Experts from health and nutrition information site Life Hacker Guy have listed some ways to help with preventing and recovering from burnout, so employers and employees can best take care of their physical and mental health.
Preventing burnout…
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Get enough sleep
Even though the body needs sleep, sometimes it can be hard to get our mind to cooperate. In these cases, it’s essential to create the right conditions and adopt habits to help you be calm and relaxed when sleep time is near. This can be achieved by keeping your room dark with blackout curtains or a sleeping mask, reduce noises by wearing earplugs and keeping your phone either on mute or in another room entirely, keep temperatures cool, and avoid watching TV or working where you’re supposed to sleep.
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Exercise multiple times a week
This does not have to mean a gym membership or a home gym, exercising can be as easy and accessible as a walk or a run around the block. If you want to start a journey of light exercise to keep yourself refreshened, healthy and distracted from work, try to start with something that’s too simple to ignore or to post pone, such as a 15-minute stroll round your block, or outside your place of work.
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Program a balanced diet
Loss of appetite is indeed one of the red flags that can signal burnout and to avoid it it’s important to try and eat regularly. One way to not lose sight of this is to program your meals, and when possible, even meal prep for the whole week. This can be done on a Sunday as a part of a fun ‘weekly reset’ routine, choosing simple but balanced and healthy recipes that can be prepared quickly and that will make you look forward to lunch every day.
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Treat yourself
It is essential to remember that we do not live to work but rather work to live. Treating yourself to a nice dinner once in a while, or that pair of shoes you’ve put your eyes on can be a great way to feel important again, and to remember that your life does not revolve around work.
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Learn to ask for help
You’re not invincible and you are not supposed to be, so always remember to recognize your limits and to not push yourself too far. This applies not only to work life, but to every aspect of it, as it’s possible to feel drained and overwhelmed with any type of social interaction and everyday task, from meeting family and friends to maintaining a healthy relationship, as well as having a balanced lifestyle.
Recovering from burnout
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Admit that you’re burnout
Admitting that you have a problem is always the first step to solving it. Taking a step back and looking critically at what is happening to you, as well as acknowledging what is making you feel this way is necessarily the first thing to do. Then it is necessary and healthy to admit that you are not invincible, that you have limits and that there is nothing wrong with dealing with a burnout.
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Distance yourself and take a break
As obvious as this may seem, taking a break from whatever it is that is making you feel a certain way is the best way to recharge. At the same time, however, it can also be the most complicated thing to do, as stress and anxiety can arise from the need to complete certain tasks within a certain deadline, and consequently taking a break may seem unthinkable. Still, you need to visualize what’s most important and remember that you can’t do your job properly when you’re unwell.
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Seek professional help
In the eventuality that your burnout is so deep and significant that you cannot deal with it on your own or with the help of people around you, the most appropriate step would be to start seeing a therapist. Removing the stigma that often still exists today about seeing a therapist starts with each person in a similar situation that is strong enough to realize that they need better and more effective help and that there is nothing wrong with feeling weak and powerless.
Joanne is the editor for Workplace Wellbeing Professional and has a keen interest in promoting the safety and wellbeing of the global workforce. After earning a bachelor's degree in English literature and media studies, she taught English in China and Vietnam for two years. Before joining Work Well Pro, Joanne worked as a marketing coordinator for luxury property, where her responsibilities included blog writing, photography, and video creation.
