Combat Burnout with These 3 Solutions
Updated: May 23
Burnout is something every person has experienced at one time or another.
I have found these three simple practices help with burn out and, if applied, will increase your ability to balance, shed the things you don’t need, and focus more on what you want to.
#1 TIME BY MYSELF: Wake up early and go to bed early. These morning hours are incredible and they are worth trying out for yourself. Studies show that the brain runs at it best capacity in the early morning hours between 4:00 am to 7:00 am citation. This is prime time for your brain and getting enough sleep (recommended is 7 hours per night), then you will find your body is able to work through what it needs to and you will feel refreshed and ready to take on your dreams. There is a quietness that can be found in these early hours.
#2 TIME TO START: Apply the 4 minute miracle: I first heard this principle of “the first 4 minutes” from a marriage therapist, Wendy Watson Nelson in her book Purity and Passion. Watson states that the first four minutes with your spouse is critical to how the rest of the time will go. I have since tested and applied this principle to just about everything I do. I make sure the first four minutes of my studies, one-on-one coaching's with clients, time with loved ones, and more is especially intentional within the first 4 minutes. The key is how you start and then the rest will follow.
#3 TIME TO UNDERSTAND: Take time to take it in. Overwhelm or feeling worn down can come because basic and essential needs are not being met or that you feel something lacking. Emotions are complex and you may feel that you are just not doing enough, that you just aren’t valued, and/or you cannot imagine things being worse than they are right at this very moment. However, a practice I began adopting after reading a great book*, was the idea of “Time-in’s” instead of “time-outs”. This means stop and check-in. You stop everything and focus on the one who is acting out the most or who is the most hostile to your current location. If that person is you or someone you know, take a time-in to talk and really be seen. We all want to be seen. We all want to be heard. Each of us are fighting our own personal battles and a “Time-in” is most often the answer we are all looking for. (Article about how to do an effective time in)
Each of these when applied can have an abundant long-term impact. To review:
To have more time you make more time
To create quality time you prime the first four minutes
To cultivate understanding you give time to see others and yourself for who they are.
Which one of these solutions do you want to try? Is there a time when you feel the most burned out and overwhelmed? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
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*How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk is a 1980 book by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish.
