With the New Year quickly approaching, we thought we would address an issue that many of us face, but not a lot of us take steps to resolve. This affects our mood, work quality, productivity and ability to do our jobs successfully. This phenomenon is particularly on the rise at the end of the year. The hustle to wrap up projects and meet quarterly goals is no joke. What are we speaking of? None other than workplace burnout. The push to success, by us, bosses or co-workers is oftentimes one of largest contributing factors to getting burnt out. Don’t get us wrong, success is a great thing to achieve. However, it’s how you balance that drive that will determine if you actually get there. Burnt out employees won’t reach their goals as easy and productively as employees who find a good balance. If this sounds like you, your employees or anyone you know, send them these tips to avoid this and let’s make it a New Years resolution to take better care of ourselves which will in turn allow us to know amazing work.
  1. Change Your Environment While sometimes this isn’t possible, it’s a great idea to switch up your scenery. Sitting at a desk all day will fog your mental clarity and is sure to put you in an unmotivated, uncreative rut. Something as simple as going for a walk or leaving the office for lunch can reset your brain.
  2. Plan Your Day The more organized, the better. Having a Kanban Board, personal planner or an old fashioned checklist can go a long way on keeping you on track and productive. At the end of everyday, write down things you didn’t get to today or want to do tomorrow. You will leave your desk with more mental clarity knowing you don’t have to remember everything because it’s all written down. Having a master list and notes will also help you to prioritize.
  3. Listen To Music There are many studies that prove the positive effects of music on your brain. It can relax us, reduce stress and anxiety and allow your subconscious to do it’s best work. Music can also motivate us.
  4. Change Your Mindset This will take time and you will have to retrain your way of thinking, however this could be your golden ticket to avoiding burnout. Problems arise. That’s nothing new. How you view and work on them matters. Adopt a solution focused mindset. When problems arise instead of blaming, getting work up or trying to figure out how it happened, the first thing you should think is “what is the solution?”
  5. More Sleep, Less Caffeine A good cup, or three, of coffee is just as important to me as it is the next person however caffeine should not replace sleep. High caffeine intake can adverse effects such as jitters, anxiety and a few others. Sleep reduces stress, increases mental clarity  and boosts your immune system.
Have you ever experience work burnout? Sound off in the comments on the small steps you take to avoid it!