You Don’t Have to Divide Your Time Equally
Sometimes, one part of your life may be more demanding than another. How do you achieve and maintain excellence and avoid burnout when one or all areas of your life demand more time than you have?
Times Have Changed Now, we are overwhelmed and overcommitted and sacrifice what we most need, such as exercise, time with loved ones, or moments of peace. We lose sight of what a “normal” life looks like. This way of living takes a toll on our health, relationships, and the quality of our work. Our Emotions Influence Our Decisions How often do you say yes to an opportunity when you don’t have the time? What motivates you to say yes? You Are Not Alone Reach out to a friend, supervisor, or mentor. Often, when engaged in the burnout cycle, the first thing we lose is perspective. Others can help us to see our lives from a new perspective.
Short Circuit the Cycle When we are in “machine mode,” we have difficulty stepping back to evaluate where we are and where we are going. Burnout sneaks up on us. We exhaust ourselves, become more likely to get sick and grow more sensitive to negative comments that can lead us to feel unappreciated and even more burnt out than before. Schedule breaks into your calendar and take them outside of the office. Be Honest About Your Time Some people say “OK” as a first response to any request because they are used to trying to do it all. This response consumes our time, leaves us overwhelmed, and breeds resentment.
The Power of a Pause Pause before you say yes to new work. Evaluate what you already have on your plate. Ask yourself if you want to take on this work. If you think you do, ask yourself where you will find the time. Celebrate the Small Wins In a rush to the finish line, we can quickly move from victory to victory without taking a moment to celebrate how far we’ve come. We may ignore the people who have supported us along the journey. Revel in the small wins along the way. Reset Expectations Our time can disappear because we let others know we are always available. To regain our time, slowly shift what others expect from us and what we expect from ourselves.
Pick a time each day to turn your cell phone off or set off-duty hours at home. Be Good to Yourself Do something once, and you are a hero. Do it twice, and it turns into an expectation. Loren Eiseley, an anthropologist and archeologist, wrote of a wise man who once walked on a beach after a storm. Many sea stars had been cast onto the miles of beach and would most likely die. He noticed a boy picking up sea stars one by one and throwing them back into the sea, where they would have a chance to survive. The wise man asked the boy what difference it would make, as so many had washed up on the beach. The boy picked one up, threw it back, and said, “I made a difference to this one.”
You make a difference. Take a moment to be good to yourself.
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