Smoke Signals

Smoke signals, brown outs and full blown burnout are the warning signs of the over worked and over committed! Your brain and your body send up smoke signals when there’s an imbalance between your work life, and after work life! Danger, Danger Will Robinson. You cannot keep going on like this, something needs to change! The question is, are you listening? Burnout is an awful thing to go through. It can look like exhaustion, a lack of focus at work, a lack of compassion, and not being as methodical as usual, making mistakes or missing things or worse, a complete mental breakdown! This episode is all about burnout, what it is, why you shouldn’t ignore it and how bringing some balance back into your work life and after work life is the key! It’s time to step back and pay attention to those smoke signals your brain and body are sending. 

“it's not the load that breaks you, it's how you carry it"

Instructions to do a Work/Life Audit:

Start by getting honest with yourself, have a bit of a think about what is happening. This is not about shame, or beating yourself up…this is about being honest about figuring out where you are at in your relationship with work and what you might need to change? 

Zoom right out and look at your life from a bird’s eye point of view, and ask yourself these questions:

• What does my work life look like at the moment? In what areas am I struggling?
• How much of my life just revolves around work? 
• How often do I put off going home just so I can get more work done?
• What does my after work downtime look like? Does it refresh me?
• What do I do to help me de-stress?
• Where am I at with my family and social relationships?
• What activities do I spend my after work time on?
• Was my last holiday more than 12 months ago? 2years? Longer? 

Now, zoom in on what you can tweak/adjust in your work life and after work life to help you deal with burnout? Start with the little things….

• In those areas I identified that I am struggling with at work at the moment, what small change could I try that might help?
• What small thing can I add, or prioritise, in my day or week to help relieve some of my stress?
• How might I best help myself at the moment?

Recommended Reading:

 “BURNOUT - A Guide to Identifying Burnout and Pathways to Recovery” by Gordon Parker, Gabriela Tavella and Kerrie Eyers.

Seek Help: 

If you just don’t know how to change anything, or if you think you cannot possibly add another thing into your jam-packed schedule or it’s all too overwhelming then please get some help from a coach or a counsellor or a medical professional.

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