Burnout is a very real problem that affects millions of people all around the globe. This is especially true for entrepreneurs who are trying to build a business on the side while still working a day job.
Not only do they need to meet deadlines at work, but they also need to burn the candle at both ends when they get home, just so that their business can progress. Over and above that, they have family commitments, chores, bills, and a multitude of other life demands to handle.
The common signs of burnout are:
And so on. There’s nothing to be ashamed of here. Sometimes life can deal you a tough hand. The good news is that there are ways to cope with burnout.
This is the first and most important step. Put it ALL down on paper so that you don’t have a thousand and one things floating around your head and sapping your energy.
The list of tasks you have should bring about clarity. Now you’ll need to sort them out into 3 categories: Urgent, Important, Others
Now focus on the important stuff while checking off one task from the ‘Others’ list daily. The items in the ‘Others’ category could be household chores, catching up with a friend, etc.
There’s no right or wrong answer here because different people do it differently. Some people meditate, some do yoga and some hit the punching bag.
What matters here is that the activity needs to give you some release from your pent up frustration.
If riding a roller coaster or swimming at the beach does that for you, then that’s what you need to do. Don’t struggle with yoga just because the books tell you to do that.
Achieving work-life balance is a juggling act… and just like any good juggling act, there is a pattern involved. Your schedule is a pattern or a routine.
When you have a routine, you’ll have less decision fatigue. It’s easier to follow structure and contrary to popular belief, structure gives you more freedom than trying to wing your day haphazardly.
The best way to beat burnout is to take an active interest in changing things up. Since what you’ve done so far has only caused you burnout, it’s time for new measures. (Apply the 3 steps above.)
It’s very easy to sink into a state of depression where you want to do nothing and nothing interests you. When you stay in this stage for too long, you’ll be in a state of inertia and it’ll require Herculean effort on your part to get back on track.
The key to breaking inertia will be to start engaging in new activities/routine slowly. Initially, it’s best to get started with slow, progressive steps.
By applying the 4 tips above, you’ll be able to cope with burnout and reclaim your life. It’s never going to get easier. You’ll just need to get stronger and smarter.
Once you understand this, you’ll accept the challenges of the journey and do what it takes to reach your destination.
Nobody reaches breaking point overnight unless it involves the death of someone close to them. For most other situations where you’re stressed out because of work or a cumulation of multiple issues – it always takes time to reach your breaking point.
Stress builds up. The key to prevent this from happening is to be proactive at mitigating it. Here’s what you need to do.
You must assess the situation. In most cases, it’s usually less dire than it appears to be. We often tend to amplify worst case scenarios in our imagination and act as if these situations have come to pass.
Make a list of exactly what is stressing you out. Is it the bills? Or your weight? Work commitments? The car? The spouse? The kids?
Once you list all the triggers for your stress, now you have it all on paper to refer to. It’s important to get out of your own head.
Look at the list you have. Which are the problems that’s within your control. If it’s the bills, then you need to pay them off. As difficult as this may be depending on your financial situation, there are still solutions to this problem.
Focus on the problems that you can solve and mentally detach from those that are out of your control. Worry doesn’t take away tomorrow’s problems, it takes away today’s peace.
Once you know what you can control, then you need to make a plan to do something about it. If it’s the bills, then call up your debtors and structure a payment plan that’s within your ability. At least you’re making an effort and that does buy goodwill with those you owe.
If it’s your health, then make a diet plan and change your diet gradually. Move more and exercise daily. It’s all within your reach. You don’t need to do a lot at once. A little daily will add up to massive changes over time.
Just get started chipping away at your problems and you’ll feel better because you know these problems are going to be resolved.
Always get the urgent tasks done first. You don’t want them bouncing around in your thoughts constantly. Get them out of the way no matter how difficult or uncomfortable they may seem.
You can then move on to the important tasks.
To reduce, you must be clear about what’s bothering you. This is delineation. Write it down and assess the situation thoroughly.
Do what you can and delegate what you can’t. If the chores are too overwhelming, get your spouse or kids involved and share the chores out. Everybody does their share and you’ll not be biting off more than you can chew.
