How to find balance to avoid Burnout

The demands of work and school often seem relentless, leaving many individuals feeling overwhelmed and on the brink of burnout. As the boundaries between work and personal life blur, finding a balance becomes increasingly challenging. However, it is essential to prioritise balance in our lives and maintain our well-being. Many of us are left feeling burnt out before we even realise it. We overwork ourselves until we have no energy or motivation left to continue on our tasks and obligations. The feeling of “burnout” comes from overstimulation and stress, when not taking breaks in between. It can affect someone in many aspects, through mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion. Mental exhaustion often comes first, from feeling frazzled, stressed, and overworked, and then takes over to our physical and emotional exhaustion. Those burnt out from work, often opt for other pastimes such as lying in bed, mindlessly watching TV, or feeling too exhausted to go out and have social interactions.

In 2022, Microsoft did a poll on burnout in the workplace. This was a global examination with employees from around the world in 11 different countries. Out of the 20,000 people who participated in the survey, “50% of employees and 53% of managers reported they were burned out at work,” showcasing burnout as a highly impactful and global issue (Smith, 2022). Considering the 20,000 people who partook in this survey and then examining how high the percentages are, we can concur that burnout is an issue that thousands of people are dealing with. Whether we may not talk about it or not, it still exists and slowly takes over us. It has become such a well-known idea that there are online surveys with various titles around “How Burnt Out Are You?”, where people question their energy and motivation levels.

Burnout can be avoided when taking the right precautions to limit overworking and exhaustion. The first is to take breaks, which may seem obvious but is often a forgotten step. Quite frequently, when we feel we have an endless amount of work to do, we think we have to sit down and not stop working until the tasks are all completed. When in reality, we often feel overwhelmed and exhausted somewhere in the middle of the process and lose motivation from all the stress. It is important to allocate breaks between tasks to not be overworked and still complete your tasks one step at a time. To organise this, writing schedules or using calendar apps can be helpful. Allocate time for work, with breaks in between, to get a visual representation of your work being broken up and time you can take for yourself in between. This visual also helps to make the to-do list look more tangible, for tasks to look less daunting and overwhelming.

It is also crucial to know your limits, to ensure you take a break before you are at your maximum point. Often enough, people wait until they are drained to take a break and recharge. Picturing your energy and work capacity as a battery; you do not want to wait until your battery is at less than 10% to frantically look for a charger and recharge, as the battery slowly creeps down to 0%. Instead, your battery should be monitored, and recharged throughout, to ensure you never reach that low of a percentage. Finding a balance of what your limits are is crucial to not go over them. Recharge and reset your battery before it runs out of charge to maintain energy and not completely burn out. Whenever we burn ourselves out to a complete zero, it takes a lot longer for us to regain energy and motivation again, whereas it would not take as long if we just took a break sooner. There is a fine line between productivity and burnout, and managing the limits and not overstepping the line is key.

When thinking about what can help to prevent our burnout and what can fill our break times, the activities should involve self-care and enjoyment. What is important is that these breaks do not involve any work-related or stressful activities, so they should be things to take care of ourselves. Time could be filled with self-care activities such as journaling, rest, meditation, or enjoying a meal with family or friends. It can also be an activity relating to a hobby such as running, reading, or art. The important thing is it gives your brain a break and is something important to you. We should be controlling our work and lives and not the other way around, so making time to do things that genuinely enjoy is crucial.

Lastly, focus on the aspects of your burnout. Take a moment to reflect on what is causing your burnout. Is it taking on too many tasks at once? Is it feeling overwhelmed with one intimidating task? Is it a lack of work-life balance? Or are there other outside features of comparison, pressure from peers, or the fear of what will happen next? Whether it may be one of these, none of these, or a combination, it is important to acknowledge the root of the problem. Think about what exactly are your main stress factors and think about what small steps you can take to prevent them from taking over. An example of having too many tasks or feeling intimidated by large tasks could be breaking them into small manageable tasks. Doing it in smaller steps, not only makes it more attainable, but it also motivates you when you know you are making progress in the bigger picture. Learning about mental health and the stress factors that are affecting it are key steps to take, to ensure you know your limits and the best times to take breaks.

The importance of finding balance is not only key to having good mental health, but overall to feel like you are in control of your life. Many who are struggling to find work-life balance alongside their other commitments with family and friends feel like a hamster in a wheel. We feel the need to constantly sprint to get things done, and we feel like it is a never-ending cycle that we cannot get out of. However, sometimes we need to get out of the wheel of stress and intense work and take moments to ourselves away from the work. Finding this balance to understand that our lives are rather a marathon than a sprint is crucial to understanding ourselves. We need to reflect on this balance to not always feel like we are a hamster in the wheel, but that we have the option to get on the wheel and reset.

Finding overall balance in life not only reduces burnout and strengthens mental health but has other benefits. For one, it gives you time to relax and do things you enjoy such as spending time with family and friends, hobbies and projects, or to just spend time alone and unstimulated. Feeling like you have time to do things you enjoy instead of constantly working gives you a sense of control over your life, as well as motivation to work towards your personal goals. It reminds you that your personal projects and relationships have a purpose and serve you happiness. Finding the balance between work and personal can also be motivating to engage in both activities. By recharging through downtime, it can make you feel motivated to do your work well as you feel re-energized. Going the other way, being productive at work and knowing you can take a break gives you a sense of control of your work not taking over, and gives you things to look forward to. Therefore, it can be a positive feedback cycle, when you manage it well.

Overall, prioritising self-care, finding balance, and actively avoiding burnout are essential practices for sustaining your well-being and productivity. By recognizing our limits, setting boundaries, and nurturing our physical, mental, and emotional health, we can navigate life's demands with motivation and excitement. It is critical to cultivate habits that replenish our energy, foster joy, and foster connection with ourselves and others. Self-care and doing things outside of work aren't selfish; it's a vital investment in our ability to thrive personally and professionally. Embracing a holistic approach to wellness empowers us to lead fulfilling lives and make meaningful contributions to our communities.

Sources

Smith, M. (2022, October 6). 50% of workers are burned out and “productivity paranoia” could be making it worse: “People are just worn down.”

CNBC; CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/06/microsoft-50-percent-of-people-are-burned-out-at-

work.html

Written by Audrey Wong