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Have you ever put your best effort into something important and been disappointed in the results? What if I told you, you may be sabotaging your own success? In this post, I’ll explain burnout, a tiring and frustrating experience that could be negatively affecting your progress.
What is Burnout?
According to Healthline, “burnout describes a severe stress condition that leads to severe physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion.” People who work long hours or are undergoing an emotionally difficult time are prone to burnout. While working hard towards goals is not necessarily bad, overworking can negatively impact all aspects of your life.
In short, burnout drains the joy out of your career, life, and relationships. It compounds the effects of regular fatigue and can lead to depression, increased chances of getting heart disease, stroke, and other physical and mental illnesses. Working for long periods of time can put extra strain on muscles and the mind, causing soreness and sapping one’s energy.
Because so much time and effort is spent on work, burnout may cause someone to neglect self-care, and put off dealing with important home matters. Emotional stress and strain on relationships may leave the person feeling empty and apathetic. Burnt-out people can be irritable, tired, and want to isolate themselves. They may turn to addictive substances to ease their stress.
Who is Likely to Experience Burnout?
Since it is caused by increased emotional or physical efforts, people who work long hours, shift work, stressful work, or have experienced stressful life events are susceptible to burnout. It is most commonly seen in healthcare workers, like doctors, nurses, or paramedics. People who care for children or sick relatives are also at risk.
If a person has a perfectionist mindset, they may become burnt out much more quickly. Students who are studying for exams or who work alongside their schooling can fall prey to burnout if they take on too much work.
Why it Can Slow Our Progress
Since stress can make concentration and decision-making more difficult, burnout greatly restricts progress. This decrease in production can make us less enthusiastic to work. When our expectations do not meet the results, we become emotionally deflated.
In general, stress also creates fatigue and increases the chances of illness, which can hinder results as well. One can be too tired to properly focus on tasks, and dealing with illness can halt progress entirely. If the burnout leads to depression, the sufferer may wish to withdraw from the task or other aspects of their life. Due to withdrawal, one may not ask for help when needed.
Because the burnt-out person may have too much on their mind, they may not be able to focus on their work. Since they feel less passionate about their work, they may find ways to try to avoid it, like playing on social media, daydreaming, or avoiding the office. They may miss important calls, or fall behind on their tasks, worsening their problems.
Signs of Burnout
Someone experiencing burnout may:
- Withdraw from beloved activities and people.
- Lose all enjoyment in life.
- Experience severe stress and depression.
- Be more prone to illness than before. Have increased headaches, pain, and soreness.
- Feel intense exhaustion.
- Avoid working at any cost.
- Become easily agitated.
- Have trouble getting work done.
When You’re Feeling Burnt-Out
With this in mind, it’s best to remember to set aside time to relax, listen to your thoughts, and practice self-care. Take some time each day to focus on yourself. When life is starting to get hectic, don’t be afraid to ask for help if you know it will lighten your load. Hiring a freelancer to help you catch up on work can save you a great deal of trouble.
Whenever possible, employers and employees should try to keep their work as stress-free as possible. Any tasks given should have sensible time frames and proper equipment. Efforts should be made to prevent the workplace from feeling hostile by keeping good communication between workers and supervisors.
Also, keep in mind that it isn’t the end of the world if you make a mistake or take some time to enjoy life. You’re not a machine whose only purpose is pumping out results. And, even if you were, remember that even machinery requires maintenance to function optimally.
If you do have a large workload to complete in a short amount of time, pay attention to your stress level, and take breaks when necessary. Consider using the Pomodoro Technique while working. The Pomodoro Technique breaks up work time into short bursts, followed by scheduled breaks. With all distractions aside, set a timer for 25 minutes of focused work, then for 5 minutes of relaxation. This method can reduce stress while optimizing results.
"Just because you take breaks doesn't mean you're broken." – Curtis Tyrone Jones Click To TweetIf a Friend is Experiencing Burnout
If you think your loved one may be showing signs of burnout, don’t ignore it. Genuinely ask if there’s anything you can do to help them out. Even if they don’t take the help, they will appreciate the offer.
Sometimes, simply talking to them is a helpful gesture. Once someone has a chance to talk about what’s stressing them out, they may be able to take a step back and sort through their thoughts. Even if they don’t, being able to vent to someone can help them cope with their troubles.
My Experience with Burnout
Although I only have one full-time job, I’ve been battling burnout for some time. Since I started this blog last year, I spend much of my spare time creating content, promoting, and improving. Content creation takes an incredible amount of time, but can sometimes be fruitless. You don’t always see results matching the effort you put in, which can be a letdown.
Between working 12-hour shifts, blogging, and trading stocks (as a side hustle), I’ve had trouble separating work from time off. Because of this, I noticed my patience wearing thin, and a strong desire to put off assignments.
Presently, I’m taking steps to mitigate the exhausting effects of multitasking and having too much on my plate. I’ve learned to batch posts to save time, and divide tasks over several days in short bursts, rather than trying to blast through them all at once. In addition to this, I keep a schedule of what I’m doing over the next month so I only have to worry about what I have planned for that day. This has helped me immensely.
