Reduce Burnout at Work and Life through More Time and Space

My coaching program helps moms in male-dominated fields suffering from burnout to enjoy the life they’ve worked so hard to build using my proven methodology to heal the underlying causes of burnout...

To get started on enjoying your life,

Check out my free masterclass on the 4 methods to love your life link in the show notes.

Not everyone is in a job they love…some are, and that’s great. Others are in a grind.

Regardless of where you are in your career, we can often feel overwhelmed by our never-ending to-do lists or things piling up.

Factor in a sick child or other curveball life can throw, and forget about it. You will feel like you’re drowning pretty quickly.

It is important to honor where you are when you are there.

Recently, my to-do list was longer than usual. Some deadlines were looming. So I decided to focus on one thing at a time. This is not usually how I manage. Usually, I get a task done in 15-20 min increments. But I found some of the things I needed to take care of just weren’t conducive to that strategy. So I switched gears and did one thing at a time. I also forgave myself for not seemingly reaching the usual level that I had been achieving.

The first thing my brain wanted to do was to make me feel inadequate, not worthy, and not good enough. But sometimes, life gets tough. That’s the reality, and a way to make things easier is by giving ourselves grace, of course, like what I discussed in episode#24

But also space. Some breathing room. More free time. Sometimes that means sacrificing some of our daily routines depending on how much they help us. The last couple of weeks were hectic for me, so something had to give. I cut back from six days of exercise a week to three, knowing this was temporary.

I put a hold on the podcast, even though I love bringing it all to you so much. I quieted down on my emails to my list. I often email them; go to my website stresscleansemd.com to sign up for my emails…but I had to decrease that also to give myself more breathing room.

I constrained who I chose to hang out with, which I usually do, but I made sure not to overschedule weekends. For example, I allowed myself to not do some exercise on weekends when I saw many patients on call.

I scheduled extra time before bed to make sure I got adequate sleep. We need that for our mental health. I know I definitely do. And the way to actually do this is to promise and commit to yourself that you’ll have good sleep hygiene. So, yes, there are times [Netflix], but there are also times when you have to have the discipline to do what’s healthy.

Schedule some time and space to connect with a loved one in the figure if you can’t fit it in right now. Have things to look forward to.

Take five minutes in the morning to connect with yourself and set an intention for the day.

Try to get help if you can…with childcare or household tasks…this will create more space.

Unplug. Cut yourself off from any scrolling. I am getting a watch actually to be able to put my phone aside outside of work hours to increase presence because I use my phone as a clock.

Declutter and organize your workspace or a sacred space at home. Because, like Gretchen Rubin’s book title, outer order does create inner calm.

Make a large to-do list and smaller ones to decrease overwhelm.

Say no to things you don’t absolutely have to do. Protect your time and energy to conserve more time and space. Stop people-pleasing (for help with this, listen to episode #4). People-pleasing muddies up our free time, energy, and space.

Meditate regularly. (only 5 minutes)

Take a personal sick day or some form of time off soon to give yourself time to get shit done and recoup.

Be okay with not being a productivity machine. It’s okay.

Do a reset when the tough time seems like it may be letting up.

Make a short list of manageable goals and get to them. One small step at a time.

To get started on enjoying your life,

Check out my free masterclass on 4 methods to love your life link in the show notes.

Prianca NaikNovember 9, 2022