A detailed guide to burnout at work: 14 actionable tips
Productivity / / January 06, 2021
Vladislav Bilyk
Executive Director of the Digital Agency Smenik Agency.
Let's start with the fact that everyone burns out. It even seems to me that this is an obligatory stage in achieving success for any person - both an entrepreneur and an employee.
I decided to share a simple yet powerful burnout methodology. If you recognize yourself at least in some part of the steps I voiced, then you are on the right track. Stick to these ironic recommendations and, possibly, bring yourself to prolonged depression.
1. Give up meaningful goals
You may have meaningless goals, but there should not be great aspirations that would be practically unattainable within one lifetime. You shouldn't strive to change the world around you for the better. The maximum is improving your life through the purchase of material goods, the joy of which disappears in about a week.
“Why conquer the stars? Why waste yourself on improving the lives of others? Why give hope? Why should I sleep? Why wake up? Why move? Why i live? " - this is how the course of your thoughts should look like.
2. Take on as much work as possible
If you are a leader, take control of as many directions as possible, preferably different and not overlapping with each other. You know that once you let go of a task, it definitely won't get done well. Quality will surely suffer, or deadlines will be missed, or force majeure will occur... Of course, you would most likely have similar problems - but nevertheless.
By placing in your already busy schedule the coordination of each action with each employee for each task in the company, you can effectively slow down all processes at once.
Are you familiar with this situation? This means that you have brought up employees whose best qualities are irresponsibility and laziness. You have a low level of trust in the team, no one cares about the end result. And, oddly enough, this is your merit. After working in such a team, it will probably be difficult for an employee to reorganize into a different work mode, and he will carry your values to another employer. Thus, you make not only yourself and your colleagues unhappy, but the labor market as a whole.
I recommend hired employees to take on as many tasks as possible and promise to complete them as soon as possible. Do not even try to refuse and plan the load, distributing it evenly. This way you will not only not be able to let yourself and the employer down, but you will also show a high level of self-organization, which only moves you away from burnout. If you still try to complete all the tasks within the promised time frame, then be sure to take the work home.
Are you a remote worker or freelancer? Work 12 hours a day. More is possible. The most successful burners have such a schedule.
In addition to the main work, be sure to take up additional projects. It can be a paid job or hard long-term free help. Don't do planning personal time and do not try to spend it on vacation.
3. Add a pinch of stress
Choose the most stressful job for yourself. If you're an introvert, take up a sales position and make cold calls. If you are in need of companionship, become a freelancer and stay home.
Any job will be stressful if you are out of place and are not doing what you would like. Choose the most inappropriate direction for yourself, work without pleasure and never change anything, because passive stability is more important.
4. Limit your interests
Don't read books, don't study hobby, do not meet new people, do not walk for no reason, do not leave the house and do not go anywhere. Transform your life into an endless routine with work and home.
It is desirable to stick to YouTube at home, and the dumber the video, the better. Don't go to any events or meet friends.
If you can work on the weekend, work; if not, think about work. Thus, mentally, you will never leave the office.
Knowing how much an hour of your working time costs will help you succeed. Keep this amount in your head so that you always understand what that pointless trip or that useless trip to a restaurant cost you. After all, you could earn at this time. And I wish I could not sleep! Although this is a separate item.
If suddenly you do happen to talk to someone, then don't talk about anything other than work. So in the shortest possible time your interlocutor will become as bored and uninteresting as possible to spend time with you. He just doesn't understand anything - you can even get angry with him. In no case do not listen to other people's problems, do not delve into and do not empathize. There is no need to bother your head with anything other than work.
5. Associate yourself with work and take failure personally
This point is closely intertwined with the previous one. You are your job and nothing else. Every failure at work is akin to your death or some kind of incurable disease. However, it will be difficult for you to perceive work failures as your own, unless you limit your life to work only. Therefore, the implementation of the previous point is mandatory.
I also recommend taking personal failures of coworkers, other people's layoffs, quarrels, a bad boss mood, and other things that are far from you. By the way, the coronavirus crisis is also your personal failure.
6. Devalue your results regularly
It doesn't matter what you have achieved in your career - there is always someone above you, you are still “working for your uncle”. And even if you are successful entrepreneurthen remember that Zuckerberg became a dollar millionaire at 22. You have not overtaken him, which means that you have not achieved anything.
When you discount every result you achieve, it’s much easier for you to focus on failure. Remember that you simply do not have success, there are only failures, mistakes and problems.
The most interesting thing is that your worthlessness in the work field is easily transferred for life. Especially if you already associate life with work.
7. Surround yourself with toxic people
Everyone knows at least one person for whom nothing good exists. It is easy to recognize such people by their eternal dissatisfaction with the government, bosses, colleagues, neighbors, their own and yours ...
The most beneficial for early burnout is toxic colleagues. Can you imagine how cool it is to devalue your own and team achievements together?
Another indicator of the desired toxicity collective - frequent quarrels and internal corporate intrigues. Get involved in all sorts of scandals or wait to be involved in them.
Your loved ones, relatives and friends should be at least indifferent. They should only be interested in their own problems. If you are surrounded by people with whom you cannot share difficulties, you are on the right track. There is no need to talk about requests for help.
