immense challenges faced by healthcare professionals, emergency services workers, and many other professionals in the workforce.
Burnout is one of the leading causes of the multiple workforce transitions we are seeing (especially in healthcare). More specifically, it's burnout, moral stress, and compassion fatigue in healthcare, but we'll catch up with the specifics of these issues in a few more weeks. For now - let's have a conversation about burnout.
Burnout: It's a state of physical and emotional exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress.
If you're experiencing burnout, some of the symptoms you may have include:
Feeling constantly overwhelmed
Apathetic towards your work
Physically exhausted all the time
Trouble sleeping
Physical pain
Ever felt this? Yes? Here are five tips to get back on track and enjoy your career again:
Tip 1: Communicate effectively with your team and coworkers: make sure everyone is on the same page and delegate tasks accordingly.
Communicating effectively with your team and coworkers is key. This will help to reduce some of the stress you're feeling and make the workplace more organized as a result of talking about how you feel instead of "stuffing" your feelings and emotions.
Keep in mind there are three main types of communication:
Verbal communication is simply speaking to someone and includes your vocal tone, word choice, and the speed of the words you use.
Non-verbal communication includes gestures, facial expressions, and body language.
Microexpressions are split-second facial expressions that can reveal a person's true emotions.
All of these forms of communication can be important when it comes to navigating burnout. For example, if you're feeling overwhelmed, you may need to communicate this verbally to your team. However, if you're uncomfortable doing this, you can use non-verbal cues like body language or facial expressions to get your point across. And if someone tries to hide their true feelings, they may give a false microexpression.
Communication is key when it comes to dealing with burnout. By using different types of communication, you can better express how you're feeling and hopefully find a way to reduce the stress you're experiencing by communicating more effectively with your colleagues and team.
Tip 2: Take breaks: even if it's just for five minutes, take a break to rejuvenate yourself and give yourself a chance to recharge. Here are five ideas for taking a break:
Take a five-minute break: this is a great way to refresh yourself without getting too overwhelmed
Go for a walk: Walking can help clear your mind and boost your energy.
Listen to music: listening to your favorite music can help improve your mood.
Take a nap: if you're feeling exhausted, taking a nap can be a great way to relax and recharge.
Meditate: meditation can help you relax and focus on the present. Need a good book on learning how to meditate? My favorite book by Vishen Lakhiani on this is The 6 Phase Meditation Method: The Proven Technique to Supercharge Your Mind, Manifest Your Goals, and Make Magic in Minutes a Day
Tip 3: Set realistic goals: don't try to take on too much at once; set manageable goals that you can achieve.
When it comes to burnout, one of the main issues is that people often try to take on too much at once. This can lead to feelings of overwhelm and exhaustion. So when it comes to reducing burnout, it's important to set realistic goals.
How do you identify realistic goals? One way is to think about your past achievements. Ask yourself what you've been able to achieve in the past and what you're currently working on. From there, you can start to set realistic goals for the future.
Remember to break your goals down into smaller steps. When you're trying to achieve a larger goal, it can be overwhelming. But by breaking it down into smaller steps, you make the goal less daunting and more manageable.
Setting realistic goals is key when it comes to reducing burnout. It can help reduce stress levels and make the workplace more manageable. Here's another great book by 📚 Michael Bungay Stanier to help you: How to Begin: Start Doing Something That Matters
Tip 4: Connect with nature: go for a walk outside or sit in nature to clear your mind. Nature has a way of clearing the mind and helping us to relax.
There are many ways to connect with nature. One way is to go for a walk outside. This is a great way to get fresh air and clear your mind. Another option is to sit in nature. This can be done by walking in the park, sitting by a river, or even going for a hike. Whatever method you choose, connecting with nature can greatly reduce stress and rejuvenate yourself.
(Note: I took the picture above when I decided to go for a walk and connect with nature - this is the beach on Anna Maria Island in Florida.)
Tip 5: Seek professional help if necessary: don't be afraid to ask for (and accept) help if you feel like you can't manage your stress levels on your own.
When it comes to burnout, sometimes professional help is necessary. If you're feeling overwhelmed and stressed, don't be afraid to ask for help.
There are a few ways to find help for burnout. One way is to talk to your supervisor. They may be able to provide you with resources or refer you to someone who can help. Another option is to go to your company's Human Resources department. They can provide information on getting help and may have resources like counseling or therapy offered through your employee assistance program.
If you don't feel comfortable talking to your supervisor or HR department, you can also seek help outside of work. There are many professionals who specialize in helping people manage stress and burnout. Therapists, counselors, and psychologists can all provide you with the help you need, you have to ask.
Need additional information? Here's my favorite new book on Burnout: Dr. Susan Biali Haas MD The Resilient Life: Manage Stress, Prevent Burnout, & Strengthen Your Mental and Physical Health
When you're feeling burnt out, it can be tough to focus on anything but your exhaustion. However, it's important to try and prioritize your tasks so you can get back to enjoying your career. Here are a few tips:
1) Make a list of all the tasks you need to do and rank them in order of importance.
2) Let go of the tasks that aren't essential - you don't have to do everything yourself!
3) Delegate or outsource some of the tasks on your list to others.
4) Take a break after completing a few tasks - give yourself time to recharge.
5) Find a new passion or hobby outside of work - have something that can serve as a break from the stress of your career.
I just finished reading James Clear's book Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones last week (definitely should have picked this up earlier because it was so helpful!). This is a great place to start when evaluating your priorities and building better habits.