As a professional, burnout can do more than impact your performance on the job; it can affect nearly every aspect of your life. The physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion that comes with burnout leaves you feeling drained and ill-equipped to manage stress. In time, it can alter how you view both your professional and personal lives and may even trigger conditions like depression and anxiety.
Fortunately, burnout is something that professionals can not just navigate, but entirely avoid. If you want to ensure that you don’t experience burnout in your career, here are some tips that can help you close out 2023 strong and excel well into the future.
How to Avoid Burnout and Close Out 2023 Strong
Outline Your Work Priorities
Burnout can occur when professionals feel that there’s simply too much to do and not enough time. In some cases, this happens when they view low-urgency and low-priority tasks as being just as vital as high-urgency, high-priority activities. Essentially, when every duty is given equal weight, it can create a more significant sense of pressure, causing stress levels to rise and making burnout more likely.
Fortunately, this is relatively easy to correct. Look at your various responsibilities and categorize them based on urgency and importance. High-urgency, high-priority tasks are those that make the biggest impact on your organization, so they should usually be your initial focus. Low-urgency, high-priority duties are also operationally essential, so putting them after the first group of responsibilities is wise.
With high or low-urgency, low-priority tasks, you typically get more flexibility. As a result, high-urgency, low-priority duties should be the third category you tackle, with low-urgency, low-priority work being last. These are effectively the activities that impact the organization the least, so if your workload is overwhelming, shifting these around is often more doable. Just make sure to speak with your manager if getting to these duties isn’t practical, allowing you to work with them to identify what should happen next.
Have a Formal To-Do List
After prioritizing your tasks, creating a formal to-do list is critical for avoiding burnout. The reason is that a simple list ensures that nothing of high value to your employer falls through the cracks. Essentially, it eliminates the chance that you’ll be left scrambling to handle a top-priority assignment, as you’re already tracking it to make sure that it’s completed in a timely manner.
For many professionals, a written list is enough. The benefit here is that you get the satisfaction of crossing duties off as they’re completed, which can give you a mental boost. However, using your calendar can work well, too. With that approach, you can set up reminders to keep you on target, as well as block out the time required to complete the activities.
Take Your Breaks and Lunches (and Use Your PTO)
Many professionals assume that working through breaks and lunches can make them more productive. The issue is that is rarely the case. Skipping breaks and lunches makes you more inclined to fatigue, which can harm your ability to focus. Plus, you’re not giving yourself a chance to rest and rejuvenate, causing nearly every task to feel more stressful and difficult. There’s also a greater likelihood that you’ll start resenting your job, putting you on the path toward burnout.
Ultimately, your mind needs regular breaks to be at its best. Additionally, taking the time to properly fuel your body is important. By doing so, you’re giving yourself what you need to feel refreshed and capable, boosting your performance and making stress more manageable.
Similarly, using your paid time off (PTO) is a critical part of the equation. Whether it’s the occasional long weekend or an extended vacation, you’re allowing yourself to step away to recharge. Then, you can return with more energy, all while keeping stress and burnout at bay.
Optimize Your Work Area
If your work is high-stress, having a disorganized work area can make a challenging situation worse. When your workspace is in disarray, you often waste time finding items you need to complete your tasks. Plus, there’s a chance that you won’t find critical paperwork, tools, or other resources since everything is disorganized, and that can lead to more stress.
While optimizing your work area takes a little time initially, it’s a step worth taking. Ensuring every item has its place and positioning everything in a logical spot based on ergonomics, workflows, or something similar, you’ll know exactly where to look when you need to find something. That allows you to operate more efficiently, which typically reduces stress.
It’s also wise to go the extra mile and make your workspace both functional and pleasant. Having adequate lighting keeps the space bright and makes it easier to see, which can reduce eye strain. Choosing personal touches that bring a smile to your face can be uplifting, making it easier to push through during periods of stress.
Selecting colors you find invigorating or soothing may also be wise, depending on whether you need to counteract lower energy levels or higher amounts of stress. Consider what palette would leave you feeling your best, then do what you can to incorporate it throughout the space.
Are You Ready for a New Career-Boosting Job Opportunity? Burnett Specialists Can Help!
Whether you’re currently battling burnout and need something new or are simply ready to take your career to the next level, finding a new job could be the answer. By partnering with Burnett Specialists, you can streamline your job search, all while getting critical, direct support from skilled professionals. Plus, you’ll gain access to more career-boosting job opportunities with leading employers, all through a single source. Ongoing guidance is also something you’ll receive, ensuring you’re in the best position for job search success.
If you’re ready for a new job opportunity and would like to partner with knowledgeable and experienced recruiters, Burnett Specialists can help. Find out more about our current job openings and see how our skilled team can make advancing your career as simple as possible.
