Healthy Ways to Battle Burnout
by Adrian Hanft, (10 comments)
We recently talked about how we all manage the downtime that comes with the slow times at work. We all agreed that there isn’t anything wrong with a lull and it actually helps us to stay fresh and energized when the busy times return. Without recovery time between the hectic and stressful projects there is the obvious danger of burning out. I am finally on the bright side of a battle with burnout and as I look back at the last few stressful months with a more rational perspective I realize that my behaviour was anything but healthy. I am lucky I was able to maintain my composure given the way I was managing my stress. I am guessing that if you have been overworked and close to losing it, you can probably relate to doing some of the following things to get through the dark times…
During the worst of it, I did my best to put on an optimistic attitude on the outside, but my thoughts were pretty negative. I was suddenly surrounded by idiots and I was secretly hating everyone from my co-workers, to my bosses, to the account people, to the clients, to the vendors, to the other drivers on my commute. Even if I didn’t let those feelings show it still was not healthy.
I found myself daydreaming about working somewhere where my problems would go away. I would take comfort in watching job boards that promised more money, more respect, a promotion, and better projects. I wanted to quit and that is not very healthy.
I was working too many hours, and losing sleep counting my problems. When I did sleep I had pleasant dreams where I was screaming at my co-workers. Not healthy.
I was neglecting my outlets: family, blogging, running, Tiger Wood’s golf over lunch, and my photography. I didn’t have time for the things that typically offset my stress. Again, not healthy.
I was either skipping meals, eating fast food, or surviving on cup-of-noodles. Not healthy.
The worst part was that “less important” projects were either not getting finished or they weren’t given my full attention. The result was mediocre products and half-developed ideas. This was depressing and not very healthy.
I am happy to have gotten through it (I sure hope I am through it), but it leaves me wondering if I could have done things differently and found more healthy ways of managing my stress. Maybe if I could have done things differently I could have avoided burnout all together. Surely there is something to learn from hard times. One of the positive things I can think of is that it motivated me to get my portfolio and resume up to date. I suppose I earned the respect of people who knew how hard I was working, too. Still, it is hard not to feel like the bads outweigh the goods. Do you have any advice for people who are battling burnout? Tips for avoiding burnout all together? The comments are open and the subject is burnout…
Comments (10)
walkingstick said:
i have found these things to be helpful, individual results may vary:
-standing up and stretching and being unapologetic about it
-getting up, walking away from the computer for at least 15 min.
-making to do lists (because it’s fun to cross stuff out)
-listening to npr: all songs considered (nice escape, especially when it’s a live show)
-ear plugs and dark sunglasses (for my granola bar lunch and power nap in the car)
-early morning exercise (the earlier the better)
-random idea/good idea post-it note thumb nail session (1 to 5 min.)
-reading at least one chapter a day of something, anything.
-reading a section of a newspaper that you would normally not go to.
-walking through the toy section of target, maybe purchasing a batman figure for the office (again)
this is just some of the weird stuff i do that helps out tremendously, thank you for your time.
Posted on July 30, 2007
Keith Welsh said:
I just found this website. Your burnout is exactly what Im feeling right now and wasn’t sure if it was just me or not. I’m really glad you wrote that. PLUS! I will be taking the advice of the person that responded. I try to stretch but mostly feel like jumping through the window when I stand. Im having the EXACT symptoms! UGH!
Posted on July 30, 2007
Chris Reinecke said:
Thankyou, Adrian, for the post. I battled with a serious depression caused by burnout about a year and a half ago. I consider myself in a continuing recovery state, although I have been absent of warning signs for well over 6 months now. I have been listening to BADcast since I restarted college in Jan’06, and have some respect for you guys. ( I’ve even been anticipating recovering my childhood Lego sets, to experiment with pinhole photography.” At any rate, It is very encouraging to be reminded that even knowledgeable people with successful careers get the blues. My tips are as follows:
Talk about it. Find a person you trust and respect to talk to, and open up to this person about the burdens you carry. Do so about once or twice each week. This is often enough to allow a release, and seldom enough that it doesn’t become a conductor for self pity and negativity.
Play. As artists and designers, we we have a fun career, but this cannot be our sole source of joy. Find something that you love to do, do it, and do it carelessly. Take the rules away and rid yourself of the burdensome nature of a task. (within reason- being arrested, or injured can cause other forms of stress).
People. When you become secluded, It becomes even easier to bury yourself into your work, and all of the other to-dos. Even self-prompted fun can become a chore in the way we approach it (and, in periods of burnout, we let our stress dictate our approach). Soon, it becomes overwhelming. By surrounding yourself with other people, and positive influences, there become ample distractions that can take you away from the stress, and offer opportunities to play. (and, I might add, Play with your kids! They are more fun and imaginative than we are.)
