Planning Ahead To Prevent Burnout
Rest is necessary to prevent burnout, and including breaks from work in our schedule is the best way to make sure we get enough rest. By the time we really feel like we need a break we have usually already fallen behind or spent some time doing work that was lower than it’s usual quality. Scheduling a break before we need it let’s us prepare and stay productive, and on the off chance that something happens to stop us from taking a break, we can reschedule and don’t have to run on empty until we can find an acceptable time to recover. This applies to big breaks, like time off and getaways, but it also applies to smaller everyday things.
We usually don’t wait until we collapse to go to sleep. It’s generally taken as a fact that each person should have a pretty consistent time to go to sleep, and a pretty consistent time they wake up. Sometimes this can be hard to stick to, but following it most of the time can help our bodies optimize the way we use our energy. Having this regular schedule can help us know that we are getting enough rest instead of waiting to decide until we feel tired.
Make Observation Notes
Scheduling ahead our other types of rest, and trying to take them with a consistent time frame, is a lot better for us than waiting until we realize we need a break, and then waiting till we are allowed to take one. In order to do this effectively we need to figure out how often we need breaks. We can use a calendar or some other type of document to make a note of these factors:
When we start to feel burnt out
When we feel unproductive
When we feel we have gotten our energy back
When we took a break to have fun or take care of ourselves
How we feel after taking a break
If we start feeling exhuasted two months after a vacation day, that probably means we need a break every two months or sooner. If at 1PM we start feeling awfulI and lose our focus, we might need to schedule something energizing or restful at noon. It can help to look at this from both a short term and long term perspective. By short term, I mean day to day or week to week, “am I taking enough time to eat? Would it feel better to get up and stretch for 5 minutes twice in a day? How many times should I get up and talk to a coworker or call a friend? Am I getting enough exercise to feel good?” and by long term I mean over the course of a couple of months to a year “how many vacations do I need? How often do I need to go out and have lunch or dinner with a friend, partner or family member? Am I doing enough things on a regular basis that help me feel fulfilled?”
Commit to Self Care
Once we have an idea of what we need and how often, we can build a schedule based on our needs. We can put it in our calendars or day planners and schedule life around it.
Here is what I learned works for me:
Eat breakfast in the car or at work because I won’t do it otherwise
45 consecutive minutes of no human contact at work twice daily to focus on
Exercise twice a week
One day a week to get tasks done including shopping for necessities and doing laundry
One day a week to only do fun things
Dinner with friends once a month
Dinner with family once a month
Take one 3 day weekend every 3 months to go camping and connect with nature with my friends
A lot of these end up happening on the same day, and usually I end up skipping each of them every now and then, but I find if I aim for these things and put them on my schedule, I can accomplish more of them than I miss, and I function well (on most days).
We are all different, so my needs won’t necessarily match yours. If you have a job that involves a lot of physical movement you might need to schedule time to stretch or sit still. If you have a job where you work alone mostly you might need time to go talk to another person. You might need some of the things I mentioned but more or less frequently. We are all people though and people need multiple types of breaks, spaced out over any length of time. For the most part people need time to: do exercise, do nothing, do something social, do something alone, do something creative, do something to connect to a sense of spirituality or purpose, do something out of the ordinary, eat food, drink water, and sleep. Which might seem like a lot but we don’t have to do them all every day. This doesn’t have to be perfect. We can start with something that might work, and notice what we’re missing as we go.
Takeaways
If we don’t take time to schedule rest our bodies will do it for us, and the timing is not likely to be convenient. It’s okay if this isn’t easy, taking care of ourselves is a learned skill. If this turns out to be difficult to figure out, or you don’t know where to start, this is also something a therapist could help with. Consider reaching out to Houston Heights Therapy if this is something you would like guidance on.