Tristan Layfield follows up on last week’s tip that clued us into how to recognize burnout by discussing what to do once you’ve recognized that you’re burnt out. Curing burnout requires more than just a vacation; we have to be a bit more intentional. While that can be difficult when you’re already feeling drained, it’s virtually the only way to come through on the other side.
TRANSCRIPT
Tristan: What’s going on, Living Corporate? It’s Tristan, and I want to thank you for tapping back in with me as I provide some tips and advice for professionals. Since we talked about burnout on the last tip, I wanted to discuss what to do once you’ve recognized that you’re burnt out.
When you’re burnt out, most people will tell you that you need to take some time off of work. While that may help a little bit, simply taking a vacation will not fix your burnout situation. At the end of the day, you will be the same person returning to the same job.
To really make a difference in your situation, yes, take some time off, but you also work on changing two things: your attitude and workload.
Research from the University of Bath suggests that perfectionism and burnout are closely linked. As a recovering perfectionist, I know that many of us tend to have an all or nothing mindset, which means we either complete something perfectly or we’re failures. We have to get away from that mindset. Often we throw ourselves into negative thoughts and patterns. If we can recognize those thoughts and patterns so we can work to stop them, we can shift our attitude.
You also want to take some work off of your plate. Take some time to have a conversation with your boss to let them know that you’re feeling overworked. Prepare for that meeting beforehand by assessing your work and what could easily be transitioned to someone else and maybe even a potential plan for transitioning it. Decreasing your workload can help open up more time for you. After that conversation, try to be more strategic in the work opportunities you say yes to moving forward.
Curing burn out requires more than just a vacation; we have to be a bit more intentional. While that can be difficult when you’re already feeling drained, it’s virtually the only way to come through on the other side.
Thanks for tapping in with me this week.
This tip was brought to you by Tristan of Layfield Resume Consulting. Check us out on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @LayfieldResume or connect with me, Tristan Layfield, on LinkedIn.
