Burnout is an official medical condition recognised by the WHO. It takes a mental and physical toll on you. There are many signs you could be facing burnout, and if you are, it’s important to recognise the symptoms and know how to cope or recover from it.
How to recover from burnout
Take a break. When facing burnout, a break from work may be needed. Because you’ve lost motivation and are always tired, 3-5 days of no work and a small holiday could work in your favour. Even if you stay at home, spend time with loved ones, volunteering or just do your favourite things , it can help raise your morale and recover.
Change your lifestyle. If you are feeling burned out, it often means you have been neglecting yourself and needs. Start to show yourself some more love. Make an effort to sleep on time and get more rest. Even light exercise everyday can help you destress and help boost your mood. Follow a healthier diet by reducing junk food and eat food that helps your system and reduces anxiety.
Start saying no. When facing burnout, don’t take on additional work. Refuse additional work until you feel okay. Yes, people may be depending on you at work, but at such times it’s okay to say no to work. You need to take care of yourself first, ease workplace stress, be in a balanced and happy state before you can take on any more work.
Stress management. Practice simple stress management techniques which help you reduce stress and manage it better. The 4A technique is a particularly effective one where you “Avoid” stressful situations, “Alter” the situation, “Adapt” yourself to the stress and finally “Accept” the situation. You can learn more about it in depth here.
Create a structure. A good way to recover from a burnout is to ensure there is a clear flow of work during your day. With working from home now prevalent, it’s important to stay focused and reduce any unnecessary stress. Know what time you start work, when you’ll eat meals and take breaks. Notify others you work with, about your schedule. Following the structure and schedule will help you stay on top of things and be in control. As a result, you will start to feel better about your work and your goals.
De-stress post work. Follow a simple routine everyday post work to help yourself wind down and de-stress. It demarcates the moment you step away from work and start spending time with yourself and your family. It could be something as simple as a bath, or meditation or even going to exercise. What matters is taking care of yourself and de-stressing yourself in order to boost your mood, relax and relieve stress.
To sum up
Burnout recovery is not an overnight process, just like burning out. It will take time and effort, but the reward will be very sweet. You’ll find your motivation, your energy and improve your health and happiness. Create a recovery plan for yourself spanning a few weeks in which you can try to follow all the above points. It’s important you see the signs early and get ahead of the burnout.
Take our burnout self-test to check if you’re facing burnout or not. In case you’re facing burnout and require help, get in touch with us at info@evolveinc.in and we will connect you with a qualified expert.
Remember, meditation and mindfulness is a simple way to stay balanced, proactively manage your stress and ensure burnout is never a problem. You can read more about meditation and mindfulness exercises here.
Evolve’s guided audios provide instant stress relief and come with a variety of proven techniques so you can be balanced and relax all the time! The Evolve app is now live globally on Android & Apple, click here to try for free!