How to Prevent Burnout and How to Heal From It
- Know your limits:
To prevent burnout, make it a habit to check in with yourself. Notice the signs and symptoms you are experiencing when you are getting burned out: how does it feel for you? What are the physical and mental things noticed first? Make a list of your physical and mental signs. It is key to pay attention to the first signs in order to recognize your limits.
Some signs of burnout include: exhaustion, isolation, irritability, frequent irritability, insomnia and poor eating habits. This helps you to know you need to use our self-care techniques such as exercises, gratitude journaling, socialising, eating better, and implement those tools.
2 Set up boundaries:
Setting boundaries for your mental wellbeing keeps you safe, happy and healthy. This means you have to decide where the line is between feeling happy and happy versus feeling tired and upset. Pay attention to the physical feelings and mental thoughts that pop up for you. Make a conscious effort to rezone what symptoms you experience when you feel a boundary being over step, and feeling burnout. This way you can quickly put your self care tools into action!
Setting boundaries doesn't always limit work, it can also be set for relationships. Decide how much you are willing to give to work and to personal relationships.
3. Take a break
Often people getting burnout neglect sleep, exercise, socialization, and barely make any break during the day, let alone an annual vacation. It is vital you take breaks during the day. It can be either doing a 5-minute meditation, writing a gratitude list, stretching, keeping a gratitude journal, or eating healthy snacks to keep us energized and refreshed such as fruits, nuts, or herbal tea.
Last but not least, communicate your boundaries to your colleagues, family, and friends so they understand you’re working on yourself and don’t take it personally. It is important to let them know so they don’t think they've done anything wrong and it can give them an opportunity to support us as much as they can while you work to better yourself.