10 Simple Tips To Help You Avoid Burnout

Even With A Stressful Job Or Other Responsibilities

It always starts small, and then before you know it you’re completely overwhelmed.

Little stressors start to add up and you feel yourself becoming burned out.

Maybe you feel like the only answer is to do something drastic like quitting your job and taking a long vacation to a far-off beach.

Fortunately, there are dozens of small habits and steps you can take right now to relieve some of your stress and keep yourself from complete burnout.

You don’t need to do everything at once. See if you can try one of these tips each day and see how you feel after a week or two.

Keep track of your biggest stressors and find ways to lessen or eliminate them

When something stresses you out, write it down or make a note of it.

The more you do this, the more you can avoid similar situations in the future.

Or, if certain situations are unavoidable, you can try to make room in your schedule before and or after stressful events for calming activities.

For example, if a certain weekly meeting is always stressful for you, try to take a walk beforehand and then give yourself something to look forward to afterward or in the evening.

Do a weekly check-in with a friend or family member

Having a regular check-in can be a good way to stay honest with yourself about how you’re doing and feeling.

Without regular accountability, it’s easy to go weeks or months before fully realizing how overwhelmed and exhausted you are.

Or, maybe you normalize this and start believing that feeling perpetually stressed is just how everyone feels.

Have a consistent exercise routine that you can follow through with

According to a study done by UCLA Health,

“among those who exercise, the number of poor mental health days dropped by more than 40 percent.”

When you’re feeling stressed, exercise is typically one of the first things to go, so make sure that your exercise routine is something you can commit to, even on rough days.

This could be as simple as walking outside for 15 minutes in the morning and after work.

I find that a combination of walking, strength training, and qigong or yoga all work well to help me feel well mentally and physically.

Commit to a regular bedtime and follow good sleep hygiene

Most people know how important sleep is but still seem to struggle with getting enough sleep or good quality sleep.

The basics include going to bed early enough that you get at least 7–8 hours of sleep and focusing on quality sleep.

Always check with your physician first, but for me, I love using a magnesium spray on my feet or stomach right before bed to help me sleep.

You can also read books like Sleep Smarter by Shawn Stevenson and Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker.

Have at least 10–20 minutes daily for something you love to do

For me, this has always been reading and walking.

Even on the busiest of days, I always find at least a few minutes for these two activities.

When you’re overwhelmed it’s easy to think that you just don’t have the time for hobbies but even 5 minutes of playing the piano, doing a puzzle, etc. can be relaxing and transform your mood.

Think about your own life and consider what activities can be done in just a few minutes a day and are fun for you.

Set and keep clear boundaries with your work

If work is a big source of your stress and overwhelm, see what you can do to lessen this.

If you are used to checking email at all hours of the day, could you commit to not checking email after 6 or 7 PM?

If your entire company expects overwork, maybe this is the year that you start doing informational interviews and looking for a new job.

Overwork can be okay in the short-term but it’s not sustainable for months at a time or years and years.

Incorporate techniques like mindfulness, prayer, and journaling to de-stress

While things like meditation and journaling are common today, they are often overlooked and forgotten when we need them the most.

For journaling I like to use both a blank journal to record my thoughts and also the Five Minute Journal to track what I’m grateful for and highlights of the day.

For mindfulness, I’m currently using the HeartMath Inner Coherence device but in the past, I’ve also used the HeadSpace app and Insight Timer and liked both.

Be realistic about your expectations for yourself

Sometimes we reach a point of burnout because we hold ourselves to impossible standards.

If you have a full-time job or other big responsibilities, remember that there are only so many hours in a day.

Get a planner or open up Google Calendar and block out things like sleep, work, eating, commuting, etc.

Then, see how many hours you have left.

If you haven’t tried it before you might try tracking your time for a week or two to get a better idea of what you have time for and what might need to go for now.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help both at work and at home

Sometimes people are taught to believe that asking for help is a sign of weakness, whereas in actuality, it’s a huge strength.

If you want to live a long, happy, and healthy life, you must become comfortable with asking for help.

This could look like delegating responsibilities at work or getting help with home tasks that you don’t enjoy or have time for like cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.

Consider seeing a therapist to get additional tools and techniques for dealing with stress

Even if it’s only for a couple of sessions, a therapist can provide you with tools and techniques based on your specific situation.

You’ll also find that it can be extremely helpful to have a neutral party to listen to your problems whether you just need to vent or want help finding solutions to your issues.

Maybe you grew up thinking that therapy was only for extreme situations like depression or marriage struggles, but anyone can benefit from therapy if they’re willing to put in the work.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure to check out my free habits printable!