Make Time. This affects everything else. If you are stressed, and flirting with burnout, every suggstion mention in this blog looks impossible, because “I don’t have the time.” Time has a way of filling itself. If you do not make time for People, Fun, or Venting, you will miss your opportunities, and the stress will accumulate.
All of this is from personal experience- going back to school full-time in a new city, working retail to support my wife and three kids. Burnout hit, and it didn’t go away until we were forced to deal with it.
Posted on July 30, 2007
Chris Reinecke said:
And, I might add, don’t take yourself too seriously.
Posted on July 30, 2007
kadavy said:
AntiRSI is a lifesaver!
Posted on July 30, 2007
been there said:
AntiRSI is great, but it’s just the beginning of things that you can do. As someone who used to sleep about 4 hours a night and pretty much spent the rest of the time working…you have to declare certain things as necessary, not optional.
You have to see friends, go out, eat real food, sleep… and do everything else that makes you happy, and, well..you.
Try making ‘have done’ lists rather than ‘to do’ can help you think about the progress you’ve made, if feeling burned out has gotten you behind in your work.
Try taking a walk without any particular goal. Talk to strangers. Get lost. Do that kind of weird thing you were always curious about. Read The Instruction Manual by Julio Cortazar.
The tough thing with being burned out is that you might feel listless and not be interested in anything. But just choose something that helps you keep from ruminating on the same things that burn you out.
In the end, it may be that there’s something really wrong with the atmosphere where you work, or the job might not be for you. You might have real reasons for not liking your coworkers or your manager. But if you give yourself the space to sort those things out rationally, you’ll have a better perspective on what your next steps might be—from having a conversation with someone to changing jobs.
Posted on July 30, 2007
Jeremy H said:
I work full time as an in-house guy plus do design/web work in my spare time. It can get pretty stressful when I go through a busy phase in each of those jobs. Burnout seems to be a cyclical thing - about every other month I start to feel the effects.
For me, the best way to handle it is to look at the calendar and sketch out a basic timeframe of what needs to be done when, and have a general sense for what days/weeks I’ll work on which projects - it’s all fluid and subject to change - but it’s reassuring to see that there are enough days on the calendar.
Next, I try to make sure there’s at least one weekend day set aside entirely for something I want to do: Take a day trip with my wife, work on my motorcycle, cook a nice dinner, etc.
Also, I try to get out at least once or twice on a weekend night. It doesn’t have to be an all-nighter or involve binge drinking. Just a dinner with my wife, an hour or two at the bar with friends. A brief time out is enough to recharge your batteries. Even if you feel guilty at the start I guarantee you will end the night thinking ‘I needed that.’
Most importantly: Don’t feel guilty. Remind yourself that it’s during these down times that the best ideas and inspirations usually strike. You’ll return to your job refreshed and with a renewed vigor for the process.
Posted on August 2, 2007
Joe Moran said:
When I started my last job ( in 1998 ) the first thing my immediate supervisor said to me was, “I’m burned out.” A fine how do you do, no?
Recently resigned. Best decision ever. Liberating! No more tightness in chest, no more twitching fingers, no more BS from simpletons!
Your only limitation is your imagination.
Imagining next job now. And taking time. The world is my oyster. Moving on is better than burnout.
Wish you all a better tomorrow.
Very Respectfully,
Posted on August 3, 2007
Frank Juval said:
Holy cow! I thought I was the only one going through the same thing. Thoughts of quitting, hating my job, co-workers, etc.
I’ve spent the last 8 months working on the most boring project. I’m a graphic designer. But for 8 months I was data entry. The huge project entailed copying, pasting and formatting text. No design, no colors, no photographs, illustrations, etc. No creativity whatsoever.
I too have decided to update my resume because of this experience.
As far as offsetting stress. I’m also an illustrator, so that helps me. It’s a great release to doodle and draw. I also like to do lots of little things like read this site or others like it. I read Wired a lot. I take breaks throughout my day. Small ones but they have to be several sometimes because things can get really boring and stressful.
I like your “read a chapter a day” idea. I’ve been wanting to read so bad. I’ve got so many books that I’ve bought but haven’t had a chance to even open most of them. A chapter a day would be a great way to get back into it.
By the way, which job boards do you surf? :)
Posted on August 10, 2007
Joanne said:
I recently started a meditation practice. I had a website-in-a-week freelance project, and yet I had previously committed to a 6AM - 3PM meditation series (never had done this before) that turned out to be right in the middle of it.
I thought I would be freaked out and anxious, taking so much time out of what could be “work time,” but in fact it helped me release my anxiety, and cleared up some head space to approach my project with a fresh outlook. I’m anticipating that this will help as I continue this practice.
Another thing I do is if I’m burned out and “blocked” on a project, I’ll take it as far as I can, and then give the files to another designer to push further, and I do the same for them.
Ask for help. Get feedback.
Posted on August 10, 2007