Recovery from Burnout - strategies for individuals and a few tips for the workplace
This is part two of a three-part series.
Part one - Signs of burnout and how to recognise burnout.
Part two - Recovery from burnout
Part three - Relaunch after burnout – how to restart and re-engage without burning out again.
Acknowledge Burnout
The first step of course is recognising burnout, being proactive in tuning into your emotional, physical and mental state. This continues through recovery from burnout, keeping track of your overall mood, energy levels, etc on a scale of 1-10. This way, you can track whether things are improving and get a sense of what you’re doing (or equally importantly not doing!) that is making a difference.
Set Healthy Boundaries
A key thing to know and recognise about boundaries is that they are for you and your behaviours. They are not about trying to change someone else’s behaviour, as we can only control our own words and actions.
Decide which boundaries will give you back the most if you set and hold them; with burnout this will generally include establishing clear limits on your work hours, and responsibilities. It may also include defining your responsibilities at home and in other areas of your life.
The core boundary here is time. Defining your work hours, and the times in which you will or will not respond to emails etc. And going beyond the work focus, this can include setting aside time for yourself & saying no to things that would cut into that time. For example blocking out time for key things & people. Time for self (walks, exercise, reading etc). Time with loved ones. Time for learning / reflection / journalling / scheduling etc - whatever helps your life run well. This blog may help with boundary setting.
Prioritise self-care
Aligned with the time boundary, make time for activities that promote relaxation and well-being. Here are my top self-care strategies; the ones that I talk with clients about the most and that have been the most helpful. This blog talks more about why these things work, and the many ways you can put them into practice and tailor them to meet your needs.
1. Movement (not solely exercise; can include dancing, gardening, just stretching)
2. Spend time in nature
3. Do activities you enjoy, especially the ones where you lose track of time
4. Connect (others, self, purpose)
5. Sleep and Rest
6. Time offline
7. Mindfulness
Effective time management
Use techniques like time blocking or the Pomodoro Technique to improve productivity and reduce stress.
Multi-tasking isn’t effective. The ‘ability to multi-task’ is one of those things that sounds like a great skill, but research is pretty clear that it’s actually counter-productive. Switching between tasks means having to keep re-focusing and has been found to reduce productivity by as much as 40%.
Rather than checking and responding to emails ad hoc – set aside blocks of time for email so you can focus on other tasks. Support others to do the same by only marking something as urgent if it truly can’t wait for an hour or two.
Find a system that works for you; don’t get caught up in making it perfect, it just needs to be good enough. For example, I find that if I have a window of time when I could get something done, I sometimes stress trying to work out which of the many things on my to-do list I should get to! To give myself some structure I now have ‘Marketing Monday’, “Training Tuesday’, ‘Workshop Wednesday’ etc. And then I have one less decision to make; I just take the first thing on my to-do list that fits the category and start on it.
Healthy Lifestyle Foundations
Ensure you're getting enough sleep, eating nutritious food, and staying hydrated. Good options for sleep include sleep hygiene such as:
Having a regular bedtime – use things like alarms / apps to set a reminder for bedtime
Get off screens an hour or two before bedtime (reading on a screen is ok – but not scrolling social media etc) and again alarms / app settings are great here
Reduce caffeine intake later in the day – know your own ‘cut-off’ for caffeine and remember many teas have caffeine, as do some soft drinks
For times when it’s hard to get to sleep, or if you wake and can’t get back to sleep – here’s a sleep strategy that may be helpful.
Sleep Strategy
Engage your memory - think of a familiar place, favourite restaurant etc, and ‘take the journey’ of remembering going there, walking in, reading the menu, the smells, sights, etc. The aim of this is to recognise that when we are awake at night and trying to sleep, our brain is going to be busy. This sleep strategy of giving it neutral/pleasant material to work with, leaves less room for worries, or even just the general ’ticking over’ that our brains like to do at night.
Mindfulness and meditation
Practice mindfulness techniques to reduce stress and improve emotional regulation.
Seek support
Talk to friends, family, or a mental health professional about your feelings and concerns.
Tools and Strategies for Managers and Organisations to Prevent Burnout
Focus on Intent
The intent is to support and enable your team to succeed. While this can look different for different team members, there is rarely (maybe never) a scenario where micro-management is helpful. Instead:
Create a supportive work environment: Foster a culture of open communication, empathy, and work-life balance.
Flexible work arrangements: Offer options like remote work, flexible hours, or compressed workweeks.
Employee assistance programs (EAPs): Provide access to confidential counselling and support services.
Regular feedback and recognition: Offer constructive feedback and acknowledge employees' contributions.
Promote work-life balance: Encourage employees to take breaks, vacations, and time off.
Training and development: Invest in training programs to help employees develop their skills and manage stress effectively.
And Lead by example: the best way to empower your team to drop the ‘Busyness Badge of Honour’ is to model good boundaries and healthy work life balance.
As ever I’d love to hear your thoughts, suggestions for things that have worked for you, please give me a shout if I can help you with stress or burnout.