Oh, “burnout”… my old friend… Burnout and I used to be best buds and if I’m not careful, every now and then we happen to run into each other again. However, over the years I have become much more aware of when “the burn” is starting to show its face and setting myself up properly to not let the “out” hit me.

Burnout can happen for many reasons and it comes along with so many complicated emotions. Feelings of failure, unwanted “success”, the “this isn’t fun anymore”, the “why isn’t this working”, the “I’ve been doing this for so long”… feelings of guilt, shame, blame, sadness, disparity… the list goes on and on.

When someone I’m mentoring hits burnout, what I do now is celebrate with them. Why? Because you never really know your limit until you’ve reached it. And once you’ve reached it, this is when you can really start implementing the changes necessary to create a more sustainable way of life. It’s almost impossible to know what a sustainable way of life looks like until you know what is NOT sustainable. It also does a person no good to attach a negative, victim-like mentality to burnout. No matter what, even in burnout – we must be our own hero.

A few tips on what to do when you know “the burn” is here or is setting in…

1. Be your own hero first… Start asking yourself what YOU need and book the time off for it. It’s ok to lose out on clients, on income, on that workout, on that social time etc, if it means giving yourself room to breathe and decompress (which will power you up for the long run). Soak yourself in time spent doing what eases your mind and soul.
2. Re-analyze your timelines… what can be pushed back? What are you unnecessarily pushing yourself to do that could be finished tomorrow or next week (note, actively restructuring your timeline to avoid burnout is not the same as procrastination…)
3. Rethink your offerings… what is on the table to keep people happy but is not keeping you happy? Biggest piece of advice here… if you are unhappy that someone booked a particular package of yours, or bought into a particular service of yours – that’s on you, get rid of it! If you are not happy to be selling something, don’t sell it – that energy will come forward in the execution of the service and will make you bitter in the long run/ will drive you to burnout. Only offer what lights you up, what makes you fulfilled, and what brings you energy.