Discard what you’re worrying about but have no control over. If you’re religious, spend time in prayer and let God move in his mysterious ways.
If you’re not religious, focus on what you can do and let what’s beyond your sphere of control sort themselves out, while you hope for the best.
Achieving personal satisfaction in your life is not about avoiding stress completely. The kite rises against the wind. So, for you to progress and achieve satisfaction in your life you have to encounter stress. However, you do not need to be buried in it.
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
– Theodore Roosevelt
Managing burnout and stress requires self discipline and if you want to know more about harnessing the power of self discipline, check out the featured resource below for a free detailed report; download, read it and take action 🙂
At the rate things are going, one might be led to believe that the world we live in is becoming crazier by the day. With vaccine mandates, toxic politicians, never-ending problems, creeping inflation, etc. trying to escape stress is becoming a Herculean task.
The best way to avoid anxiety will be to ensure that you have good habits in your life which help to manage your stress and anxiety levels. Very often, what you do NOT do is just as important as what you actually do.
Below you’ll find 7 habits to avoid if you’re prone to anxiety and/or the odd panic attack. Cut them out of your life and you’ll find that your anxiety symptoms dissipate and disappear in no time at all.
Avoid social media at all costs, if you’re constantly upset or fearful of the news and debates taking place on platforms like Facebook.
What was once supposed to be for fun and entertainment has become a breeding ground for vitriolic debates, overly sensitive people and generally bad news or fake news making the rounds.
Taking a 30–60-day break from social media will do wonders for your mind and soul and will help you to avoid that incapacitating anxiety attack.
Some people can find a problem for every solution. These toxic people will always leave you aggravated, fearful or feeling negative. The longer you stay around them, the more upset and anxious you’ll become.
While the self-help books will tell you to be the bigger person, sooner or later you need to ask yourself if always being the bigger person means that you’re hanging around with ‘small’ people.
I know this can be difficult to do, especially if you have toxic family members, but you really do need to surround yourself with people who will build you up rather than bring you down.
The media can be summarized into one word – agendas. That’s it. No longer is the news about informing people of current events.
These days, the news is used to make people fearful of pandemics, political issues, crime rates, and a myriad of other talking points designed to stir up fear and panic – to achieve ulterior motives.
You will find that many of the most successful people don’t watch the news. Yes, there will be those that tell you that you need to stay informed, but they appear to be unaware that they are getting a skewed vision of the world through the lens of that particular organisation, and they all have their own worldviews to promote.
Stimulants such as caffeine, sugar, alcohol, cigarettes, energy drinks, etc. may make you feel good temporarily, but they’re harmful to your health in the long run.
Reduce your consumption of them… and for habits like smoking, it’s best to eliminate them totally. The ingredients and substances in most stimulants have been shown to cause anxiety directly or indirectly.
The quick high simply isn’t worth the low you will be feeling for hours afterwards!
Leading a sedentary lifestyle makes people feel lethargic, depressed and weak. Our bodies were made to move – even if you think you don’t have the time or mood to exercise.
Spend 15-30 minutes a day exercising. Your body will release endorphins that make you feel happier. You can’t be anxious and happy at the same time. This is one of the biggest benefits of exercise.
Furthermore, your stamina will increase and so will your strength. You’ll be less tired all the time and you’ll feel much better about your life.
Do NOT burn the candles at both ends all the time. Society has made it seem that material success and wealth are the be-all and end-all of life.
But if you’re in a constant state of anxiety because you’re sacrificing sleep just to work, not only will you be more tired, irritable and high-strung, but your productivity will suffer too.
Get 7-8 hours of sleep daily. Give your mind and body a rest. It’s one of the best things you can do to reduce anxiety.
Comparing yourself with others will almost always make you feel worse about yourself. If you think someone else is better off than you, you’ll be dissatisfied with your own life and envious of them.
If you think you’re better than others, generally, you’ll be feeling insecure deep down inside, and your thoughts are a reflection of you not feeling good enough.
Either way, it’s not a good prognosis.
You’ll find happiness when you’re not comparing yourself with others. Don’t run if no one is chasing you.
