DANGER! Burnout approaching!!

Is it time you recommitted to daily self-care?

I’ve got to be honest - I struggled to find the time and energy for writing this post.

It’s been one of those weeks - early starts, late nights, burning the candle at both ends as I attended a conference and tried to somehow also get my day job done.

I’ve been running on empty the last few weeks. It wasn’t meant to be like this. I know the signs of burnout, I know when my body and mind are asking for a break, and August was meant to be it.

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Hi, I’m Holly - coach, mindfulness facilitator and author of Zestful Zen. I write about self-care, change, personal growth, mindfulness, and purpose. If you like life to be full of zest and energy, complemented by a zen, calm mind, Zestful Zen is the community for you! 💖✨

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Since May, we’ve heard the clichés from senior managers that we just need to get through that last peak of hectic activity before taking a long, well-deserved holiday. So I’d been pushing myself with the expectation of plenty of recovery time.

Normally, August is dead in my office and we’re strongly encouraged to take lots of leave. Last year I did an epic three week trip through five Central American countries.

I came back rejuvenated, full of zest, with great holiday memories to power me through the busy return.

Exploring volcanic landscapes in Central America. Panoramic photo by author.

This year, I joined the skeleton crew keeping the summer ship sailing. Usually there’s a leisurely office routine of late starts, long lunches, early finishes and catching up on admin at the bottom of your to-do pile.

I’ve been eagerly anticipating my downtime, picturing opportunities for mindfulness and coaching.

Only it hasn’t panned out that way.

In July we had a surprise change of senior leadership in HQ. With new leaders come: EXCITING NEW IDEAS! AMBITION! STRATEGISING! ACTION PLANS!

Basically, they want to shake it up and put their fresh stamp on everything. Right now.

Photo by Theo Crazzolara on Unsplash

Management talk of well-being went out the window in a flurry of urgent deadlines and Excel templates. After overloading my plate throughout spring, these extra demands mean I’m teetering on the edge of exhaustion and burnout.

But I can’t blame my bosses entirely. This is partly a mess of my own making.

I know that self-care isn’t a “nice to have”. It’s not just treating myself to a massage once in a blue moon or splurging on a fancy hotel.

Self-care should be a habitual part of my daily routine, just like brushing my teeth. The less self-care I incorporate, the more I spiral into exhaustion and the less productive I become. It’s a vicious cycle that I know well and thought I’d overcome.

What does self-care mean to you?

Self-care for me is:

• Meditation and mindfulness

• Slow eating of delicious, healthy food

• Exercise - yoga, Zumba, walking…

• Standing! And getting away from my laptop

• Reading

• Nature

• Time spent with good friends

• Doing things purely for the fun of it

I bet you can guess how few of these things I’ve been prioritising lately!

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We’re all familiar with the analogy of putting on your own oxygen mask first. I know that if I don’t look after myself the end result is burnout and a complete lack of productivity anyway. So why do I do this to myself?

This time around I guess it’s mismatched expectations. I thought the spring surge would be a final peak before a leisurely summer. The universe had other plans.

It’s a good reminder to myself - again - that self-care must be habitual.

It’s not something just for the easy periods of life.

Yes, it’s important then as a resilience prophylactic, but when the sh*t hits the fan, I need to keep as many elements as I can, even if my routine is compressed.

Photo by Tangerine Newt on Unsplash

Baby steps back to self-care

So, now that I’ve reached the tipping point, instead of beating myself up for letting things slide, I’m recommitting to daily self-care. Going back to basics and starting small with manageable, bite-sized practices:

• 10 minutes of morning meditation

• Adding 20 minutes to my commute by walking to work instead of getting the bus. The emails will wait.

• Frozen veggies and pre-cut stir-fry packs are infinitely faster and healthier than waiting for Chinese takeaway…

• NOT reading work emails on my commute

• Eating my lunch in the park instead of at my desk

I know my mind and body will thank me for reintroducing these moments focusing on myself. I’ll be happier, healthier and more energetic.

If I’m more productive as a side effect, great. But my priority has got to be SELF-care, not my to-do-list.

Is self-care on your priority list? Or are you in Burnout Central?

Thinking about right now, or taking a look back over the last few weeks or months:

• Where are you on the scale of effervescent energy to empty tank?

• If you’re running on zero, what simple self-care steps can you start adding back?

• What’s stopping you from putting yourself first? What support do you need?

• What are the go-to self-care practices you know will pay back your investment many times over?

I’d love to hear your take on burnout and self-care. Why not kick off a conversation in the comments or drop me a DM?

Have a sublime (self-care filled!) Saturday, friends.✨✨✨✨✨