In the pursuit of excellence, it can often feel like walking a tightrope between success and burnout.
Whether it is the constant pressure to perform, long hours at work, or the stress of navigating a job search without the results you want, burnout will bear significant impacts on your health.
The current job market has only exacerbated these challenges, with so many experiencing heightened stress and uncertainty. In addition, countless company restructurings are leading to under-staffed teams with overwhelming workloads, without rightful promotions and salaries offered.
It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that working harder and longer is the solution (I used to be very guilty of this), but this often only fuels the burnout further.
One of the most significant pain points is the stigma surrounding burnout where you feel ashamed, fearing it might be perceived as a weakness or lack of dedication. However, understanding that burnout is a common and manageable issue is the first step towards recovery and prevention.
Earlier in my career, I came close to burning out a handful of times. Some instances were more severe than others and yet, they all had one thing in common: I put everyone else's needs before my own.
As a result:
- I sacrificed my health to complete projects perfectly. I would fall sick often when I would finally stop; my body had been running on adrenaline for too long, telling me to slow down.
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- I sacrificed my relationships to put in that extra time that I thought would make a real difference. I worked nights and weekends, and I would often say no to friends and family.
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- I sacrificed my personal priorities for my work aspirations. I delayed taking time off, vacation, personal hobbies and essential self-care I absolutely needed.
This did not play well in my favour. Attempting to push through burnout usually backfires. You will not be as productive nor focused in driving quality results for your company or in your job search. You will limit your full potential and stifle your growth and risk allowing desperation to negatively impact your career decisions. You will likely need time off resulting from exhaustion, further disadvantaging you and your company.
"If you feel burnout setting in, if you feel demoralized and exhausted, it is best, for the sake of everyone, to withdraw and restore yourself." - Dalai Lama
Peak performers are extremely self-aware and proactively identify situations and circumstances that fuel warning signs of burnout. They then take the needed action to prevent and overcome these pitfalls by focusing on what they can control.
Here's how.
Key mistakes contributing to burnout
Burnout often creeps up on you, slowly eroding your energy and enthusiasm, and it does so quietly. Understand that you - your health and well-being - fundamentally weigh most heavily in the equation of career success. Said differently, when burned out, you will fail to show up as your best self when it matters most.
With that in mind, here are 5 key missteps that often lead to burnout:
β Ignoring the early signs: Many dismiss the early signs of burnout, such as chronic fatigue, irritability, and lack of motivation, believing they can push through it. Ignoring these warning signs only allows the burnout to worsen, making recovery more challenging.
β Overcommitting and saying yes to everything: Taking on more than your capacity allows is a big no-no in my books. Overcommitting leads to overwhelming workloads and the feeling of constantly being stretched too thin, contributing significantly to burnout.
β Lack of self-care: Neglecting things like regular exercise, healthy eating, sufficient sleep, and relaxation can deplete your physical and mental energy reserves. As a result, you are less resilient to stress and more prone to burnout because you are working with a drained battery.
β Not setting boundaries: Failing to set clear boundaries between work and personal life can lead to constant connectivity and the inability to truly disconnect and recharge. This blurring of lines can make you feel like you are always working, and lead to productivity guilt when you are not in 'on' mode.
β Isolation and lack of support: Trying to handle everything on your own without seeking support from others can exacerbate burnout. Isolation makes it harder to cope with stress and prevents you from getting the help you need to recover.
Additionally, the source of burnout may arise from other people, which requires an even greater need for you to take a proactive stance to remedy the situation.
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Example: Your boss is terrible at managing his/her time, resulting in last minute requests and new priorities assigned to you frequently.
- Do not give into the work feeling frustrated, stressed and burnt out;
- Do recognize that this is a communication and process improvement opportunity.
You can talk to your boss and inspire from the below template:
"I completely appreciate that things are moving quickly and that not all requests coming my way can be anticipated with as much notice. That said, this has been making it particularly challenging for me to deliver the level of quality I want in my work because I am unable to proactively prepare for what you require. Moving forward, I recommend every Monday, we meet to go through the priorities of the week and already anticipate what surprises or new news may arise during the week from management. This will help me to be more agile in those moments and reprioritize where needed. Does that work for you?"
3 strategies to prevent and overcome burnout
1/ Set realistic goals
The idea that both peak performance and realistic goal setting can co-exist is somewhat contradictory. You may be thinking: "Wouldn't I need to aim high and push myself beyond reasonable goals to become a top performer?". Not necessarily.