Apply the pointers in this article and your anxiety levels will drop. You may also wish to spend time meditating, finding ways to destress (E.g. gratitude journaling, watching comedies, praying, etc.) and try to stay optimistic.
Find what works for you and do it consistently. Always remember that life is to be lived… and not controlled. Surf the waves of life taking each wave as it comes rather than trying to control the tides.
The latter will only lead to anxiety. Let it go.
“Our anxiety does not come from thinking about the future, but from wanting to control it.”
– Kahlil Gibran
Managing stress requires self discipline and if you want to know more about harnessing the power of self discipline, check out the featured resource below for a free detailed report; download, read it and take action 🙂
Saying that times are challenging these days would be a gross understatement.
With the Covid pandemic, political polarization, lockdowns, vaccine mandates, people losing their jobs daily and untruthful media juggernauts dividing the people over issues – let’s just say, times are stressful.
The good news is that you can remedy this problem and maintain your sanity in a world that seems to be growing increasingly insane by the day.
Here’s how you do it…
The first step to healing yourself will be to find out what’s getting you down.
Are you unhappy at work? Is it the news? Or is it the constant vitriolic debates on social media that’s aggravating you?
What’s important is to know what’s eating you.
Even overthinking can be a problem – and the first step is knowing what’s causing you distress.
As simple as this sounds, people are not rational and fail to do it. Millions get stressed out watching the news which is always polarizing and stirring up fear. It would only make sense to stop watching this drivel.
But people don’t.
Like a deer caught in the headlights, they keep consuming the news content put out by the networks who have hidden agendas of their own. As a result, they get more stressed out. It’s a vicious cycle that never ends.
Eliminate ALL triggers that are causing you mental and emotional anguish.
A 3-to-5-day digital detox will do wonders for your mind and soul. When you don’t watch TV or use your phone, you’ll immediately be reducing the amount of stimuli your brain receives and processes. As a result, you’ll calm down.
Recently, Facebook (Instagram and WhatsApp too) was down for a day. Millions of people reported feeling better for that day when they couldn’t access their social media.
They got a brief respite from all the stimuli. Instead of understanding how beneficial this was to their mind and soul, the masses mindlessly got back on social media the very next day when the platforms resumed operations and started discussing why the ‘blackout’ happened.
Like Max Lucado said, “A man who wants to lead an orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.”
Turn your back on the social media crowd and your life will become a symphony. Or at the very least, it won’t become a stressful cacophony of social media talking points.
While your morning coffee is fine, you’ll want to avoid energy drinks and other stimulants to keep you going through the day. Caffeine dependency is a very real problem.
It causes anxiety and when you’re not loaded up with caffeine, you feel lost. Over and above that, any alertness you get from caffeine is temporary… but it generally leaves you feeling worse after the effects wear off.
Since the half-life of caffeine is about 5 hours, many people still have caffeine in their system when its bedtime. As a result, they can’t sleep well and wake up groggy and stressed out. Avoid caffeine after 1 PM.
We all know what we need to do here. Eat clean and in moderation – and exercise 4 to 5 times a week. It’s so simple in concept but so difficult in practice.
A good diet and regular physical activity are 2 of the best forms of self-care any individual can undertake.
Want to feel better mentally and emotionally?
Then look after your body well.
However bad things may be, fear helps no one. Like author, Robin Sharma says, “Being scared is part of being alive. Accept it. Walk through it.”
Don’t let fear control your life. Tell yourself that you’re resilient and will get through anything. You’ve come this far, haven’t you?
Well, you have what it takes to go all the way. Focus on your goals and where you want to go – not fear.
Massages, yoga, aromatherapy, walks in the park, watching a comedy, going to the zoo or an amusement park, etc. are all forms of stress relief.
What matters here is that you do what works for you. Break the monotony in your life. Do something fun. Very often, people get trapped in a mundane cycle of work and mind-numbing entertainment such as reality TV.
What you really need is a change in your daily life. Something that takes you out of your normal routine and helps you break through the grey fog of inertia and unhappiness.
Doing something that’s fun and not what you normally do will be akin to letting rays of sunlight break through the dark clouds in your life. You’ll get a ‘breather’ and be able to shift your mental state. This is priceless.
