How did you overcome your burnout?
Anna Mandziuk 🇺🇦
11 replies
Hi!
I recently started feeling close to burning out (or something like that).
I've read a couple of articles on the topic, but I'm curious about the real-life advice and techniques that you've used to prevent and overcome your burnout.
Replies
Mohsen Kamrani@m_kamrani
Hi Anna! Please take it seriously.
Just stop, take a break and don't think about any consequences your mind has made up!
I have experienced it first hand and if you push yourself beyond your limit you'll break and the least can happen is that you'll loose your productivity for way longer than what would happen if you had taken a break.
Hope you keep well and know it happens to all of us.
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@m_kamrani Oof, you got me, my brain is constantly thinking of various bad scenarios and consequences🙃
@anna_mandziuk I totally understand what you mean, just gotta be careful! You're a lot more than your goals.
Stepping back mentally.
Doing something else to distract yourself (exercise, nature walks, vacations) only works if you're not thinking about what you should be doing.
Give yourself space - this will only benefit your product or what you're working on. It works counter-intuitively because you often might feel guilty for not working 24/7. But in fact, it's the best thing you can do to gain some perspective.
Also, remember you're still at it, doing great, even if you take some time for yourself. Remembering that always helps me.
@stelian_dobrescu1 Thank you for these encouraging words, Steph! I'm definitely a person who tries to distract myself with anything, but then continues panicking inside about how much stuff is left to do 😰
What helps me avoid it altogether is trying to do what I love every day (apart from work). Getting in a routine, making sure my eating / gut health is dialed in, as well as some form of physical activity + stretching for proper brain function / blood flow (and sunlight as always). Reading non-business books (at least 10-20 pages daily) as a productive way to 'escape' is also great.
A routine with aspects of all of these has me working at maximum happiness / productivity ratio every day and its the best use of my time, which makes me comfortable knowing that everything I do is positively contributing to the overall mission (a flywheel of sorts)
I may be against the grain here as the common advice is to completely stop, but I find if it is something that I truly need to stop doing to let my mental health recover, my gut feeling is that I shouldn't be involved with it regardless
Yes, Nobody likes to talk about it a decade ago. Even our previous generation doesn't talk about Burnout in their jobs. But, we really want to talk about it as it affects our work productivity negatively.
Personally, I like to differentiate burnout into two sets:
1) High: Long working hours and a lot of failures in the current stage- In this phase, I meet my friends who are with me from my childhood and who know me from the real core and plan a trip with them.
2) Low: Maybe It just feels like exhaustion, in this case, I just talk with my professors and teachers from my graduate school.
@rushikesh_kavathekar It's true! The more I try to live with this exhaustion in the background, the more I feel like my productivity is perishing...