Five Ways To Avoid Burnout Yet Stay Productive

Burnout is a state of fatigue or exhaustion that is often a cause of unhealthy lifestyle. Not taking care of yourself, overworking, and ignoring your mental and emotional health can often cause burnout. What burnout does is make you cranky, miserable, and unproductive. There is a constant sense of lethargy.

What Is Burnout?

Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mentalexhaustion. Usually, it is caused by excessive stress. This leads to feelings of overwhelm, and emotional drainage. As the stress continues, you begin to lose interest and motivation in certain aspects of life. Most commonly, people experience this with respect to workplace responsibilities. An unsustainable way of working can lead to exhaustion and a fall in productivity. However, avoiding burnout is not as difficult as it sounds. Here are 5 simple ways to avoid feeling like all your energy has been permanently drained out!

If work is what is causing burnout, then it is important to ask yourself some questions. Do I enjoy going to work? What change am I making? Is this what I want to do? If not, what's next and how can I get there?

Take Care Of Your Physical Health

A crucial first step to avoiding burnout is taking care of your physical health. When our body suffers, our mind suffers as well. Stress thrives in an unhealthy body. It often leads to stress-eating. However, avoiding excessively sugary food and prioritizing exercise are good ways to take care of your body. Another important step is to get serious about fixing your sleeping schedule: try to sleep and wake up at the same times, and get your 7-8 hours.

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Pursue A Hobby

If we're always just working, then burnout is inevitable. Instead, we need to make our lives more balanced. Pick out anything you've always wanted to do, but had to let go of because of work. It could be singing, dancing, art, gardening, journaling, origami or even boxing. Having a hobby and devoting certain hours of a week to it can increase productivity and focus. One study from San Francisco State University found that people who often engaged in a creative activity scored 15-30 percent higher on performance rankings. They were also more likely to come up with creative solutions to on-the-job problems.

Create A Morning Ritual

Getting up late, rushing to the bathroom, skipping breakfast and running to catch your commute. If that sounds like your typical morning, then it might be time to change things. Rushed mornings can soon lead to burnout. However, having a morning ritual or routine can help. It does not have to be elaborate, though. A morning routine can just mean waking up on timeand giving yourself a moment to slow down. Grab a cup of tea, and drink in silence. Or meditate and write a to-do list. Not scrambling in the morning makes your entire day feel relaxed and keeps stress at bay.

Schedule Social Activities

The monotonous routine of going to work and coming home can often lead to burnout, especially if your work does not excite you. Try to schedule social activitiesto make yourself feel connected to people. Meet people besides coworkers. This could be a monthly brunch with old friends or even volunteering. Having fun, especially with people that you cherish, leads to a certain emotional fulfillment.

Getting up late, rushing to the bathroom, skipping breakfast and running to catch your commute. If that sounds like your typical morning, then it might be time to change things. Rushed mornings can soon lead to burnout.

Think About Your Career

If work is what is causing burnout, then it is important to ask yourself some questions. Do I enjoy going to work? What change am I making? Is this what I want to do? If not, what's next and how can I get there? Dissatisfaction at work can cause fatigue and emotional detachment, which in turn leads to unproductivity.

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