When you're working long hours, dealing with difficult clients, and managing daily home errands all on your own, chances are you get back home absolutely exhausted. It's going to be another night of ordering takeaway and crashing on the couch as you try to catch up on the latest episodes of your favorite show.
This is called burnout, and it is quickly becoming endemic among millennials all across the United States. A recent study conducted done by Indeed shows that employee burnouts have only gotten more severe since 2020, with more than 67% of the population feeling its worst effects. With emails upon emails to reply to and never-ending conferences in front of a screen, even the highest functioning and most productive workers are now facing burnout, leaving them with feelings of tiredness and resentment.
Burnout is the horrible consequence of overworking yourself to the point where your mind and body are on the brink of completely giving up. It results in heightened anxiety, increased feelings of exhaustion, and an inability to get the simplest of tasks done because you're just too worn out.
Hustle culture is one of the biggest culprits of burnout, and it is high time you take the necessary steps to save your physical and mental health from its disastrous effects. Here are some expert tips to help you deal with burnout and establish a healthier work and life balance for yourself. Let's have a look!
Ways to Deal with Burnout
Forget Work-Life Balance, Find Harmony
Speaking of establishing a work-life balance for yourself, let's start by understanding that finding harmony between your work life and personal life is more important than balancing it. Try to find passion and value in your work instead of trying to allot a certain amount of time for office work and then spending the rest on your personal errands, socializing, etc.
Too many people are stuck in jobs that are slowly eating away their souls. This redundant, mundane cycle of the usual 9 to 5 leaves you more drained than ever. So, try to change your focus and perspective. You can do this by seeking out work that fulfills your passions and truly makes a difference. It will offer you the opportunity to see your job as valuable and form connections that feed your soul.
You might even find yourself less tired working a 12-hour shift than you were working for 5-7 hours at the old job!
Recognize the Signs of Burnout
Burnout can show up in different ways, and it affects everyone differently. Therefore, before you try to figure out how to prevent your burnout or ease your way through it, it is important to first recognize its signs.
Some of the biggest and most common signs of burnout include:
Difficulty in focusing on the task at hand.
A sudden increase in forgetfulness.
Losing sight of who you are and your goals.
Frustration and an inability to relax.
Unexplained body pains, muscle tension, and insomnia.
There are numerous other indicators of burnout too. It can appear as anything, from ordering takeout too often because you're too tired to cook anymore to having increased fights with your loved ones. All of these can be signs that you are experiencing burnout.
Get Plenty of Sleep
Have you heard of revenge bedtime procrastination? Even if you haven't, it is certain that most people who are reading this article experience it quite commonly.
Revenge bedtime procrastination is when you put off going to bed so you can participate in activities that you like in the later hours of the day. Since most of you are too busy with work and other life responsibilities during the day, you don't get any time to do the things you enjoy. So, when it's dark, and the world goes to sleep, you stay up late for some special 'me time.'
While setting aside time for yourself is important, doing it at the expense of your sleep won't serve you well. This is especially true when you have to wake up by 6 or 7 am and rush off to work again.
The human body needs at least eight hours of sleep each night to be able to function all day long. Borrowing some time from these hours might feel good at the moment, but it will leave you feeling lethargic and with a foggy mind that eventually leads to burnout.
Invest in an Ergonomic Office Set-Up
More often than not, people end up feeling way more tired than they should be after a day's work. Many different factors contribute to this feeling of burnout, including high levels of stress and a non-ergonomic office setup.
While having the right gear and the latest software is important to ensure a smooth workflow, what’s more important is having the right office furniture. You shouldn't just be focused on your quality of work; put some attention to the quality of your health too!
After all, you can only work as well as you feel. Investing in a highly ergonomic office chair along with the best standing desk will ensure you feel comfortable and well-rested throughout the workday. You might even find yourself getting more done in a lesser amount of time and ending the day with enough energy to catch up with friends!
A great product to buy for your office is the Vici Duplex Standing Desk from FlexiSpot. It allows you to switch between one and two-tier desktop modes while also offering a larger surface area to store your office essentials. The standing feature of this office desk lets you break out of your sedentary lifestyle and give your body some much-needed exercise. The best part is that you can do it all with no interruptions to your work!
Discover Your Breaking Point
By this time, you're probably thinking about how it is nearly impossible to be able to just unplug and focus on yourself for a change. It is true that most young workers and entrepreneurs are at a crucial point in their careers, and you simply can't afford to take a few days off. However, it is important to discover your breaking point and take care of yourself accordingly.
Burnout has become almost inevitable in today's workforce. Instead of trying to work your way through it, recognize when you're reaching your breaking point and try to pull back a little. Taking a sick day won't be the end of the world, and neither will it undo all of the good work you've done recently.
Regain Control Over Your Day
One of the worst effects of burnout is that it makes you feel powerless. This loss of control over your day as well as your mind and body only increases the frustration and heightened anxiety associated with burnout. You might even feel like life is passing you by, and no matter what you do, you simply can't keep up.
Instead of letting these negative feelings ruin your productivity, do your best to regain control over your day. You might not have power over the things that are causing your burnout, but you do have control over how you handle them and what you do to recharge your mind and body.
Start by setting some solid limits and boundaries. If your work hours are from 9 to 5, make it clear that contacting you with an important email or deadline at 7 pm isn't okay, and you will not be responding. Similarly, if a friend's ranting is causing you emotional burnout, politely tell them that you aren't in the best headspace to listen right now.
Boundaries are one of the most important aspects of adulting, and you need to set them if you want to live a healthy and happy life. They allow you to prioritize yourself and your mental wellbeing, and in turn, make you more productive at work and out of it.
To Sum it Up
Recognizing your burnout is the first step to recovering from it. People often ignore the signs and pass it off as just being tired, but burnout is very real, and it can take you to a point when you're too tired to even get out of bed!
An important thing to understand about dealing with burnout is that everyone experiences it differently. So, while the abovementioned points can do wonders to help you pull yourself out of it, remember that what works for some may not work for others. You have to put in the effort to identify your burnout, recognize the reason behind your increased stress levels and discover activities that help you manage it better.
Fortunately, FlexiSpot has all the right tools to help you regain your productivity and break out of this burnout. FlexiSpot offers optimally designed office and home furniture that allows you to work without tiring out too quickly, from office desks to comfortable standing desk chairs and much more. Have a look at our catalog on the website here!
