Take a Break For Recovery
When you hit burnout, you become numb to the world; it’s difficult to feel joy and gratitude, which is what keeps you fueled in the face of challenges. So recovery means getting adequate rest and reestablishing joy to your life.
While recovering do things that make you happy, rather than things that lead to a sense of achievement. The former feeds your soul and the latter your ego. Also, get an accountability partner to encourage you to follow your impulses and do what makes you feel alive.
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We all have patterns of thought, feeling and behavior that don’t serve us. These patterns are so dominant that we arch ourselves to continue on, even when running on empty, but recover can only start after we stop them.
Ask yourself if your goal is unreachable, why you’re afraid of not reaching it and what would happen if you gave up. Share your answers with someone who has your best interest at heart, as a reality check and listen carefully to what they have to say. You are likely to find out you have options and that failure is not the end.
Rewiring your brain, new neural pathways are formed to replace old habits of thinking. This phase is critical, because thoughts lead to emotions, which lead to behavior. To do that:
- Keep a daily journal or meditate. Notice the repeating thoughts, especially the ones that feel heavy and make you anxious.
- Daily, at the end of the day, list 10 things you’re grateful for. Gratitude can quickly shift your internal world.
- Let go of your victim story. Remind yourself that you no longer want to be a victim.
- Choose and test your beliefs daily.
- Believe in something bigger than yourself. Faith in a higher power can be the antidote to two symptoms of burnout — helplessness and hopelessness.
After taking a break, reevaluating your course and rewiring your brain, it’s time to restructure your work life. To do that:
- If you are looking to make a career change, read on the topic and seek advice from those with more experience.
- If you are building a business or looking for a job, anchor your motivation for the work you want to do. Tell the story of how you got good at what you do and use this in your LinkedIn profile or your About Me page on your website.
- Work with a pro to help you reach your goals for Phase 4. Ask friends or colleagues for recommendations.
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- Prioritise Nourishment. Get quality rest, eat food that will fuel your body's recovery, exercise gently, get fresh air and also nourish your heart.
- Acknowledge Your Part. Face the real reasons you burned out.
Build Some Guide Rails. Establish new boundaries. It's about knowing the difference between the things you’re willing to go the extra mile for when life demands it, and the things that mean enough to you for you to enforce your boundaries.
Don’t Do it Alone. You don't need to do everything yourself. It’s okay to seek support.
Give a Damn. Sometimes, being in a bad place can be the perfect opportunity to make some new choices.
Work on the right things, even if you are doing it imperfectly. As long as you are working on the right things, your skill and knowledge will compound, and one day the output will become better.
Focus on the process rather than the output. Don't worry about perfection.
If you don't have a plan when the New Year's glow has worn off in a few months, you will stop doing whatever you promised to do.
To force yourself to stick to a budget:
- Write down everything you spend.
- Add it up at the end of every week.
- Submit a report to help keep you accountable.