We’ve all been there, right? You’ve been working super hard, maybe feel like you’re killing it, or maybe just feel like you’re keeping up. But you get to a point, and you’re not sure if you can keep working at your current pace, or like you have nothing else to give. Instead of thinking you can push through this wall, listen to your head, heart and body, and figure out what it will take for you to recharge. Even if you love your job, the road to burnout is there. The way to stop from taking the exit to burnout-ville is to recharge when you need to. So how do you know what’s causing you to feel like you’re pouring from an empty cup, and what can you do about it?
Recharging means different things to different people. According to the “Areas of Worklife” model, workload is only one of the six contributors to burnout. Control, reward, fairness, community and values are the other five elements. So before you resist the urge to quit your job in a moment of desperation, or use all your PTO in one lump, assess which area of your worklife might need some attention to get you back on the right track.
If you don’t feel like you’re in control, what can you do or what changes can you make to regain a sense of influence over what’s happening in your life? It might be as simple as taking some time to re-organize your desk at work, or a night off from your Netflix account to make your living space spic n’ span. You might not be able to identify why you’re feeling out of control. It could be that you’re craving order, and you’re not alone. According to Dr. Steven Reiss, a research psychologist who conducted studies involving more than 6,000 people found that 16 core desires can generally motivate our behavior: acceptance, curiosity, eating, family, honor, idealism, independence, order, physical exercise, power, romance, saving, social contact, status, tranquillity, and vengeance. If one of your driving forces feels out of whack, it can feel like everything is off. Figure out which of the 16 you resonate with, and what might be missing for you right now.
If the reward area of your worklife feels a little stagnate, and a promotion isn’t on the horizon, take a trip down your own career memory lane. Take stock for yourself in what you have accomplished. If you aren’t ready to march up to your boss and remind him or her how much of an asset you are, consider giving yourself a reward. Whether it’s a glass of wine on a weeknight, or the new iPhone you’ve been coveting, if it’s in the budget, consider taking the leap.
Fairness can be a little more difficult topic to tackle. This one is tricky because life inherently feels unfair at times, and sometimes there’s nothing you can do about it. However, if you feel like you’re being swallowed by everything negative in your life, push yourself to look for the silver lining instead focusing on what doesn’t feel fair, or what’s going wrong. You will be surprised how different you can feel about your life if you make a subtle shift to your attitude. Try these 7 suggestions to see the glass half full, instead of mostly empty.
When it comes to community and values, you may be able to switch up how you’re feeling about both of those areas just by finding a way to reach out within your community. Now might be the time you finally go check out the non-profit you’ve been meaning to donate your time to, or reconnect with an old colleague while helping in a community garden. Or, committing to spend more time with your kids doing something that they enjoy by volunteering to keep score at their next sporting event, or volunteering on their next field trip. You’ll be surprised that when you feel supported by your friends and family, and “filled up” by how you invest your time outside of work, you’ll find that what’s dragging you down in the office might not have as much of an impact on you.
If you feel like you’re already on the road to burnout, the best thing you can do is pull over and figure out what’s happening to make you feel that way. Sometimes taking the time to understand why you’re feeling the way you are is as hard as the changes you’ll need to make in order to feel excited about where your life is going again. Sometimes it can feel easier to just stay the course, because you know the road ahead, even though you don’t like it. Chances are, your answer about what needs to change can be found in one of the six worklife areas. You might not need to quit your job or take a month long vacation, it might just be a matter of making a small adjustment or two that ultimately makes a huge difference in your overall happiness.