5 Tips To Avoid Burnout

Avoiding burnout during work or school is something that many people struggle with. Although, it can drastically improve your quality of life and overall work performance either in your career or at school. Following tips on how to avoid burnout or recognizing signs within yourself are ways that you can begin to take preventative measures against the emotional toll it can take. No one deserves to feel overwhelmed and overworked!

What Is Burnout?

The most common misconception concerning burnout is that it is the same as stress. This is a myth! Burnout and stress are two different ballparks, so, what exactly is burnout? Burnout occurs after being overworked, having feelings of no social support, taking on more than possible, and dealing with continuous stressors in life. Of course, these will vary from person to person and the root cause of burnout can be determined by a number of factors. 

Learning to avoid burnout in school or work is essential to protecting your emotional and mental stability since these are things that often suffer the most. Your emotions may begin to feel muted or apathetic, and overall your motivation for daily life tasks will decrease dramatically. Some common signs of burnout include the following: 

• Memory or concentration issues
• Lack of motivation
• Low levels of confidence 
• Increased mistakes in work or school 
• Sleep issues 
• A feeling of being drained or helpless

While overcoming burnout, it’s important to remember that your self-care is vital to ensure you remain happy and healthy. If you begin to feel burned out, take time to reflect on what needs to change and how you can implement these changes. 

5 Tips on How To Avoid Burnout

Avoiding burnout altogether may sound easier said than done, but it is entirely possible to prevent burnout from occurring in your day-to-day life.

1. Learn the difference between stress and burnout

As mentioned before, people often confuse burnout with stress and vice versa. These two are different from each other in the sense that stress may cause you to feel hyperactive, anxious, have less energy, or find yourself putting in too much effort. On the other hand, with burnout, you put in little to no effort, feel fatigued emotionally and physically, have less motivation, and overall feel mentally drained. Understanding the key differences between these two can help you identify burnout warning signs early on and thus, prevent it from furthering or happening in the first place.

2. Discover stress management tools

Stress management tools are important for everyday living, but if you feel particularly stressed and overwhelmed with life, it may be the time to find stress management techniques that work best for you. It may look like breathing exercises at the end of the day or taking yourself out for coffee and silencing your notifications. Whatever works best for you should be done.

3. Set work or school-related boundaries 

When we think of boundaries, it most often relates to us and the relationships we have built. Although, it’s equally important to have boundaries with work, school, and ourselves. Stand firm in things like not working past a certain time, or only work on 3 school assignments for the day. Spreading your work out, and realizing that your time alone can be the key to your success can lead you to be more productive in the end.

4. Define success and happiness in your life

What do success and happiness look like to you? Does it look like an equal work-life balance? Or, does it look like having meaningful hobbies outside of school and work? These are different ways that you can begin to define success and happiness in your life and what it means to you. You can be successful while avoiding burnout, just like you can be successful while maintaining a healthy level of happiness in your life.

5. Set realistic time management goals

The real truth of it all is that sometimes deadlines may be impossible to meet. Did your boss give you a 48-hour project but you only gave yourself eight hours to complete it? Do you have five school projects and you only gave yourself one day to do them? These are ways that we set unrealistic time management goals for ourselves. Spread your work out and be mindful of the fact that procrastination can cause burnout and additional stress. If you have five projects and three days, split the work up accordingly. You may pair a difficult task with a rather easy one and so on. 

Burnout can happen to anyone and is something that is not talked about enough. Allowing yourself the time you need to accomplish specific tasks or finding stress management techniques that work specifically for you will help you feel increased happiness, productivity, and avoid burnout in the end. At Eva Carlston, we deeply encourage our students to find self-care activities that they enjoy and educate them on the dangers of burnout. Taking care of yourself is equally important as taking care of projects at work or school.