Hint: It’s not because you have too much on your plate, or that you don’t have sufficient rest.
You tell yourself that you’ll begin that assignment that is due 2 weeks later, soon. And that ‘soon’ becomes a few days, until you find yourself staying up late to finish it the night before it’s due.
You convince yourself that you just have to work hard and do whatever it takes to get through to the end of the semester and you can rest. (But will you really take the time to rest during the holidays?)
It’s nearing exam season and you feel guilty for not starting to revise earlier. Now you have to cram 12 weeks worth of material into one week. Multiply that by the number of subjects you have to study for and it is enough to make you want to pull your hair out. Despite studying from morning to night every single day during study week, you still feel as if it is too late and you can’t possibly do well in the exams.
Do the above scenarios sound familiar to you? You might be heading into burnout.
How My Recent Experiences In Burnout Changed My View
From the beginning of the year until now, I’ve experienced burnout twice. Once during the school semester, and the other during my holiday break. I felt severely stressed out, overwhelmed, lost and overly-emotional. The interesting thing was that I had taken fewer modules during that semester and was even on a break with no work or study obligations.
Yet, for some reason, I still felt as if I didn’t have enough time to do what I wanted to do. I felt as if I wasn’t resting how I liked to. It felt like there was no end in sight. I felt a sense of shame because I couldn’t even handle something so ‘simple’.
I thought that just having a heavy workload and/or lack of rest directly caused burnout. So why did I still feel exhausted and burnt out? Little did I know that they are merely symptoms and indicators of the root cause.
Why Do You Burn Out?
I learnt this from one of my mentors, Sam Laura Brown. The real reason for burn out comes from the energy you are showing up from. If you come from a place of scarcity or not enough-ness, you tend to have a higher probability of burning out. For instance, you may think thoughts such as “I don’t have enough time!” or “I’m not good enough.” You feel as if you are always “behind”, and that no matter what you do, it will not make much of a difference.
I know of people who seem to have so many commitments and responsibilities but they don’t burn out. I also know of people (including myself) who didn’t have as many commitments, but still burnt out. (That is why it is still possible to burn out while on break!)
Burnout is a Choice
Burn out doesn’t just happen to you. You choose to do so. And regard it as so. Believe it or not, you actually have something to gain when you burn out. Whether it’s an opportunity to finally take some time off, or an excuse for not achieving your goals, burning out can feel beneficial for you in the moment.
Being aware of how burnout is secretly serving you will help you to understand and address your burn out in the long term.
What Do You Do If You Feel Burnt Out?
The number one thing I would recommend is to give yourself credit for all that you’ve done so far. Regardless of whether you’ve accomplished your goals or not, show appreciation to yourself for being where you are right now. It could be getting into university, completing 6 weeks of the semester so far, auditioning for your favourite club, or even just showing up to attend classes and group meetings.
List the things you are proud of yourself for – big and small.
Next, give yourself permission to rest without guilt. (a.k.a. clean rest)
Ask yourself, “What does my body need right now?” or “What activities have I been longing to do, but have not yet done?”
Even if your mind wanders or keeps thinking about the things you still need to do (which it will), just let it be there. Intentionally choose whether you’d like to respond to it or not. If yes, decide whether you’d like to do so right now, or at a specific time in the future.
Then, identify what is most important to you. If you find that you need to do everything right now, it means you are still not clear on your priorities. If you carefully rank and categorise them, you will be able to narrow down the things which have to get done before the day ends. Identify only one to three things at a time, and review them every morning and night.
If you have trouble getting a good night’s rest, check out my 3 little-known tips that can help you sleep better.
You can’t perform at your best and help others if you don’t fill your cup first.
What can you do to avoid burning out?
Burning out can be exhausting. Oftentimes, we see it coming, but choose to ignore the signs. Besides having thoughts around scarcity, the following are tell-tale signs that you are about to burn out:
Subtle Signs of Burn Out:
- Not prioritising rest and break times (i.e. replacing them with work)
- Skipping meals or eating unhealthily
- Taking longer than usual to reply to messages
- Mindlessly scrolling on social media
- Skipping workouts and opportunities to get your body moving
- Not sticking to your plans, or not planning them at all
- Staying up way past my bedtime
- Not wanting to journal or hear my thoughts
Catching yourself before spiralling into burnout can save you time, energy and even reduce the severity of consequences. When you notice these signs, get curious. Journaling about what you are thinking, how you are feeling, what resting and working looks like can help.
One way that I’m choosing to deal with burnout is that it’s a skill that takes time to master. Right now, I’m very good at burning out. It’s time for me to practice getting good at not burning out.
If you are looking for more resources on how to set yourself up for a successful school term, check out my free resource library. I’ve just released a new guided meditation to listen to before your internship interviews.
Tell me, what are some of the signs you’ve noticed about yourself when you are about to burn out? Let me know and we can discuss how you can overcome it one step at a time.
Always rooting for you,
