Breaking the Burnout Cycle: 5 Practical Strategies to Restore Balance
You’ve recognised the signs of burnout. You’ve explored what burnout is and how to avoid it. Now, it’s time to take action. If you’re a high achiever in a corporate or business environment, breaking the burnout cycle is not just about survival—it’s about finding a way to thrive sustainably.
Below are 5 actionable strategies to help you tend to the burnout you’re experiencing and create a foundation for this to not reoccur. Each step is designed to empower you to reclaim your energy, passion, and balance, ensuring you can continue to perform and excel without compromising your well-being.
1. Reframe Your Mindset: Progress Over Perfection
As a high achiever, you most likely strive for perfection. Did you know this is a significant contributor to burnout? The relentless pursuit of getting it right and not making any mistakes is a recipe for exhaustion and fuels the sense of never being good enough.
Why It Matters:
Shifting your focus from perfection to progress fosters a celebration of small wins allowing you to maintain momentum while not adding the pressure of unachievable expectations. This mindset change is a game changer in breaking the burnout cycle.
Practical Tips:
- Define what Good Enough is: Without this consideration and awareness there is no end - you can keep going and going, and going…. leading to exhaustion and fuelling burnout.
- Set Realistic Goals: Break tasks down into their smallest components, to give you manageable steps, and an opportunity to celebrate each win along the way. Not only is there a dopamine hit with each celebration of achievement, you are focusing on completing a step and moving to the next one, not perfecting or completing the entire project all at once.
- Celebrate Milestones: As alluded to above, acknowledge and celebrate every achievements, no matter how small. This reinforces a positive mindset, with that dopamine hit, and encourages continued progress. And more natural dopamine hits is a good thing.
- Practice Self-Compassion: Be kind to yourself when things don’t go as planned. Remember that we are all imperfectly perfect (or perfectly imperfect), as human beings. Imperfection is a necessary part of your time on earth, and your growth. Kristen Neff’s Self-Compassion Break is a good practice to utilise in those difficult times when things don’g go to plan. If you need support in customising this tool for you, I can help you.
2. Prioritise Recovery: Build Rest into Your Routine
Recovery isn’t just about taking a holiday—it’s about finding a sustainable way to integrate rest into your daily life. As a high achievers, this can be challenging, but it really is essential for sustaining your energy and preventing burnout.
Why It Matters:
Burnout thrives in an environment of constant activity and no rest. By prioritising recovery, you allow your body and mind time to recharge, which enhances your ability to perform at your best in the long term.
Practical Tips:
- Schedule Downtime: I know this is probably new to you however you do know how to schedule work times so utilise this skill to block out time in your calendar for rest. This could be a short daily guided meditation, a weekly digital detox, or time doing something just for you - from a cup of tea to reading, or a hobby you enjoy.
- Incorporate Micro-Breaks: Can you find a way to take short breaks; to step away from you work for a minute or five? A five-minute walk, or even a few deep, deliberate, breaths can reset you, bringing more focus after circuit breaking the stress. I invite you to practice the ‘Stop Before You Start’ technique with me and see if this is fit for purpose for you. My other favourite is FOFBOC! (it’s a one minute video). I hope you find one of these works for you.
- Sleep Well: Prioritising quality sleep starts with having a bedtime routine that promotes relaxation. This ideally includes winding down without screens, practicing a relaxation technique which could include a drop of lavender oil on our pillow or a Progressive Muscle Relaxation, and ensuring your sleep environment is conducive to rest. For more details read my 6 Tips for a Good Night’s Sleep.
3. Reconnect with Your “Why”: Align with Your Values and Purpose
When you’re caught in the cycle of burnout, it’s easy to lose sight of why you’re doing what you do. Reconnecting with your core values and purpose can reignite your passion and give you direction.
Why It Matters:
Having a clear sense of purpose acts as a compass, guiding your decisions and actions. When your work aligns with your values, it feels more meaningful. This is a protective factor against burnout.
Practical Tips:
- Reflect on Your Values: Take time to identify what truly matters to you. Is it growth, creativity, helping others, or financial stability? Or something else? Understanding your core values will help you make choices that align with them. Read about ways to identify your values in this blog.
- Re-evaluate Your Goals: Are your current goals (if you’ve defined them?) aligned with your values and long-term vision? If not, consider adjusting them to ensure they’re in sync with what you find fulfilling. And if you’re wanting help in coming up with your goals feel free to reach out. This is something I do with my clients all the time.
- Create a Personal Mission Statement: Write a brief statement that encapsulates your purpose and values. Refer to it regularly to stay focused on what matters most to you.
4. Foster Resilience: Build a Supportive Network
Burnout can be isolating. Please know you don’t have to go through this alone. Building and maintaining a strong support network is vital for sustaining your well-being and success. Tapping into this support network, whether friends, family, or a professional counsellor or coach is what is needed when you’re feeling isolated and alone.
Why It Matters:
Resilience is strengthened through connection. Having people you can lean on, whether they’re friends, family, colleagues, or a therapist, provides a safety net that helps you bounce back from challenges more effectively.
Practical Tips:
- Identify Your Circle, or Your Tribe: Make a list of people you trust and can turn to for support. These are your go-to people when you need encouragement, advice, or just a listening ear.
- Stay Connected: Schedule regular check-ins with your support network. Whether it’s a quick chat, a coffee meeting, or a virtual hangout, staying connected helps you maintain your resilience.
- Seek Professional Support: Don’t hesitate to reach out to a therapist or coach who can offer personalised guidance and strategies tailored to your unique challenges.
5. Create Sustainable Habits: Focus on Long-Term Well-being
Breaking the burnout cycle isn’t about quick fixes—it’s about creating sustainable habits that support your well-being in the long run.
Why It Matters:
Sustainable habits ensure that you’re not just temporarily recovering from burnout but actively preventing it from reoccurring. By focusing on consistency in the healthy habits you engage in builds the foundation for positive mental wellbeing.
Practical Tips:
- Start Small: Begin with one habit that you can realistically give focus to and work to maintain. Whether it’s a short daily meditation, regular exercise stints, setting boundaries, or a relaxing bedtime routine, remember consistency is key.
- Track Your Progress: Use a journal, app, or checklist to track your new habits. Seeing your progress can motivate you to keep going. I really like the Eden app for cultivating habits. A coach is another option for tracking progress and supporting you to stay accountable to the change you’re wanting to make. In this busy life it is very easy for habits to slip off the radar. Having a regular coaching or therapy session is one way of supporting yourself in creating lasting changes.
- Adjust as Needed: Life changes, and so our habits need to change and adapt to new life circumstances and situations. Regularly re-assess what’s working for you, and what’s not, and following up by making adjustments to your lifestyle, or habits, so they continue to serve you well.
Breaking the burnout cycle requires intentional action. With the right strategies, it’s very possible. By reframing your mindset, prioritising recovery, reconnecting with your purpose, fostering resilience, and creating sustainable habits, you can build a life that’s both successful and fulfiling.
If you’re wanting to take the next step toward sustainable well-being, and healing, I’m here to help. Whether through counselling, coaching, or mindfulness practices, we can work together to create a personalised plan that aligns with your goals and supports your long-term vision, and success.
Book a complimentary 10-minute consultation to find out how we can work together.