8. Forget healthy sleep and nutrition, sports and fresh air
Each of these actions takes away from your job or business the two things you hold dearest to you: time and attention. If the fact that time is priceless and not worth wasting it on all sorts of garbage (for example, physical and mental health) is talked about at every step, then the importance of attention is less discussed. Don't focus on things like health and your life extension. Burn to shine! Burn to burn!
Here's the correct approach:
- “I sleep 4 hours and feel great. Well, on weekends I sleep for 12 hours. Mode - for kids. "
- “A healthy balanced diet is not for me. After all, you still need to spend time cooking and follow the schedule of meals. Horror! I eat just about anything so that I don't feel hungry and I have more time to work. "
- “Listen, what sport? I don't have time to eat and sleep here, but I still have to go to the gym. And I can't study at home, all the time something interferes. Now I can't say what exactly, but when I remember, I will definitely tell you. "
- “These walks of yours I do not understand at all. What's the point of kicking around when you can sit and make money. And besides them - scoliosis, varicose veins and hemorrhoids. I have enough fresh air from the window. "
9. Think about alcohol, coffee and cigarettes
Lack of normal sleep and nutrition, as well as physical inactivity will have a very effective effect on your psycho-emotional state. But what if you want to make it worse? This will help cigarettes, alcohol and other substances that harm your body.
Burning out together is more fun, of course. Therefore, you need to find yourself drinking companions and cigarette makers. Desirable colleagues.
Slowly but surely destroy yourself. The worse you feel, the more smoked cigarettes and drunk alcohol. Your burnout will progress, and you will, one way or another, increase your doses of substances for instant pleasure.
10. Do not try to rest
A common burnout mistake newbies make is to take a vacation. Ignore it as a phenomenon. Don't book your tickets in advance, don't go anywhere. You understand that in our unstable time it is not worth planning anything. Firstly, this way you will not be able to give up vacation in favor of work (and we remember that there are force majeure and bankrupt colleagues at work). And secondly, again some kind of virus - and your tickets cried.
If you suddenly wanted to watch a movie or TV series, read a book or play - think again! Listen to successful motivators who started at the bottom and worked 25 hours a day to become who they are today. Where are you and where are they? So decide for yourself what kind of rest there is.
11. Constantly compare your "nothing" and other people's successes
Go to Instagram, subscribe to super successful comrades. It is desirable for those who have inherited success by birthright. Every day, every minute (of course, when you are not busy with work) compare yourself with them. Look at their car, then yours. Look at their apartment and then at yours. Feeling unpleasant? Go on, you are great.
Generally more often compare yourself, your life, your soul mate, material wealth and personal qualities with the life and achievements of other people. Friends and enemies, partners and competitors, former and future - the main thing is that they are more successful than you.
Of course, you don't know what they went through and what their initial conditions were. Surely they just worked harder and better. By the way, you haven't worked for a long time.
12. Ignore everyday problems
It is advisable that you have a whole range of unresolved everyday problems. Dirty dishes, unwashed clothes, uncooked food, unwashed floors, unkempt children or pets - the more the better.
From unresolved problems, you will not only feel the same sword of Damocles over your neck, but also a constant dissatisfaction with life. If the problem can be dealt with in 10-30 minutes, postpone the solution as long as possible - the stronger the effect will be.
If there is chaos at home, it will be in your head and at work. There are no better conditions for burnout.
13. Know that you are alone, only you have such problems, no one will help
So, you already hate your job and life in general, you don't want to wake up in the morning, and when you wake up, you can't get up? Great, you're burnt out. How to make the situation even worse?
First, there is no problem. To admit the presence of burnout is to sign your own weakness. You are not an ordinary person to feel weak and negative emotions, sometimes rest and recover.
Secondly, withdraw into yourself. If you suddenly want to talk about your problems, don't do it. Don't even tell your close ones, they still won't understand. It is certainly not worth discussing problems with a manager. He will think that you have always worked so poorly, and not burned out or tired.
If you are a leader, then you are at gunpoint, everyone is looking at you. You are the leader! You have to be smarter and stronger than everyone - 24 hours a day, any day of the week. No indulgences for yourself and others!
14. Don't use psychologists
“Psychologists are only for psychos! They won't help me. It is also necessary to open up in front of an unfamiliar person. What if he laughs at me? Will not humiliate in the face - so in the evening he will discuss all the details with friends. What if someone finds out that I go to psychologist? It's a shame. "
Of course it's a shame. Thinking sadly, being as ineffective as possible, "please" with your sour mine in the morning, not only yourself, but also those around you - this is the choice of a truly successful "burnout". And then depression can develop - it will give you an aura of mystery and singularity.
And have you seen the cost of seeing a psychologist? It is much more correct to invest not in your psycho-emotional state and health, but in a new iPhone, car or other material trinkets.
By the way, a good psychologist could quickly nullify all the burnout results achieved. And that's not your goal, right? Do you have a goal at all? See point 1.
Conclusions without irony
Remember you are human. Treat yourself and those around you with understanding: not only you can burn out at work, but also your loved ones, subordinates or a manager. Support the person in this state. If things get worse, send him to a specialist. Any burnout can turn into depression if not dealt with in time.
I found myself periodically close to burnout, and then I'm on the rise again. These states can be controlled if you are aware of what is happening and understand their cyclical nature. This is normal, everyone burns out.
And remember that the first step in solving any problem is to admit it exists. Good luck!
Read also🧐
- Why overwork and burnout have become part of our lives
- Coping with burnout and regaining your productivity
- How to get rid of burnout with simple exercises