Avoiding Burnout in a “No Days Off Culture”

Do you ever think to yourself, “I just want to be normal sometimes!!”? This happened to me this week after 30 minutes of watching tv TRYING to relax. I asked myself over and over again “why is relaxing and doing nothing so unsettling to me?”. “When did I become this way?”. On my days off from working my full time job, I block out the entire day to work my other businesses. When I get home from working my full time job, I spend every other free minute working on my other businesses. I can’t tell you the last time I sat and watched a movie, or netflix on a day off. Or a day totally dedicated to self care where I actually put my phone down. Somehow, I’ve turned into a workaholic who unfortunately is experiencing burnout as we speak. As I’m writing this, I’m coming home after working a full day (night shift). It’s 9:52pm and I’m enjoying a dirty chai latte. Not gona lie, I added Kahlua cause it was one of those days.

Not too long ago, I started working closely with a mentor who runs a non-profit organization which focuses primarily in shaping the character of leaders. Whether it’s corporate leadership or small business leaders, LeadToday provides coaching at the professional, and individual level. My personal coach has been working with me primarily on goal setting but little does he know, his graphic of the four quadrants is what I find myself going back to over and over again when I’m on the verge of burning out. Let me explain:

There are four quadrants we as humans fall into:

Quadrant 1: Urgent & Important

Quadrant 2: Not Urgent & Important

Quadrant 3: Urgent & Not Important

Quadrant 4: Not Urgent & Not Important

So, where should we fall in order to stay balanced? Yep, you guessed it…Quadrant 2. Quadrant 2 is known as the difference maker. It allows us to remember our purpose but also allows us to rest. It forces us to become intentional about sitting down and getting the important things done. Quadrant 2 makes room on the calendar for those daily habits we know we have to tackle. Here are some key ways to remain in quadrant 2 and avoid falling into the trap of the “working on demand economy”, otherwise known as quadrant 1.

-Do what needs to be done. If you need to make a list, then make a list. I’m a huge list maker. It’s the only way for me to not feel overwhelmed. I also love the feeling I get when I can check something off of the list. Small wins are important. Not everything is urgent and important even though our minds have tricked us into thinking this way.

-Understand that humility is not a weakness. There is humility is resting and acknowledging when we need a break. We don’t need to be glued to our phones every second, we don’t need to be so driven that we forget our purpose was placed in our hearts by God and that we do all things to honor Him. Also, nobody likes a bragger or a 1-upper. Don’t be this person.

-We don’t always have to win. I’m not really a competitive person when it comes to other people. I am however extremely hard on myself and I will push myself until I have nothing left in the tank. Which is why we’re here. Don’t be like me!! LOL. I mentioned before how celebrating small wins are important. When we celebrate small wins, it takes off the pressure to constantly be number one amongst other people. If you’re ALWAYS winning, how will you ever learn from your losses?

-Servant leadership. When we serve with a servants heart, our work becomes more about the joy and less about what we get in return. This is a win all day because our fulfillment is beyond what we can do solely. Servant leadership is the fuel to keep going at healthy rates and to continue showing up with the energy the job deserves.

-Choose multiple mentors. I’ve said this once, and I’ll say it again. Get a mentor. As a matter of fact, have multiple mentors. Financial mentors, fitness mentors, business mentors, life mentors. When you can follow someone who has been there and gone before you, you’re able to avoid the mistakes they made. There are mentors of mine who have literally given me road maps of things not to do because they did them and realized they could prevent someone else from repeating that same behavior. Mentors really are the cheat code.

-Trust God for the long term. I read in a book that when we avoid resting, it’s because we don’t have trust in God. We don’t trust that He can handle things. We don’t trust that the universe will be okay if we take a minor break. We don’t trust that God will provide. We don’t trust that the world will continue without our micro management of it. God created the entire universe. Who are we to think WE have the control or power to work so hard in order for things to go in our favor? What are we trying to prove? WHO are we trying to prove? We have to trust that God’s got this. That is quite literally the point of surrender, faith and trust. I promise, it’s going to be okay if we take a break.

“God is God. He is indispensable. I am His creature. The World continues working fine when I stop.”

The idea that no days off is “sexy” is leading well equipt entrepreneurs, moms and dads, and corporate professionals into a downward spiral. Let’s all be better, honor God and puhhhleassseee take a day off!! Our future selves will thank us for it.

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