Hey guys, today I’m writing about a topic I feel like I can share some tips and insight on from experience - Burnout
Burnout basically is a situation where you get really overwhelmed by the things happening in your life. It comes in many forms. The one most people experience and like to talk about is Mental Burnout.
Many things cause burnout, so there are a very of ways to deal with it, depending on what the source of your own situation is. I’ll try to talk about it on a case to case basis.
All work, no play
I understand that we all have goals and aspirations, but we need to take breaks every often for the sake of our sanity.
I’m talking to both students and hustlers here. Make it a point to give yourself a break after long hours of studying. Your degree, or salary, or the money is important, but so is your over all health.
What I liked to do in school was that I dedicated 9pm - 12am of every week to treat myself to a movie. Not like I wasn’t already serial binging movies, but during weeks of special academic stress, this was my way of relaxing.
It doesn’t have to be the same for you. For you, a break can literally mean what it sounds like - simply a time when you’re not working. Sit around and idle if you want. Maybe take yourself out for a treat. As long as you’re not working, or studying or whatever.
Repetitive Tasks
One thing I have realized that causes me to feel burnt out sometimes is that I do the same thing over and over on repeat for weeks or months. This is one of the reasons I don’t like the idea of 9-5s. The fact that for most jobs, you have to clock in, do the same shit, clock out and do the same shit at home everyday 24/7.
A while back, I saw this TikTok trend where a certain sound was used. The sound was something like this…”Coming to bed honey”. And then a series of pictures showing the 3-4 things the person does everyday (waking up to the sound of your alarm, brushing your teeth, driving to work, come back, watch Netflix, go to bed) would slideshow. An endless loop of the same 3-4 things every single day.
When I saw the trend, my mind went like. “That, yeah that is burnout”. Trend made me really sad because you could clearly tell by watching the video under the sound that this is NOT how you want to live your life.
Fortunately, you have the power to change what you do. So, if your normal routine daily is say write 2 hive posts daily, learn, and sleep, maybe you might want to throw in a little something every now and then to spice it up. You could do a movie night every other 2 days. Or maybe, even just a hangout with friends or something. Like I already said, it doesn’t have to be this. Do what works for you.
If your job is also something repetitive that you find is burning you out, you can do the same thing. And if you can’t change what you do, change what you do. If you get what I mean.
Now, it suffices to say that not everyone has a problem with doing the same thing everyday. Some people don’t. Some people love and thrive in having an outline every working day on what to do at what times, and in what way. So like most of the points, I’ll be making, this doesn’t particularly apply to everyone.
Have a schedule, or be spontaneous
The two things I just put under one point here are very contradictory, so give me a chance to explain.
For me, I realize that why I get burnt out occasionally is because I don’t have a time table, or a schedule or whatever it’s called. I’m not organized or discipline, to be blunt. So because of this, I procrastinate about most of the things I plan to do. This comes back to bite me in the ass when the postponed task deadlines pile up and are waiting on me. Then I get overwhelmed and burnt out from the pressure of having to tackle all that work in such short timeframes. So, for people like me, a remedy to avoid burnout is to schedule tasks and stick to the schedule.
But there are others who unlike me, can not stray from their schedules. This confines them in tight boxes of what to do at what time. Almost like a prison. This can be suffocating at times, so for people like the latter, adopting spontaneity occasionally, thereby introducing randomness and unpredictable/uncertainty about your daily tasks might be a way to make it interesting for you.
Another thing is to find a way to turn your work into fun
There are many ways to do this. You can associate a particular daunting task with a counter fun thing you like doing. For instance, every time you have to do the dishes, you can play music to listen to whiles doing it.
Another thing is to turn work into games. Reward yourself for completing work and being productive. You can make a roaster where if you do x amounts of tasks daily, that entitles you to a $Y treat. That just takes the stress out of whatever stressful thing you’re doing, turning into something more fun. I apply this concept in my class sometimes when I “over-teach” my students or when I’m teaching them a complex concept. Lol
Lack of drama
Life without a bit of drama occasionally is very depressing! It’s fine to want to stay away from drama, but being a Jack all the time is energy-draining, boring and an assured way to book a ticket with your therapistOh that brings me to my next point (which I just realized I almost forgot to talk about). If you ever feel burnt out…
Seek help from a qualified health professional
This reminds me of tele-health consultation startup I founded to help combat the rise of issues like depression in Tamale. I should probably get back to working on it.
Where I come from specifically, people don’t take things like depression or burnout serious. You’re expected to just thug it out and keep it pushing. If you’re a man, the case is 10x worse, because “why are you acting like a little bitch?”.
That being said, there’s nothing wrong with seeking help from professionals about things like burnout and other mental health concerns. See a therapist, a psychiatrist or whatever.Your work is important, but if you for instance offed yourself due to burnout today, your job would more than likely replace you before your funeral is over because you ARE in fact, disposable. Remember that.
All images here are mine