Burnout is real.

Lately, I’ve been taking on a lot. Raising two kids, running two businesses, home renovations, healing psychically and mentally from surgery and complications, continuing to heal from trauma and ptsd, craft fairs… All while trying to make sure that I provide an amazing supportive and loving environment for my children to grow up in, supporting my extended family through some hard times, and attempting to maintain and nurture friendships and important relationships… Not to say that it isn’t doable, but I haven’t always been following my own advice about self care. I’ve been trying to do it all without breaks or delegation and it’s led me dangerously close to burnout.

What is burnout?

In short, burnout is exhaustion. Sometimes it’s physical, sometimes and it’s mental. But you get to a point where you just don’t want to or can’t do anything anymore. You take on too much and get overwhelmed and drained. Energy is in short supply. Motivation is in even shorter supply. It get’s to a point where you just want to quit everything.

What causes burnout?

Taking on too much at once can be a big cause of burnout. Not taking proper care of yourself is another. When you’re overworked or stressed, depressed or anxious, it can take it’s tole on you.

How to avoid or recover from burnout?

The best thing I think you can do is to take a break. Hit pause on anything that isn’t absolutely necessary. Delegate anything that can be handled by others and start prioritizing. Then, focus on self care. Make sure that you’re getting enough sleep, nutritious meals and a chance to move your body- whether full blown exercising or just a simple walk.

Getting organized can help as well. This allows you to better see the tasks at hand and can make accomplishing them easier which will allow you more time and peace of mind. Keep track of what you need to and avoid the overwhelm that leads to burnout.

Give yourself grace.

It’s important to remember that no one can actually do it all. Make sure to give yourself grace and patience as you take the time you need in order to take care of yourself. You’re no good to anyone if you’re too exhausted to do anything anyway so don’t let yourself say yes to everything. Take a break. Have a nap or a bath or a delicious meal. Relax and take some time to do something just for fun. Once you’re reenergized and feeling like yourself again, you can get back to the grind. Just remember to take breaks and take care of yourself before you hit that burnout point again.