How to Deal with Burnout When You Can't Take a Break
Intro
Dealing with burnout is never fun, but if you can't take a break and recharge, you risk getting stuck on a dangerous path that could lead you to depression and high anxiety levels.
In this post, I will show you a few simple tricks to recharge your batteries without taking your foot off the gas. In a perfect world, I'd say, "this attitude is not conducive to relaxation, blah, blah...."
But If you're working on a strict deadline, even the idea of taking a vacation can stress you out.
So, for now, let's work with what we have! Here are seven quick fixes for the short term.
Also, for those that don't know me yet, click here to read about my story of how I overcame severe burnout and built a lifestyle business.
Completely deflate your lungs while breathing slowly:
When stressed, we tend to hold our breath ever so slightly. Shallow breathing is not very noticeable, so we tend not to think about it and keep doing it for days. Shallow breathing is known to cause stress and (in the long run) even cardiovascular problems. To break the cycle, you must be deliberate about it. When you feel overwhelmed, use that as a trigger to remind yourself to empty your lungs all the way.
Read this: How to Avoid Burnout as an Entrepreneur
Try to feel your pulse in your hands and feet while working:
Instead of getting lost in your usual thoughts, i.e., "How am I going to finish this on time?"; "What should I have for dinner?" try feeling your heartbeat. First, start with your chest, then move into your arms and hands, and finally, your legs and feet. This practice is a type of "convergent focus" (narrowing your focus on something specific.) It's a great way to avoid overthinking, and you can instantly switch to convergent focus mode any time you need to ground yourself.
Put your phone on airplane mode after work:
If you're like me, you need your phone for work. But once you're done, turn it off and concentrate on yourself. Have you ever heard the saying, "what you focus on expands"? That means that if you use your phone to focus on other people and events, you'll let yourself go adrift. If you have time to watch Reels, you have time to take a quick walk or listen to relaxing music. So next time that you catch yourself scrolling through your feed mindlessly, turn your phone off and focus on yourself.
Start a 12-hour tech-detox habit:
This goes hand-in-hand with the point above. As you get used to not relying on your phone for entertainment, you can slowly eliminate other sources of distractions, including TV, laptops, and game consoles. After you are done, you'll have a vacuum in your schedule, so you can start filling it with activities that recharge you, i.e., Yoga, meditation, sauna, working out, reading, walking in nature, and spending time with your loved ones.
Start planning your next big vacation:
Did you know that half the fun of going on vacation is the planning phase? In a 2010 study run by Jeroen Nawij, he found that "(V)acationers tend to be happier than non-vacationers in the lead up to their break, but once they are back, there is very little difference between the two groups' levels of happiness." That means that you can instantly boost your mood and lower stress just by thinking about your next trip. You can even get specific and create spreadsheets to keep track of budgets and dates. The more real it feels, the better!
Visualize an exciting work-related goal:
Life is all about the story you tell yourself. If you are under pressure and you see no reason for the struggle, you'll feel like you're wasting your life away. But if you look at your current situation from a broader perspective, you'll realize that today's work is leading you to achieve your wildest dreams. Whether you are working on something you love or not, be sure of the fact that this moment is a stepping stone toward the dream life you are building for yourself.
Read this: Making Good Decisions: A foolproof system
Set aside a self-care budget:
Most people budget for groceries, transportation, entertainment, clothing (and sometimes fitness). But what about self-care? Massages, sensory deprivation tanks, and cryotherapy are not "cheap" but will make a world of difference in the way you feel and see yourself.
Conclusion
The key takeaway is that. you should always focus on prevention. The more you wait to deal with your anxiety and stress, the harder it will be to change the status quo. You don’t (and shouldn’t) have to wait for your next holiday to take a mental break. Instead, incorporate some of these practices in your daily routine!.