Takeaway
Burnout is an emotional, mental and physical fatigue brought on by extreme stress. Working long hours, having unfulfilling or difficult jobs, or tragic life events can cause it. It can wreak havoc on our work, relationships, and health.
If you are experiencing burnout, bear in mind that you could be setting yourself back in the long run. To avoid this, set aside time each day to take care of your physical and mental wellbeing. Cut your work into more manageable pieces, and find ways to make your job more efficient.
If you have a high-stress job, keep an eye out for signs of burnout. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need to catch your breath. You are 100% entitled to a healthy, stress-free life.
Now it’s time to share your story. Have you experienced burnout at some point in your life? Let me know in the comments!
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That’s it for now everyone. If you’ve found some value in this post, please share it to inspire others too! Thanks!
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References:
- https://www.healthline.com/health/working-too-much-health-effects
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique
- https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/psychosocial/stress
Like you say, burnout is counterproductive in the long run, so I think it’s important to have realistic check-ins every so often because what seems sustainable now may be way too much two months from now.
Definitely! Finding out what a sustainable workload is should be a goal for each individual. Because, of course, we’re all unique.
10 years ago, I couldn’t even have a schedule, in fear of actually having to follow through with something. Today, I follow through, but cannot handle a lot of activity in a day. I guess that’s progress? I stay in the fight no matter.
That’s definitely progress. You have the will to at least take that first step each day.
For sure! And, great work on the blog!
Thanks so much!
You’re welcome! It’s looking nice. Keep on!
Thanks for having me! I wish you luck with your weight loss goals.
Oh my goodness! That’s exactly what happens with me after so long! Thank you for posting. At least I know I’m not the only one.
Hi Cherie! Glad to have helped 🙂
That’s me lately! I decided to take a week of blogging and 2 days off work to just relax and be bum. It did help but I’m feeling it build up again. One thing I would probably say to anyone in the same boat is to prioritize and declutter your life. Sometimes we take on way more than is necessary without making time to recharge.
I’m glad you took some time for yourself! Recharging is hard when you have so much on the go, but so essential.
Had been there sometime ago and realised how bad a phase that was.. good that you took some time out 😊
I’m glad you noticed how bad it was getting and can look back at it now 🙂
“Work smarter not harder” So much truth in that one haha
Yes! It makes thing so much easier
Great thoughts. I’ve been there for sure. My body responded in a way that made me completely stop my life and reevaluate. It’s been painful but I love the calmer life that came forth. It’s such a balancing act!💕
Indeed! Sometimes it’ll hit us like a brick wall. I’m glad you’ve taken a step back.
It’s such an important message. Years ago, as a perfectionist starter/finisher people pleaser, I pushed myself to the point of collapse & my health did just that. There’s far too much emphasis on productivity & do, do, do. Slow being able to say no is good.💙
Learning to say no is super important!
Definitely. It’s a complete sentence in itself!💙
Burnout is really bad, that why is so important to know when give your body rest. In the beginning of my fitness journey, due to lack of knowledge I over did Cardio for a few months and later it resulted in tissue damage. So now I make sure I give my body proper recovery
Keep up the great work
Rest is so important for our bodies and minds. Thanks for dropping by!
Ooooh, I didn’t know the Pomodoro technique had an actual name. When I just can’t stand to go work at my desk, breaking my work up into smaller chunks definitely helps. I’m an occupational therapist and healthcare tends to glorify productivity rates. I’ve had nightmares about it! That constant push to be 90+% productive with your time sure is draining. Thankfully I work from home for a few schools, so I get to schedule my own breaks and don’t burn out as quickly as I would in other settings
Ugh I hate when employers push for better productivity rates. I work in aircraft maintenance and getting those planes flying again in the set time given is always a nightmare. It’s hard to follow a given timeframe when you don’t know what shape the plane will be in once you start opening panels.
I bet that gets pretty stressful!
I’ve learned to ignore it and go at my own pace. Rushing can lead to mistakes, and I don’t want to be in an episode of Mayday 😅
Yikes, definitely don’t get featured on that show!
Makes sense to me. If your working yourself nuts then you’re just going to make bad decisions afterwards.
Very true!
I can vouch for this. Slow and steady can go a long way in preventing burnout.
It does indeed!
Ang, this is such a great post! Burnout can be a real problem and can effect our overall health in really negative ways. Self care has to be prioritized especially if burnout is setting in! My kids like to remind me all the time to work smarter not harder as I tell them. Now if I could only follow my own words of advice! Haha. Thanks for sharing and linking with me!
Shelbee
http://www.shelbeeontheedge.com
It’s nice to have someone to remind you to not work too hard. I’m glad you liked my post 😊
Nice! Thank you so much Dee 😊
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I find it tough to give my body a break. Just builds up and I end up injuring myself usually.
Oh no 😣 That’ll set you back in the end.
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This is an great, information post. In the last year, I have been trying to prevent burnouts. When I feel like I am burning out, I take a step back and do something fun. Thank you for sharing.
Nice! That’s a great strategy.
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