The author, Robert Ingersoll, once wrote, “We rise by lifting others.”
An excellent quote with an eternal truth – when you help someone else, you will feel better.
You’ll feel like you’re making a difference in the world, and your actions just might make someone else believe in the goodness of people. This belief is in short supply these days.
Buying a homeless person a meal will not only help them but will make you feel much better than donating your money to a faceless organization.
Sometimes, you’ll even find good conversation among people who have fallen through the cracks of the system. That said, you’ll want to be cautious in your approach too.
Your mental health and emotional health are intertwined. How you process information is just as important as how you emotionally react to it. It’s imperative that you be aware of this.
Feed your mind positive information. Where your attention goes, your energy goes.
If your attention goes on social media and reading hateful comments, you’ll be stressed out and become spiteful too. Your mind and thoughts be clogged up with drama, debate, and disinformation.
If you spend your time reading good books and helping yourself to progress in life, you’ll feel a sense of achievement because your life feels more purposeful. That’s how you look after your mental and emotional wellbeing.
“You can’t have a positive life and a negative mind.” – Joyce Meyer
Whatever you want in life will require discipline to achieve and maintaining a healthy mental and emotional balance is a small part of that. And if you want to know more about harnessing the power of self-discipline, then check out the featured resource below for a free report; download, read it and take action 🙂
We all want to reduce stress levels, right?
Well, in this article, we’ll look at three more ways you can improve the quality of your life by learning how to properly manage your stress levels and, more importantly, the causes of stress, and you’ll see that stress management doesn’t have to be complicated.
If you want to look at a previous article covering three other stress relief strategies, you will find it here.
Best of all, every method featured in these articles are based on 100% natural remedies and solutions.
Many adults are self-professed caffeine addicts, and studies now show that coffee does come with some health benefits. But as with everything in life, moderation is key.
For some people, caffeine may not be a good idea at all.
Everyone has a different caffeine threshold, right? Some people can handle a lot, some just a little, and some not at all.
It all comes down to your body’s overall chemistry.
Just as many of us need caffeine to function after waking up, too much can make us jittery and scatterbrained.
If you’d like to try cutting back on your caffeine intake, it’s important to do so in moderation. Caffeine can be addictive and going cold turkey can lead to withdrawal symptoms.
Try cutting back just one cup a day and see how you feel. Depending on the outcome, keep doing this until you find your threshold.
Who knows, you may find that you don’t need caffeine at all!
So many of us are afraid to say no when people reach out for help, advice and support, and by not considering whether saying “yes” is good for us, it can easily lead to the first signs of stress, including self-doubt which can lead to incredibly high stress levels.
Are you someone who often takes on more than you can handle?
Are you a “yes” person?
Are you finding yourself emotionally and mentally depleted because you give so much of yourself to others?
Are you struggling through toxic relationships that don’t add any value or happiness to your life?
And being a “yes” person doesn’t just apply to your personal life, but quite often “yes” people are the same way with their jobs or careers.
They don’t want to miss out on an opportunity so they sign on for as many tasks or projects as possible.
They’re worried that they’ll fall behind the competition, so they say yes to every marketing strategy or new course that pops up online claiming to help them enhance their business skills.
Sometimes managers will reward hard workers with a higher workload output, assuming they’ll be motivated by the bonus despite any consideration as to whether they will be able to perform consistently at the required level.
If you find yourself in this situation, take a step back and look over your workload. Ask yourself what you can get done within a reasonable amount of time, and then discuss this with your manager, business partner – or simply yourself!
Explain why taking on a heavier workload will cause your current one to suffer in quality. And if you work for yourself, consider restructuring your schedule and reducing your workload by getting rid of the tasks that you don’t personally need to do. Learn to delegate or outsource.
If you’re a student who is constantly stressed out about your course load, then consider taking on a lighter one next semester, or if it’s not too late, dropping one you’re currently enrolled in but that you may not need.
Or perhaps you’re going to school full-time while also working full-time. Look at the benefits of going part-time, see if you can rework your budget and make it work.
In the long run, these changes might require that you stay in school longer than you expected, or change your current living situation, but your mind and body will thank you.
