8 Tips to Ease Burnout

Burnout is no joke, and even though it might not always be looked at as a serious health risk, it most certainly is one. Whether you’re a college student powering through finals or you’re working multiple jobs and looking for a bit of a break, burnout can be extremely real and serious.

If you don’t already know, burnout is a constant state of overwhelm or stress, usually related to professional elements of life, though it can be about anything. Usually, this comes with symptoms of fatigue, exhaustion, cynicism, detachment, hopelessness and even anxiety. But it doesn’t have to be this way! There are so many ways to ease burnout and keep things under control. Here are just a few of the ways that you can ease burnout. 

1. Reduce Your Schedule

While there are plenty of ways to ease burnout once you’re already there, one of the most effective and healthy ways to truly control burnout is to nip it in the bud and prevent it entirely, which means reducing your schedule and scaling back on your commitments. Of course, this is much more possible for some than others — a student with three activities committees can quit one of them, whereas a mom of three can’t just as easily reduce her commitments. Try to ask for help where you can and say no when necessary.

2. Spend Time With Loved Ones

One great way to combat burnout is to spend time with people who love and care about you, and whose company you enjoy. Burnout can be a lonely feeling, so surrounding yourself with love and understanding might be exactly what you’re looking for.

3. Meditate

Meditation can be a great practice for calming the mind and allowing you to truly rest and be still with yourself, which is what you need when you feel burnt out or if you’re on the brink of burnout. Even if you feel like you don’t have enough time to meditate, there are so many meditations that you can do with just a few minutes of your time, and they can truly change the way you feel in the moment and long term.

4. Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the simple act of trying to stay present and engaged with the world around you and the sensations that you experience in your immediate surroundings. While this might sound a bit unrelated to burnout, mindfulness can help remind you to stay present and centered, which burnout tends to prevent. You can use mindfulness in meditation or even simply in life.

5. Get Enough Sleep Each Night 

One of the worst things you can do for burnout is to make yourself physically tired on top of being mentally tired. That’s why getting enough rest is truly important and can’t be overlooked. Adults on average need seven or more hours of sleep each night, and you truly can’t skimp on that. Your health depends on it.

6. Plan a “Nothing Day”

Sometimes, you really do absolutely nothing at all. If you feel burnt out or like you might experience burnout sometime soon, planning a day where you literally have no plans at all I can give you the space to rest and do what you need to do to keep going. Everybody needs rest, and it’s important to plan for that in your schedule ahead of time.

7. Stay Fed and Hydrated

Of course, the physical side of burnout and exhaustion is extremely real. It’s important to take care of all of your physical needs in order to maintain your mental and emotional health. This means making sure that you’re drinking enough water and eating real meals on a daily basis in order to maintain your health and your energy. Even simply making an effort to eat one healthy thing a day can make a huge difference.

8. Talk to a Professional

Stress, anxiety, burnout and other mental health struggles — both situational and chemical — on your mental health that can’t always be handled completely independently. You shouldn’t have to go at everything alone, and that’s exactly why it can be so beneficial to talk to a professional about the way that you’re feeling. Whether you seek out counseling at your school or you find a therapist that you really like, taking care of your mental health often starts with finding and building the support network you need around you.

Easing Burnout

Even though burnout is a super common issue nowadays, it doesn’t have to be that way for you. Feeling burnt out is not a natural symptom of working and living in the world — in fact, you should have the power and agency to find the peace you deserve in your life. Whether this means you need to do it reduce your schedule or simply take a bit more time for yourself, easing burnout is about listening to yourself and your needs.