Are you recovering enough?
When was the last time you took the time to recover from stress, big projects and exhaustion fully? We think that we can continuously keep going and pushing ourselves in the same way we use our laptops and phones, not realising that all of those devices need to be charged up. At the end of the day, once the battery is running on zero, your laptop gets slower and slower until you plug it in to be revived again. The same can apply to us, and if we push on, it can lead to burnout.
Burnout is a far too common occurrence that happens to us working professionals. It's often described as a state of chronic stress, both physical and emotional exhaustion.
Especially in the past couple of years where everything felt like a marathon with no finish line in sight. Maybe there has been some pivoting in how you're working, perhaps your business has shrunk suddenly or been completely bottomed out, or perhaps the company you're in is thriving, and suddenly, there is far too much to do and not enough resources.
If you are experiencing two or more of these, you may be experiencing burnout:
Insomnia
Loss of appetite
Always getting headaches
Your immunity has rapidly decreased
The negative self-talk is getting louder
Suffering from bad indigestions and gastrointestinal pain
You feel detachment towards something you once enjoyed doing and/or towards your friends and family
You may have brushed away these symptoms of burnout as a passing phase, but if they seem to always come up on the surface, they're worth taking a second look at. As much as I love hot baths, massages and retail therapy, no amount of these things can completely quench the feeling of extreme burnout. They can help a bit, but we need to dig deep into the root causes of your burnout. Most of the time, it's just that we are not recovering enough.
Especially before the pandemic, people wear their busyness and exhaustion as a badge of honour. It has only been during the pandemic that we realised that operating like this is just driving us to the point of extreme burnout, and we want out of this system.
Three Levels of Recovery
I read a book by Tal Ben-Shahar wherein he said that recovery happens on three levels. There is the micro, the mid-level and the macro level. We need to infuse our life with douses of these three, rather than just aim for the mid or macro level.
Micro-Level Recovery
This level is all about looking at ways to recover in our working day quickly. It can be anything like taking a 15-minute break every two working hours.
In those 15 minutes, think of quick activities you could do to reset or supercharge your day. It could be listening to a podcast, taking a short walk or making a smoothie or even putting on some perfume.
Mid-Level Recovery
Most people put too much thought and effort into designing an intentional morning routine, and while that is helpful to set the tone of your day, it's actually much more effective to nail down an evening routine first.
If you find it difficult to fall and stay asleep, you may want to consider creating a wind-down routine like turning off main lights and just using lamps to create a cosier atmosphere and brain dumping stresses and anxieties that keep you up all night.
It also helps to avoid consuming alcohol, caffeine and a heavy meal a few hours before your bedtime. Giving yourself seven to nine hours of sleep will allow you to heal and restore your physical and mental health.
Macro-Level
Recovery at a macro-level encourages us to take the two to four weeks off we have every year. However, even though borders are slightly opening up, it can still be tough to travel. So instead, you can think about creating a boundary between your work hours and the hours before and after that. Especially if you're working from home, the line between work and life can be so blurred that you often feel guilty when you're not being "productive".
Action Steps
The exercises below can help you create a sense of urgency to actually put this matter close to hand and start prioritising recovery.
Document your days.
For one week, at the end of each day, write a summary of how your day went. You can reflect on what you've executed, how you've operated or how you've looked after yourself. You can also record the activities you spent your time on, how you felt upon waking up, and how you're doing in terms of nutrition.
The most important part is not to judge how yourself. Instead, simply observe and record these things just like you would if you were a stranger.
Start doing things differently.
If you find out that you don't like how you're spending your energy, it's worth it to start thinking about doing things differently. You can think about beginning habits that will have an impact, no matter how big or small, on your everyday life.
For example, if you find that you dread waking up, you can line up simple activities before you actually start working.
Give yourself compassion.
Too often, we shame ourselves for not being productive and we drive ourselves to exhaustion. But, like seasons, our lives have them too, and it's important to honour them.
Think about if this is a season for you to create something new, or maybe this is a season for consolidating, thinking, and analysing to prepare for the next stage. When you ignore these different cycles, it's so easy to end up in a place of burnout.
Like athletes recover after a competition, we must make space for recovery. It's never selfish to start taking care of yourself properly so you can show up and lead your team even better.
What are you doing to aid your recovery? Let me know by sending me a message on Instagram.