Above all else, be selective with your overall workload and what favors you do for people. Prioritize what household chores need to be done, what bills must be paid right away, and know when to say no.
If someone else is asking you for help, then chances are good they understand what it means to have too much on your plate.
Putting tasks off until the last minute can add a tremendous amount of stress to your life, especially if they’re important tasks with a specific deadline. And while it’s often hard to get things done in a timely manner, it’s not impossible with a regular routine.
Whatever tasks you need to accomplish, it’s important to write them down on a To-Do list or use an online project manager to help you stay on track. This can be for your personal or work life, or you can even have separate lists for both.
Put the tasks that are most important at the very top of your list, paying close attention to whether they are actually of upmost importance or not (it’s easy for us to prioritize the tasks we actually enjoy doing over the ones that truly move the needle in our personal or business lives), and then make your way down the list. Be sure to include due dates, too.
And avoid scheduling tasks back to back, leaving chunks of time in between each one. You can use this time to reset, or to just do something that you enjoy doing.
It’s important to feed your soul throughout the day, as that’s an easy and natural way to relieve stress.
For example, if you are responsible for more than one project at your job, prioritize the one with the earliest deadline and put it at the top of your to-do list.
Break it down into segments throughout your day, allowing time for coffee breaks, and some social interaction.
By breaking up their processes so that while they are in a sprint they are laser-focused on the task at hand, while also knowing that a mental and physical break is coming up, they are able to stay focused while also ensuring they recharge and reset.
The same goes for household chores, too.
If you feel overwhelmed by everything that needs to be cleaned and organized around your home, then create a to-do list or download a household printable that makes it easy for you to keep track of your objectives.
This will help you keep track of the progress you’ve made so you aren’t feeling overwhelmed. Then work your way down the list to the very last chore that needs to be done.
Remember that when we’re stressed, it often affects how we think and that will reflect in our work.
Quite often, we realize far too late that pushing ourselves beyond our mental capabilities results in not only poor output and quality, but we end up taking longer to do simple tasks because we aren’t giving ourselves a chance to recharge.
Managing stress requires self discipline and if you want to know more about harnessing the power of self discipline, check out the featured resource below for a free report; download, read it and take action 🙂
Everyone deals with some form of stress in their life, and it’s not always easy to find relief. Family and work obligations, personal goals, financial issues; it can seem never-ending.
But here’s the good news: there are simple ways to effectively manage your stress levels so that they never get to a point where you find yourself crippled by it.
In this article, we’ll look at just three of the many ways you can improve the quality of your life by learning how to properly manage your stress levels and you’ll see that stress management doesn’t have to be complicated.
Best of all, every method featured in this article is based on 100% natural remedies and solutions.
Are you ready to finally learn how to identify the signs of stress and to quickly and efficiently manage your stress levels so you can live the life you deserve?
Let’s begin!
An easy, natural, yet incredibly powerful method of reducing stress is as simple as putting one foot in front of the other and increasing your day-to-day physical activity levels.
For those of us who spend a good amount of our time sitting behind a desk, getting in some exercise isn’t always something we make time for – but it’s an important component in resetting your mind and body, which will ultimately help you to minimize stress levels.
When you think of committing to a regular exercise routine, you might feel overwhelmed. After all, most of us live extremely busy lives and it’s not always easy to find that extra time to squeeze in a work out.
But in truth, all it takes is 15 to 30-minutes a day, most days of the week, to see an increase in your overall mood and stress levels. Plus, there are simple ways to incorporate exercise into your existing lifestyle, such as purchasing a work desk that allows for adjustable height so that you can spend a few minutes every hour standing while working.
Every time we exercise, our bodies naturally release endorphins. These endorphins are hormones that travel throughout our body, giving us a boost of energy, and actively ridding the body of stress and anxiety.
To get an idea of just how much exercise can improve your mood by releasing these powerful endorphins, take 10 minutes and either walk or jog lightly in place.
Exercise contributes to a healthier lifestyle, thereby fighting obesity and helping your body perform at the top of its game.
If you’re concerned about your weight, start by walking 20-minutes a day, and if necessary, break it up into 10 or even 5-minute sessions.