Goals that are well-aligned and attainable on the basis of your capabilities not only reduce the risk of burnout, but also pave the way for sustained successes you can actually achieve. Specifically, consistent and impactful wins you claim reinforce the directionality of your ambitions.
Here are 3 principles to gain a deeper understanding of your strengths, weaknesses, limiting factors and current circumstances to help you in this:
β Break down your big ambitions into manageable accomplishments. Recognize that overnight transformations are rare. Fulfilling achievable milestones creates a greater sense of progress that in turn fuels motivation and prevents the feeling of stagnation, a precursor to burnout.
- Example: You have a major project that requires 3 months to complete. Break down the project into micro-milestones (i.e. time based such as 1 day / 1 week / 1 month milestones).
The pursuit of smaller, more manageable and realistic goals allows you to adapt to unforeseen challenges with flexibility, ensuring that setbacks become opportunities for growth rather than sources of frustration. It also brings more accountability in your own follow-through.
β Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize. Identify tasks, requests and projects on the basis of urgency, importance, impact or none of the above. Focus on high-priority tasks first and delegate, remove or postpone less important deliverables altogether.
It is up to you to lead this prioritization process rather than over-rely on your boss to do so for you. After all, only you, by virtue of your role, experience and insights, understands the complexities and considerations to account for in successfully delivering against the required objective.
Use this information and know-how to outline non-negotiable priorities; push back where needed or suggest alternative deadlines for alignment without having to burn the candle at both ends.
β Embrace the 80/20 rule. Identify the 20% of effort that will yield 80% of the desired outcome. Concentrate energy and time based on the key efforts that maximize efficiency and impact. Avoid exerting yourself on things that bring both little value to the results you want and compromise on your well-being.
For example, if 80% of time in your job search is allocated to putting out job applications, this is a losing game. It is rare that an online application alone will land your job offer. Rather, you should be dedicating 80% of your time to networking as this will be your best gateway into landing new roles faster. Making yourself discoverable and building meaningful connections is a much better use of your time and energy, and brings a long-term benefit in creating a strong support system for future opportunities as well.
[Check out my newsletter on How to build a strong professional network]
Finally, what about if you find yourself spread too thin at work?
Pause and re-assess the value derived from each focus area of your work / project. Share these insights with your boss and team in order to propose "before vs. after" scenarios where:
- The before scenario serves as a snapshot of the current list of priorities and/or working processes (and highlights the flaws within them);
- The after scenario serves as an ideal way to approach your work / projects and how it will deliver greater value and impact for the company, while protecting your well-being.
2/ Prioritize self-care
Self-care is often thought of as a leisurely escape - a vacation, a massage, or a spa day. While these indulgences have their place, true self-care extends far beyond momentary relaxation.
Self-care involves nourishing your mind, body and soul on a daily basis. It means setting healthy boundaries that protect your time and energy, practicing mindfulness to reduce stress, and prioritizing regular exercise and a balanced diet to sustain your physical vitality.
Self-care for peak performers is not a luxury; it is a fundamental investment in their long-term success and fulfillment.
By consistently tending to your holistic well-being, you equip yourself with the stamina, clarity, and resilience needed to excel in your career while maintaining a strong sense of balance and purpose.
Here are 3 actionable steps you can implement to support you in this:
β Schedule "me time" proactively. Dedicate time in your daily schedule for self-care activities, such as meditation, exercise, or hobbies that bring you joy. Treat this time as a non-negotiable, just as you would for any important commitment on your calendar. You must treat your personal time with the same level of attention as you do for work meetings and professional obligations.
β Establish and reinforce boundaries. Clearly define your boundaries, both at work and in your personal life. Communicate these limits clearly with your boss, colleagues, friends, and family. Neglecting to do so sets an unrealistic precedent in which others misperceive your true capacity, often leading you to over-extend yourself. Do not fall into this trap.
- Example template: "I understand that we have a lot of ongoing priorities right now demanding more of my time. That said, I have been spreading myself thin on X, Y, Z because of this and worry it is starting to compromise the quality of my work. On top of that, it is taking a hit on my well-being and I do not believe this is sustainable for me anymore. As a next step, I recommend pushing this out to next week where I can give it my full attention and remain focused on A, B, C instead this week. Do you agree with this proposal?"
