5 Tips to overcome burnout

On October 6, 2021
By Chaya Ben-Shabat
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Let’s say you love what you do, and you know you’re in the right place. It could be a job, a project or a mission. But – you are just flat out and suffering burnout. The engines are empty and there’s nothing in the tank.

What do you do to move past it??

1. Take a break from Burnout

I know – this one is a no-brainer, right? We all know we need to do it, but it’s easier said than done. We say, ‘I don’t have time’ to take a break, but we really don’t have time to be burnt out!

What about the old saying:

“The graveyard is full of people who didn’t have time to die.”

You do not have time to get stuck in this burnt-out phase! We need to address this now and get you back in the game.

I want you to take that time now, whether it’s a weeklong vacay, a 2-day stay-cay, or just a day out in nature. You can never underestimate the power of just stepping away for a little bit when you’re burnt out.

Completely clear out that mental clutter, and focus your energy on something else – anything else! Or, equally great…put your brain on nothing! It’s so important to take the time to decompress.

Give yourself a buffer and take a breath. Maybe you just need to catch up on sleep for a couple days, so turn off the emails and voicemails and just unplug to recharge.

2. Deal with things you’ve neglected

Once you’ve had a chance to unplug and decompress, come home and take care of any urgent things that you’ve completely neglected while being hyper-focused on your goals. Look around you: is the house a wreck, or is your office destroyed?

If it is… that’s ok. Take a bit of time and clean it up. We know that physical clutter leads to mental clutter. Take an hour or two, or even half a day, and tackle it. Restore some order to your home or working environment. When you’re ready to step back in, you’ll have a subliminally welcoming space.

Also…if your family is feeling super neglected while you’ve been focused on your goals, take some time to tend to that as well. Surprise them with a mini-getaway. Sign the kids out of school unexpectedly for lunch or an outing.

Plan a weekend getaway and pick up your spouse. Or just surprise him and take him to lunch. Maybe you just want to bring some life back into the whole family. How about a game night with popcorn and silliness?

Reinfuse them with your magical energy! Remind them that you love them and they are your top priority… and that you do know how to have fun!

Sometimes, when we get hyper-focused, we lose sight of the things around us and the whole family pays the price. You’d be surprised by how much a little bit of love and unexpected ‘fun ‘n focus’ time can change the dynamic of the whole family.

Let’s be honest – you know that when they feel great after a little bit of TLC from you, you feel better all over again. This will massively help you refill your own tank and pull you out of burnout mode.

3. Take yourself on a date

Yes, take yourself on a date. But it’s a very specific date; I call it a ‘Dream Session’. Find a quiet place where you can dream… I don’t want you to go to sleep, though, so maybe not your bed!

You’re going to recast your vision for yourself; your life and what it is you actually want. Good places to go to dream are a bookstore, a coffee shop, or a park.

Here, you’re gonna get re-centered on what you want and why you want it. Lock yourself into that dream, the fuel, the purpose… what is it that motivates you? Why do you want it so badly?

Basically, you’re going to resell yourself on your own dreams in your Dream Session!

4. Conduct a mini trouble-shooting and solutions-searching exercise

Take a look back and analyze:
What were the problems and obstacles that were causing frustration?
What were triggers that sent you into burnout?
How can we fix each of those situations right now?
What can we do to prevent it from happening in the future?

If you’re struggling to identify the triggers, think about: did you have work overload? Were you putting in too many hours, too much energy or focus without getting a rest and refuel?

Look back, and ask yourself: what are the solutions to each one of these situations that caused the grief and heartache? What caused the burnout?

Hear me explain these steps in the accompanying video.

A solutions-oriented perspective to burnout

Every obstacle has a solution. We want to identify that obstacle, but really pour our energy into finding the solution. At the same time, we want to look at those obstacles and solutions and think about how to prevent them from happening again.

Learn the lessons in retrospect so we can prevent them in the future, or at least minimize them.

As I always share in War Week – where my members work to wage war on the mediocrity of their lives – there is no such thing as staying the same in life. You’re either moving forward, or you’re moving back.

As goal-oriented women, we never want to stay the same; we want to stretch and learn and grow. As we get comfortable at each new level, we need to expand and achieve more. We need to do and become more, and contribute more to the world around us.

As time goes by, that becomes a second-nature skill for you. If you join us in War Week, you also have the tools and resources to do it again every single year for the rest of your life.

To overcome burnout, I want you to try a miniature version of War Week. Look at what went wrong, where the breakdowns and obstacles were. What triggered the burnout, and what walls did you hit?

Analyze what the problems were, and figure out a solution to each one. Then, put a plan in place to implement them and work out how to prevent or minimize them rearing their ugly heads again.

5. Create a new schedule for yourself that gets you excited again

Make sure there are things in your day that you are passionate about. Every. Single. Day. Have it in your schedule.

Are there days in every high achiever’s life where you just have to do the work that nobody’s excited about? Of course! That’s why I’m not saying that every single day you’ll live 100% in your passion zone.

What I AM saying is this: If you try to strategically work your way out of a funk, or you completely burn out and want to get your mojo back – focus on the passion zone.

That’s what’s going to refuel you and make sure you’ve got those things into every single day – at least at the beginning. Give yourself some quick wins to build on. Put time in your schedule or your life that will give you some victories right now.

Then, you can get excited again and experience those wins. That’s gonna put more fuel in your tank.

As you’re getting back into the rhythm, spend some extra time in the specific areas of your business that set your soul on fire. This will DEFINITELY refill your tank with the jet fuel you need to re-ignite.

I can’t promise you’ll never hit burnout again, but I can promise that you can use this 5-step process to work yourself out of it whenever you need.

And just in case you think that other people don’t get burnout, then read this article – 15 CEOs and business founders share their stories.