Easy Steps to Overcome Burnout
illustration of a person sitting on the floor with their head in their hands. There is a chat bubble over their head showing a low battery
Have you ever felt burned out? How did you know that you were experiencing burnout? Recognizing the early signs of burnout can help you avoid complete exhaustion and signal to your brain that it’s time for a change. For some people, the warning signs of burnout might be if simple tasks like grocery shopping or taking a shower feel overwhelming. Perhaps you start seeing vacations as a time to recover rather than enjoy. – have you ever taken a vacation day from work just to sleep all day? You might find everyone and everything irritating or getting slightly sick sounds like a relief because you’ll be able to take a guilt-free break from your normal routine. One of the biggest culprits? 'Revenge bedtime procrastination'—staying up late to reclaim personal time. I’m so guilty of this one!
If you feel burned out, you are most likely feeling a mixture of all of these:
Overextended – You have too much to do.
Disengaged – You’re disconnected from your team and/or no longer find your work meaningful.
Ineffective – You feel you aren’t making progress.
One of my favorite quotes to highlight was said by Nora Roberts, and I’ve definitely used it a few times throughout The Mental Well content. She said, “The key to juggling is to know that some of the balls you have in the air are made of plastic & some are made of glass. And if you drop a plastic ball, it bounces, no harm done. If you drop a glass ball, it shatters, so you have to know which balls are glass and which are plastic and prioritize catching the glass ones.” Some aspects of life and work are plastic, meaning they can be temporarily deprioritized, while others are glass and require immediate attention. It’s important sometimes to simply name what is plastic and what is glass. Once you have clarity, you can redirect energy from plastic categories to glass categories in order to help restore balance in your mind and body.
Now, what do you do if you are deep in the trenches of burnout? First, determine what is causing your burnout and establish a sense of stability where possible. Stability might look like implementing daily rituals; something you can count on no matter what. Maybe you walk for 5 minutes every morning or journal before you go to bed at night. Having a consistent daily ritual creates a sense of control and when you’re surrounded by chaos, control is a great place to find peace.
It’s important to also set boundaries when you are smack in the middle of burnout. Brene Brown said, “clear is kind” and my goodness was she right. Learn to say no to unnecessary commitments. Let people know what they can expect of you. For me that might look like this scenario... It’s late afternoon on a Monday and I have not had a moment to catch my breath or even eat lunch. It’s time for me to pick up my kids from school and quickly get back home to prep and cook dinner, finish work for the day, and get tomorrow prepped because Tuesdays are a long day for me. I am so overwhelmed I am frozen. It’s making my stomach feel upset and all of a sudden, my thoughts are jumbled, and I don’t know what the next step I need to take in order to do all the things on time. Instead, I send a quick message to my Husband: “I am feeling overwhelmed and don’t have the bandwidth to make dinner tonight. Can you make dinner, or should we order take out?”
BAM! I just 1. asked for help, 2. said no to an unnecessary commitment (I mean, I can’t do this every night but in this hypothetical scenario I for sure can), and 3. I managed my time effectively (for now). This gave me the boost I needed to shake off my feelings of burnout, step out of the overwhelming brain fog, and be able to make a step in the right direction of getting myself back on the healthy side of burnout.
Remember, it’s okay to let the plastic balls drop temporarily. If you can, reduce your workload and get comfortable working at 80% instead of 100%. I know things always need to be done; I get it, I have 3 kids and a puppy! But temporarily the healthy choice for you is the best next step.
Someone told me once to make time for “garbage time”. Think of garbage time as throw away time to relax in a low-stakes way; doom scroll, watch a lighthearted TV show, doodle... it’s anything that has no goal to it, it just makes you feel happy. If you are feeling burned out, you need to give your brain a vacation from the constant pressure that life offers us on a day-to-day basis.
Detach your worth from what you do. Read that again...
If you are constantly thinking about work outside of work hours, guess what? You are actually working! Research shows that disconnecting from work during non-work hours increases productivity and creativity.
Now, if you are experiencing burnout, you need to activate your parasympathetic nervous system. To pull yourself out of fight-flight-freeze-fawn mode, try:
4-7-8 Breathing – Inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 7, exhale for 8
Wall Sits – Helps relieve stress and increase focus
Vagus Nerve Stimulation – Apply gentle pressure to the ear for 10-15 seconds
EFT Tapping – A technique for reducing stress through acupressure
Be Your Own Best Friend – Ask yourself, “What is one thing I can do to support myself?”
Burnout recovery is a process, not a quick fix. Prioritizing your well-being takes consistent action. You are in charge of your peace!
