Frustrated millennial businessman with laptop

 

Burn Out Burnout

By:  Christine Clark, Conversion Analyst

Our jobs are a big part of our lives. Monday through Friday, we see the people with whom we work more than our own family members, and we spend hours a week on the road getting to and from the office. The hours are long, the tasks are endless, and as soon as one project is about to come to a close, another pops up.

Spend some time looking at new employees, and take in their excitement to be in a new place, meeting new faces, and doing new things. They’re just itching to start working with you…and you once had that enthusiasm, too.

What began as an exciting new career opportunity has the potential to turn into a stressful, monotonous routine after a handful of years, but it doesn’t have to be that way. You may have fallen into a rut with regard to the way you approach your tasks, and this can make you feel burned out.

Focus on the positives and consider these ideas to refresh your approach to your job:

  • Don’t make mountains out of ant hills
    • Skyscrapers aren’t built over night, but piece by piece. Our CEO, Larry Nichols, always says, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!” Instead of looking at a gargantuan project or a mile-long task list all at once, dissect it. Prioritize and organize the project by creating a work plan for each task that needs to be completed. What needs to be done first? What can you do right now and knock off the list? Set time aside on your own calendar to work on each task. Your time is valuable; do not cancel your own task appointments. Before you know it, you’ll be halfway or more through the project.
  • Break Up Your Day
    • When you hit the wall and feel like your brain just isn’t firing on all cylinders, get up. Walk around; get a cup of coffee or a glass of water. Come back to your tasks with a fresh breath and rested eyes and pick up where you left off – that could mean in 15 minutes or the next day.
    • Switch to another task. Not many of us have the luxury of working on one thing at a time. When you get burned out on one task, put it on pause and move on to another. You can go back to the previous task later.
  • Compliment your coworkers
    • If you’re feeling down or tired of your workload, start complimenting your coworkers on their work. In complimenting them, you will improve your own attitude. There is also a good chance that you are not the only one feeling overwhelmed. Being positive is contagious. Spread it.
  • Take Inventory
    • Think of how little you knew when you first started, and compare that to how much you know now. Take pride in all you’ve learned and in what you contribute to the company and to your coworkers. There’s a good chance you’ve come a long way…it makes you smile, doesn’t it? Don’t stop there, though, keep learning. The more you proactively learn, the more you’ll grow. Expanding your knowledge base is good not only for the company but also for yourself. Knowledge can never be lost and is never without value. Don’t let your brain petrify because you “already know how to do something.”
  • Ask for, and offer, help
    • Everyone has gone through times when their projects become a bit too much to tackle, whether it be because you have too much on your plate or because you don’t clearly understand how to approach a task. If you need help, ask.
    • When you have extra capacity, offer to help your coworkers. Sometimes it’s refreshing to dig into someone else’s projects and give your brain something different to focus on.
    • Are you able to work with new employees and help train them or show them the ropes? Teaching is a fantastic way to re-learn, and it also helps you realize how much you actually know. In working with them, the questions they ask will get your gears turning.
  • Get Creative
    • If you’re tired of doing the same thing over and over, think of ways to do it differently. Needs still need to be met, but the way you meet them can be recreated or improved upon. Is there new software available to try? Could you mix up the way your products are delivered?
    • When you look at the way you do things, if the answer is, “because that’s the way it’s always been done,” then it’s time for new thinking. Change can be challenging and not always easy, but if you don’t try to constantly evolve and improve, you’ll not only get burned out, but at some point you’ll become irrelevant.

Don’t let yourself get burned out. Keep moving forward. If you know all there is to know about what you’re doing, then it’s time to learn more. Be the reason new employees want to make a career out of their new jobs.

 

 

 

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