If you’re burned out, chances are everything feels overwhelming. From getting dressed in the morning to cooking dinner at night, every single part of the day can feel like a chore. Add to it the brain fog that often accompanies burnout and you’re likely to wake up exhausted every morning before you’ve even hopped out of bed. So what can you do to help yourself when burnout has taken over?
Simplicity is the key to supporting yourself through burnout. The more you’re able to simplify your life, the less taxing every task is on your mind, which is already running on E.
Below are a few ways to simplify your life, reclaim some of your time, and make everyday decisions just a little bit easier for you.
Consider giving yourself a work uniform
When I had to commute to work, I gave myself a work uniform. For one, I’ve never been a fashion girly, so picking out a unique outfit every day was not it for me. But I also really enjoy a slow morning, so knowing that I had an outfit already set and easy to put together every day gave me one less thing to stress over in the morning. My uniform was a black or white T-shirt with jeans. It was simple enough that I didn’t have to give it much thought, and also still allowed me to add whatever flare I was feeling the day of, like swapping sneakers for flats. Your work uniform might look different based on the dress code at your job, so make it work for your needs. So many successful people have worn a work uniform—think Steve Jobs’ iconic black turtle neck and jeans!
Block off time for self-care on your calendar
You wouldn’t skip an important meeting that’s on your calendar or miss the due date for the launch of a new project at work, right? This is how you have to treat the practices that feed your mind, body, and spirit. At the start of the week, look at your calendar and find the pockets of time you can dedicate to your feel-good rituals, like meditating or going for a walk, and actually add them to your calendar. Blocking that time off on your calendar protects that time from being filled with any other to do and ensures you prioritize the practices that keep you going.
Ditch intense lifestyle overhauls
Any intense lifestyle change is just not sustainable. We make lifestyle changes by slowly integrating small tweaks and building consistency in those small changes. For example, I totally believe the 75 Hard Challenge works when people stick to it, but it can be such an intense lifestyle change and way too rigid to keep up with long-term. Plus, overhauling so many different parts of your lifestyle at once can add to your stress rather than help you tap into a more peaceful, relaxed state. Instead, opt for small, sustainable lifestyle changes, and once you’ve successfully made one a part of your routine, introduce another small change.
Find 2-3 healthy & simple-to-make recipes
I’ve worked from home for years, so I’m used to cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner for myself. It can feel like a lot on some days—first-world problems, I know! What I’ve found helps me to stick to healthy, clean eating that fuels my energy and boosts my mood is to have a couple of go-to, easy-to-make recipes that I can lean on when I get the urge to skip a healthy meal for junk food. When you’re burned out, you get home at the end of a long day feeling like you just ran a marathon. The last thing you want to do is cook something healthy for yourself. Having a few simple and healthy recipes in your back pocket makes it easier to nourish your body with food that will support you through this period of burnout, rather than reaching for over-processed junk food that will leave you feeling even more sluggish.