You’ll be surprised at how much stress you’ll relieve just with some basic exercise, and you may also lose some weight!
In addition to these benefits, exercise can also give you some much-needed alone time so that you can reset your mind and spirit.
Whether you’re a parent with a full-time job outside of the home, a college student who is constantly surrounded by roommates, or you simply live a hectic, pressure-ridden lifestyle, everyone needs some time by themselves.
Throw on some headphones and listen to your favorite podcast, or leave them at home and just workout in peace. You’ll be amazed at how quickly your stress will subside just by giving yourself the opportunity to recharge.
Between releasing endorphins and getting away from it all, plus making a healthy lifestyle change, you’ll find that exercise is a natural stress relief that everyone can benefit from. Give it a try!
Access to the Internet has brought a lot into our world: convenience, social networking, the ability to work from just about anywhere. But with it comes an extraordinary amount of stress.
Just think about the last time you sat down to watch your favorite television show. You were probably distracted by your mobile device, which means that you most likely didn’t absorb everything that you watched.
And it’s not your fault.
We’ve become almost numb to the sound of notifications going off on our phones and tablets, incoming emails, alerts and a myriad of other online signals that pull our attention in a hundred different directions.
If you work online, the constant incoming noise can leave you overwhelmed and stressed. You feel pressured to respond to customers quickly, or perhaps you’re trying to manage several different businesses at once and find yourself constantly having to refocus your attention because you have so many things happening at once.
Not only will this help you manage stress levels by giving yourself a mental “time out”, but ultimately, the downtime will boost creativity levels and help you run your business more efficiently!
The most important time to disconnect from the internet, however, is shortly before we go to bed.
Staring at a screen and scrolling has been linked to insomnia-related issues (which leads to high stress levels). For a good night’s sleep, turn off all mobile devices about an hour before your bedtime.
Try reading a magazine or physical book or watch some light TV. Do some type of activity that isn’t too engaging but still somewhat stimulating so that your mind is able to stay focused while still being able to wind down and relax.
If you’re concerned about someone not being able to get a hold of you in case of an emergency, then turn off your notifications in the settings section of your phone and tell people to only call you for emergencies beyond a certain time.
It’s important to focus on your own personal downtime every day, even if it’s just an extra hour away from the chaos of your business life. There’s only so long you can move at a rapid pace before getting burn out, so learning to set a schedule and sticking to it will ensure you’re always performing at your very best.
Another natural way to reduce stress is to make sure that you get enough, but not too much-sleep.
When we don’t rest enough at the end of our day, our body can tense up and it leads to irritability and depression. And when we’re irritable or depressed, we’re stressed.
On the other hand, that doesn’t mean you should sleep for an incredibly long time.
If you sleep longer than your body actually needs, then you can become sluggish and listless which can also lead to stress when you’re unable to meet deadlines, get through your personal to-do list or simply feel down that you aren’t being productive.
Oversleeping can make you just as irritable and stressed out as not getting enough sleep.
To determine just how much sleep your body needs, it’s important to establish a regular sleep schedule, even on your days off.
It will force your brain go into shutdown mode at the same time every night, regardless of what you have planned for the next day.
Once you make this change and catch up with your sleep, you’ll find that you’re less stressed, and overall, much happier.
First, you’ll want to avoid any exercise about 2-3 hours before your scheduled bedtime.
As mentioned earlier in this article, exercise creates endorphins that give us energy. And while that’s a good thing, you want to give your body adequate time every night to wind down.
You can take it a step further with a warm bath, too. Consider taking one with some essential oils an hour or so before bedtime.
Vanilla and lavender are naturally calming scents, plus they complement each other very well.
Another way to relax your body is with food. Try having a banana or two, or a handful of peanuts, or even a turkey sandwich about three hours before bedtime.
These foods contain tryptophan, which after being consumed, creates melatonin: a hormone that makes us sleepy.
But avoid eating too close to your bedtime, as doing so can cause heartburn and acid reflux.
Getting the perfect night’s sleep is an easy and natural way to keep stress at bay!
Managing stress requires self discipline and if you want to know more about harnessing the power of self discipline, check out the featured resource below for a free report; download, read it and take action 🙂
