How to Manage Stress and Avoid Burnout

Managing stress is essential if you want to avoid burnout, and I don’t mean the cool kind!

Stress & Burnout-What Are They?

Simply put, stress is the feeling of being overwhelmed by your responsibilities. It can be felt both physically and mentally and it can have a major damper on your life. If tasks feel too daunting to complete in a given timeline, that often causes stress. If you feel incapable of getting something done, that also causes stress.

If the stress persists, it may lead to burnout. WebMD describes it as “a form of exhaustion caused by constantly feeling swamped.”

Burnout is incredibly detrimental to your self-esteem, ability to function on a daily basis, and to your life in general. It’s usually caused by work, and it creates a perpetual cycle-work runs you down, then you’re too exhausted to accomplish anything, and then you can’t get anything done for work, which creates more stress and intensifies the burnout.

Strategies to Avoid Burnout

Burnout is common, especially in the workforce. However, it is possible to prevent burnout or at least minimize the possibility. The following sections are three ways that I’ve found to be beneficial in my struggles with stress and burnout.

Task and Time Management

Having an effective and organized task and time management system can make a world of difference. I use Trello to keep a list of my tasks, organized by how urgent each task is. It keeps me in tune with how much work I have left and it helps minimize the stress of not knowing what’s next.

I also use Google Calendar to keep track of what day I’m doing a particular task and to remember any events I have scheduled.

These services are available for free online, and they have both desktop and mobile apps.

Frequent Self Check-ups

It’s important to be aware of how you’re feeling and how you’re dealing with your responsibilities. Once a week, I set aside at least an hour to decompress and assess my ability to handle what’s on my plate. This is a personal thing, so what works for me may be completely different than what works for you. Use this time as an opportunity to ask for help, talk about what’s going on, and focus on maintaining your health and wellness.

Balance

This is the most important part! We have to have a good balance between all aspects of our life. If work is what causes you the most stress, then make sure you designate a specific amount of hours to work and follow that plan strictly. That way, you can fill the other hour with time for your family, friends, yourself, and everything else that matters to you! Remember we can’t give our best effort if we are burnt out.

Disaster Averted

Stress is normal. Most of the time, it’s unavoidable. However, our response to stress can make a huge difference in how it impacts our lives. Using the techniques I discussed earlier can be effective in avoiding burnout and saving you from a major hiccup in your career.