Did you know the average American spends one-third of their entire life working? That means two thirds of your life is left to do everything else. We will spend two-thirds of our life eating, sleeping, caring for children, cleaning the house, traveling, and enjoying the things you love! I don’t know about you, but if I have to give a third of my life to working, it better be something I enjoy that gives me the opportunity to make an impact and makes me want to get out of bed each day.
I remember starting out after college and was hungry to learn, advance, and move quickly in the workplace to reach my fullest potential. At the time, that was the aspiration as a 22-year-old college graduate, ready to take on the world. Looking back I wouldn’t change a thing, but the thing I didn’t know was going to be a huge pot hole in my life was burnout. I remember feeling exhausted, I was detached from things I enjoyed, I was irritable throughout the workday, I felt like I was ineffective at my job, and was facing insomnia every night. It was a vicious cycle that I was experiencing.
Burnout is the thing that no one prepares you for. You don’t know the signs or symptoms until it’s actually happening to you and sometimes it takes awhile to figure out what’s happening. No one talks about preventing it. Instead we talk about wellness as a form of prevention without taking stock of what could happen if we aren’t putting ourselves first. There is a risk if you put work first and yourself last. Let’s be honest, at the point when you know burnout is happening, the will and desire to access tools, support, and conversations to overcome it will be limited. So let’s not wait until it happens. Let’s prevent it! So how do you prevent burn out?
1. Put Yourself First
2. Schedule Breaks
3. Challenge Perfectionism
4. Delegate
5. Talk it Out
Life Balance is an art form and work is a part of it. It doesn’t have to be work first, then life. It can be a yes and yes. It’s truly what you make of it, how you advocate for yourself, who you surround yourself with, and navigating the workplace so you can put yourself first.
If you are ready to Win at Work, I encourage you to check out the Feel Good 365 Tool Kit and Community. It’s full of reflection, self-improvement, fitness, self-care, and connection to give you momentum and clarity to achieve the results you’ve been waiting for!
AND join us for the Burnout Busters Workshop where we will talk about burnout signals, symptoms and breakdown the 5 things you can do to prevent workplace burnout from ever happening again!
Cheers to putting yourself first!
Hugs & Love,
Dr. B.