Take my client Michelle, for instance. She was previously a "yes" person taking on too much at work. This led her to deliver strong results but at her own expense and this was no longer sustainable. She was on the verge of burnout. By learning to push back with her stakeholders and prioritize the projects and tasks that mattered most, she took control of her well-being while elevating her strategic focus. Despite being nervous at first because she worried it would reflect badly on her, it ended up garnering her far more respect.
β Practice mindfulness. Incorporate simple techniques into your daily routine to stay present and reduce stress. Deep breathing is an easy and effective approach to regain focus back on what matters most to you. By becoming more aware of what triggers you physiologically from high-stress moments, you will be better equipped to leverage mindfulness to keep you grounded and clear-headed. Pro tip: Download an app like Headspace or Calm for guided meditation and start with digestible goals of just 5 or 10 minutes a day. It will help you to instil this daily habit and be consistent with it.
Remember, you must take care of yourself. No one else will do so for you.
3/ Streamline your workflow
The ability to streamline your workflow is often an underestimated, but vital, element of success.
Working smarter (vs. harder) is key to preserving your well-being while averting burnout.
This involves mastering time management techniques that prioritize assignments, reduce multitasking, and allocate focus-blocks of time to high-priority activities.
Here are 3 ways to put this into practice.
β Protect your time. Implement "time blocking" in your schedule for specific types of work. This practice helps you allocate uninterrupted periods for deep, focused work - essentially finding your flow - while preventing constant context-switching, which can otherwise contribute to burnout. Communicate your availability to colleagues and team members, emphasizing the importance of minimizing distractions during these time blocks. The added benefit is that this also helps to manage expectations in your working relationships with others.
β Reduce multi-tasking. Prioritize "single-tasking" to increase efficiency and minimize stress. Try your best to group together activities that require the same level of brain power.
- Example: If you are working on a creative project, group other creative-oriented tasks close to this one. Carefully shift between types of tasks that require a change of hats (i.e. analysis, reporting, researching, etc...). If you are job searching, organize your day by groups of tasks (i.e. networking outreach, follow-up messages, updating your LinkedIn profile, prepping for interviews...) so that you remain focused in 1 target area at a time in order to reap better results.
β Ask for help. Far from a sign of weakness, asking for help removes roadblocks, inefficiencies or unnecessary delays in delivering on your work and prevents burnout. The key is to show your level of resourcefulness when asking for support.
- Example: Do not simply dump the fact that you are overloaded with work onto your boss. Instead, (1) explain what you have completed thus far, (2) what challenges have arisen as a result of being pulled in too many directions, and (3) conclude with what you recommend adjusting to alleviate your workflow and how it would benefit the organization (create the win-win scenario). If you prepare and present this plan to your boss proactively, it will be far easier for them to support you in this rather than expecting them to fix your problems and come up with the plan themselves.
[Check out my newsletter on How to master time management].
How will you prevent and overcome burnout?
Burnout is more real than ever and having the right strategies on your side are essential for maintaining sustainable success, whether in your job search or actively in your work. You must look out for yourself and recognize when your strategies, habits and direction need to change. Do not ignore the signs, remain proactive and focus on what you can control. Your well-being is counting on it.
You've got this!
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This week's mission is meant to help you get ahead of burnout so you can show up as your best. Your mission is to reconnect with yourself and evaluate what improvements can be made both proactively and reactively to prevent and overcome burnout. Focus on these 3 areas.
1/ If job searching:
- Review your current job search activities and identify any signs of burnout. Adjust your schedule to include regular breaks and self-care practices.
- Set realistic daily or weekly goals for your job search to maintain a steady but manageable pace.
- Audit your efforts to evaluate which are most effective and in line with the 80/20 rule.
2/ When at work:
- Identify your top 3 work priorities and delegate or postpone less critical tasks. Implement a time blocking schedule and practice single-tasking to better structure your workday.
- Schedule a meeting with your boss to discuss your workload and any support you might need to readjust your priorities and focus areas.
3/ Prioritize your boundaries:
- Define your work and personal boundaries and communicate them clearly to your team. Schedule personal time in your calendar and treat it as non-negotiable.
- Practice saying 'no' to additional responsibilities that would overwhelm you. Use the example template provided above to advocate for yourself effectively and decline extra tasks.