Ten Steps to Beating Burnout: A Guide to a Better Life

We live in a chaotic world. It is hard to separate our work and business life because of smartphones, computers and social media. Beating burnout is a lifelong process.

People expect to hear back immediately when they text or email you. Organizations pressure their employees to produce and expect them to work overtime at home.

Churches put more pressure on their leaders to keep their doors open. As congregations decline, more expectations are put on their ministers.

How pressured do you feel to work on your days off and your holidays?  Do you fear losing your job if you don’t put in the extra hours?

More people realize that it is not a badge of honour to overwork.

Here are Ten steps to beating burnout:

1.     Set Boundaries:

How do you separate your work life from your personal life? Having an office outside the home can make differentiating between work and personal life more manageable. 

Make a choice that you will leave work at the office. Agree with your family not to talk about work at home.

If you work at home, you might want to make one room your workspace. At the end of the day, close the door to make the change from work to home.

If you are a clergy couple or both work for the same company, agree not to talk shop constantly.

Find a trusted person to help you stay accountable. Learn to let go of unfinished work at the end of the day and know it will be there for you to continue. Beating burnout is a life style choice.

2.     Take time for yourself and your family:

Claim time for yourself, family, and friends. Make sure you have at least one full day off a week. Make sure you take chunks of time on other days, too.  It would be best if you had time to do chores and time for renewal. Both are equally important.

If something comes up where you are needed to support a friend or family member, don’t be afraid to ask for the time off.  We are all better off when we care for each other.

3.     Mindfulness and Prayer:

It is harder to make good decisions when your mind is too busy. An excellent way to declutter your mind is through mindfulness or prayer.

Find whatever works for you to quiet your mind down. It can be as simple as sitting quietly for a few minutes daily.  You can calm your mind by focusing on your breath and a focused word or phrase.

You can set an intention for each time of quiet, open prayer.  This is a time to be open to hearing the wisdom of your higher power.

Many resources are available, including Insight Timer and Pray as You Go. Beating burnout will help you to emerge strong and healthy.

4.     Play:

When you are a child, you naturally know how to play.  As we get older, we forget the importance of play.

What is play?  Play is an unstructured time when you do something with others with no goal or purpose other than having fun.

Play helps relieve stress, improve brain function, stimulate the mind and boost creativity, improve relationships and connections, and keep you young and energetic.

Want to Learn More about the Power of Play? Click Here

5.     Exercise:

Keep yourself active. Find activities you enjoy, such as walking, biking, dancing, yoga, Tachi, running or anything else that gets your body moving.

Exercise helps reduce your stress by helping move excess energy and heavy emotions out of your body.

6.     Practice good sleep habits:

Sleep is an essential part of your daily routine. Research shows that not getting enough sleep increases the risk of disorders, including high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression, and obesity.

Recent research shows how sleep helps the brain to rid itself of toxins that build up during the day.

Want to Learn More about the Importance of Sleep? Click Here

7.     Eat a balanced diet:

Your body needs good food to stay healthy.  Are you eating a variety of foods? Are you eating food from the five different food groups?  (Fruit and vegetables, starchy food, dairy, protein and fat)

If you don’t eat well, you will not have enough fuel to keep you as active as you would like.

8.     Take naps:

You are going to have times when you don’t get enough sleep.

Research shows that taking a nap for as little as twenty minutes can improve your alertness and increase the clarity of your mind.

If you have time for a longer nap, up to 90 minutes can give you the benefits of each sleep stage. Studies show that your memory recall will improve. You will be less impulsive and have greater tolerance for frustration.

You will be able to function better at home or work.

9.     Avoid digital fatigue:

During Covid, many of our meetings moved online. While this was amazing, it has had some severe side effects.

You may be among many who found you were exhausted after Zoom meetings. There are good reasons why you were feeling this. Online, we tend to focus more intently on those in the Zoom room, putting more strain on our eyes.  We are not used to looking so directly into other people’s eyes. There is also evidence that the faces on the screen are so close and big that our personal space is violated. This can increase brain activity and activate the fight-flight response.

If you are online often, take some digital breaks, even for a few minutes. This will help you to move on with your day and not feel so exhausted.

10.Get professional help:

If you feel like you may be close to experiencing burnout or already experiencing it, it's important not to hesitate to seek professional help. Often, when you're stuck in unhealthy habits and negative thought patterns, it can be challenging to recognize how you're contributing to the problem. Therefore, it's essential not to be afraid to seek assistance in identifying and addressing these issues.

Take the time to find the right person, whether a coach, counsellor or psychologist.

You need to take charge of your life and not allow others to put undue pressure on you. You need to speak up for what you need.

If you work in the church, you have multiple bosses. If you are in one of the larger mainline churches, seek the support of colleagues and denominational staff to help guide you back into better health.  Just because you are a minister does not make you a miracle worker. You are not responsible for saving your congregation. 

Whether or not you are a church minister, don’t stay in a position that makes you sick, especially when you see no change coming.

During your struggles, find family, colleagues, friends and professionals to help you through this rough time.  

You deserve a joyful, meaningful life. Go and claim it!

Roland Legge—Accredited Professional Burnout Prevention Coach for Clergy.

Don't let burnout ruin your life. Can I sign you up for a virtual coffee with me to learn how I can help you find greater flow and wholeness in your life and ministry? Click Here to Book your Free One to One Conversation with Roland.