The Facets of Burnout And How to Handle It Without Crashing

Burnout, the top self-inflicted illness of the 21st century.

We have all suffered from it at some point. One of my recent burn out’s even caused me to throw in the towel for a few months. I almost completely gave up on marketing even though I love it and it comes naturally to me.

It’s scary how extreme burnout can become when left unchecked.

But even though this condition is very familiar to our generation, there is still no “official definition”. Furthermore, did you know that there are different types of burnout?

1. Overload burnout — You’re working long hours and it catches up with you until you start venting to everyone who’d agree to listen to you.
2. Boredom burnout — It stems from lack of personal development at work and results in you distancing yourself from it and not caring.
3. Worn-out burnout — You’re the type that gives up in the face of stress. You don’t like to admit it, but your motivation tends to sizzle…

Check, check, aaaaand check. Which one have you had?

In terms of dealing with burnout, we asked our community of digital creatives and future of work pioneers, and here’s what they said…

Burnout is a personal crisis.

Rodrigo Passarelli - Burnout is a personal crisis. And crises are a great to change old thinking.

There is absolutely no point in sugar-coating it. It really is a personal crisis because it indicates that you have not been handling your energy properly. It’s too bad they don’t teach us how to do it in school because most of us tend to keep going until something forces us to stop and recharge.

Have you ever had a burnout that felt like a personal crisis?

Maybe you’ve changed your job and you’re trying hard, but it’s just not working, or you’ve started a new business, but you’re not seeing results, which makes you push harder and burn faster. Whatever situation you’re in, it’s important to recognize that you caused it — not the “situation” — and therefore you have the power to fix it.

The only way to get back on top is to dig deep and ask WHY. Often there are reasons behind things failing that we don’ see are there. For example, the mere stress burnout you’re experiencing may be a sign that you’re not moving in the right direction. Maybe that’s your body’s — and your gut’s — way of telling you it’s time for change. It’s important to take these signs seriously because if you don’t it only gets worse.

Be selfish if you want to heal.

Duncan Gough - Be selfish. Be greedy. Make time and space for yourself. Do whatever it takes to help yourself.

They say one of the most effective strategies in running a business is delegating. And one of the most effective strategies in conserving energy is…

Saying NO.

Saying NO allows you to pick and choose which projects and tasks you have enough energy to do/finish and which ones are beyond your “battery life”. You can’t help everyone when you have so much work in the day and you don’t have to. You’ll see that in time, you’ll not only get used to saying no, but you’ll also notice that people understand when you explain your reasons in a rational and human way. People are awesome that way.

Here, I’ll give you some of my tricks to stay fully-charged:

• Delegate. If you don’t have time or energy or desire to do something, and you know it’s going to drain you, just pay someone else to do it.
• Write up “NO scripts”, meaning the text you’re going to give/email people when they ask you to do something you cannot do.
• Develop systems that allocate tasks to certain times of the day/week and go according to schedule. It’s a smart way of managing your time.
• Take breaks every 2/3 hours. This is a must because if you’re like me, you can soldier on for 10 hours, but we both know this isn’t healthy.
• Avoid stress by doing tomorrow’s work today. Stress is a big contributor to burnout, and this trick completely removes stress from your work day.

Do you have any tricks for avoiding/dealing with burnout?

And you, adrenaline junkies.

carmem saito — I kind of enjoy the adrenaline from it. But I do alternate it with nice food and spontaneous traveling.

We got a couple of answers from adrenaline junkies, too. By this I mean people who enjoy the fast-paced life, the hustle, and even the stress! It really is addictive, once you get “hooked” on it, there’s no going back.

I can certainly relate. Sometimes I forget to eat between work tasks or stay up late to work or even forget appointments in the “real world”. Now, if you’re a master juggler, this fast-paced existence and work overload may not be such a problem for you, but if you’re like me and you’re an all-or-nothing kind of person, you have to start taking care of yourself.

Take care of your body, your energy, your mind, and your heart. Take care of the part of you that needs balance. Because we all have that part.

I have a lot of entrepreneur friends who laugh it off, “Oh, I don’t have a life.” It’s funny when you’re in a group that gets it, but when you step away, you realize life could be much better. We’re meant to live in abundance, not sacrifice one part of life for another. Not to mention —

A lot of successful people attribute their success to being able to unplug with mindfulness and meditation.

So think about the parts you’re sacrificing — write it down — and think of ways to find time for those parts. Delegate your life just like you did with work earlier. Because you’ll never enjoy work as much as the person who has a rich private/social life. Life surpasses ambition.

In conclusion.

So you got this far! How much did you relate to this article? Do you think burnout is one of the top self-inflicted illnesses of the 21'st century?

To wrap up, I’ll just outline the takeaways below:

• There are several types of burnout, so “diagnose” yourself first.
• Burnout is a personal crisis, not just a sign that you’re overworking yourself. Dig deep and ask WHY you’re experiencing this.
• Say NO when you don’t have the time or energy to help someone. Be human about it and they will understand.
• As “fun” as the fast-track can be, make sure you’re not getting ill and/or missing out on a fully abundant life.
• Success has a lot to do with the ability to unplug from work.

That’s all for now. Thanks you for reading, and —

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