Turn Around Your Burn Out Feelings
By: La Dolce Vita Diary
Tags: Purpose, Work, Life Lessons, Productivity, Self

9 productive ideas on how to find purpose through the burnout hump

I was at a job that started out good. I didn’t know where it would land, but it was the calling opportunity I had in my hand.

With the work, I was in a rhythm and was confident with my abilities. Then one day a few years later, I slowly felt I was reaching a dead end. My work required talking to customers, and I was getting restless.

Have you ever felt that way?

…Sometimes I said things I didn’t, and I heard myself repeating words.

Fortunately, I saw signs of my own burnout. It was better having self-awareness, catching myself before someone pointed out to me.

I knew I had a choice to either change course or watch myself and my work suffer. There are always options. I could have asked the owner (my manager) to re-define my role as she liked my work, and thought I was one of their best salespeople.

In the end, I decided I was in a position with limited growth possibilities working for an established, but struggling family business with constant ups and downs.

My options were to stay, endure, or leave the position. I decided that there was a better opportunity on the horizon.

I took a sabbatical as I knew it was my time to move onto something that would be more aligned with my highest and best use. But I wasn’t ready to embark on anything new — just yet.

If you’ve been working for decades as I had, sometimes this makes sense so you can catch a breather before (and to explore) your next opportunity.

I needed some time off from the constant go-go-go, sometimes 12 hours workday roller coaster I was still on. And no vacation for the past few years. Life is too short to burn out from exhaustion.

Even though I left that one position, there were times in my career when I stayed despite burn out feelings. In those cases, I reinvented myself with the role and title changes. Each situation is different.

Most jobs have hope for renewal and resurrection. But just to make sure you know where you are, you should take a look at the pros and cons to staying in any position.

Pros:

You’re building longevity, stability and doing what makes sense to others and perhaps yourself. If there are possibilities to move upward or sideways, then you may want to stay. You probably remember what hoops you jumped through to get the job or build your credibility that comes with time.

You already mastered the hardest learning curves when you first arrived. This knowledge and experience make you more invaluable to your employer.

Cons:

You may be giving up your potential in a position that won’t use half (or any of) your talents. If you stay in a dead-end position, you are most likely coasting or giving up the chance to do the most with your life. You could have stress, be miserable, or your health could be suffering.

And you could be wondering, is this the best use of time? Only you can answer that.

When you have golden handcuffs at the position (making it harder to leave) or you have to support yourself and your family (extenuating circumstances), you sometimes don’t have the luxury to leave a position.

When you don’t know what to do, it’s wise to do nothing new. It’s smart to not leave until you have another opportunity lined up.

How You Can Make the Most (and Find Purpose) From Your Burn Out

Find new tasks. Let your manager know so they can help you find solutions. They are usually for you, have invested in you (and especially understand if you have a job with repetitive tasks). They may not be ready to promote you, and that should not be what your conversations should be about (unless your manager brings that up).

Your conversation should be about how you optimize your role and your talents in your position, based on company needs. You could find a new purpose at your work.

Plan a vacation. This will give you something to look forward to. Something to work towards. Use your accrued vacation time when you can. Rest, stay-cations and vacation trips can help your mental health.

During your time away from work, you may have the chance to redefine your purpose in life and your work.

Change an aspect of your routine work life. Ask to work one day a week from home, or work four long days instead of five days, for a long 3 day weekend. Mix it up to provide variety and break up the daily monotony. You could also be more productive this way with fewer interruptions.

Work in a different spot from the one you normally do. You could work in a busier or less busy space that changes your environment. If your work is operational and there are multiple locations, maybe you can switch it up and work from another physical location. That would make the day go by quicker.

These changes could give you a new perspective about your work’s meaning and purpose.

Take a regular walk during lunch. Clearing your mind on break could change your outlook. Even the most enjoyable activities can be too intense and is best for you to walk away and come back to.

When you return to your desk, you may have a new insight on your task at hand and may feel like you have a renewed purpose.

Start an interest group (with co-workers). This is often looked at favorably at workplaces because you’re team building and collaborating. It shows your interest in your workplace.

Or, you may be able to find workgroups on your intranet. This could develop a new (secondary) purpose.

Get training. Check to see what your benefit and educational offerings are. If you attend off-site training, that could make the week fly by faster, and be stimulating to your mind and body.

Getting external information and interaction from others who are trying to learn the same things as you, can give new direction and ideas to your projects.

Try a new class at your gym. This could be invigorating to your soul. This could give you the energy and oomph to get you through hard days. You could develop a new intention.

Explore other extracurricular activities. Find permissible outside work, activities, or a new outlet. Whether it’s creative, active, or just letting off steam or stress.

These enjoyable past times can activate positive feelings, that give you a new work outlook. You have something to look forward to working on in the evenings and weekends.

Develop one of your gifts or hidden talents. Develop a side hobby or project using your gifts. Unlike an extracurricular activity (for de-stressing), a gift is something you can work on to add or contribute to the world.

Find a way to work on your natural hidden talents. This could show you a future purpose, insight about you, or a new outlook on your workplace (you have multiple talents that can be used in more than one basket).

Burn Out Outlook

The good news is nothing stays the same. On the other side of your burnout, there’s a silver lining. You could start to see your position differently.

Sometimes you could be going through a season of moods, work difficulties, or home situations that could cause stress and impact your feelings at work.

Nothing stays the same. The situation at work is constantly changing, even if it looks slow or unnoticeable. Good change produces growth and variety from the monotony.

The uncertainty factor can create a gamut of possibilities.

Work changes can make a world of difference if you’re feeling burned out. Underneath the dynamics, you may be able to re-define your role even if your title stays the same. And that can give you a whole new outlook on your workplace.