One Small Way to Fight Burnout Right Now
Burnout can happen to anyone at any time.
The most resilient creatives in the world aren’t immune.
Neither are you.
When burnout hits, there’s a feeling that follows.
Life (and what you love to do) feels dull, stressful, and broken.
It’s overwhelming.
This week, a friend asked me a simple question:
“What’s a small thing we could do to help reduce the likelihood of burnout?”
I thought to myself for a moment.
If burnout is a complex and multifaceted issue, is there a quick or easy solution someone could use today?
If I could do ONE thing to prevent burnout, what would it be?
For me, the fight against burnout always comes back to self-development.
It starts with creating a holistic vision for your life, setting goals, and taking action in a direction that serves who you are and who you want to become.
But…
If there was one small thing I could recommend above all else you could do right now to fight burnout, it would be this:
Create real-world boundaries and stick to them.
It’s simple, but not always easy.
Let’s break down how to do it.
How to Make a Boundary
When we’re planning out our days, it can be easy, too easy in fact, to let our plans slip.
All it takes is a nudge, and leaving work on time turns into “just one more minute” > “I’ll bring this home to work on” > “I’ll go to bed at midnight.”
Does that happen all the time?
Probably not to that degree.
But how we work with the time we have every day can quickly become a slippery slope.
My advice if you’re struggling with boundaries:
Set one every day that you can’t miss (not even a little bit). Then hold steady. Hold fast.
Let’s say you’re trying to reduce the work burden on your life outside the office.
A boundary you could start — set a time you’ll leave work at “X” time.
For this example, we’ll say 5pm.
All you have to do is start packing up and leave at 5pm.
That’s it. That’s all you have to do!
Sounds too easy, right?
I won’t lie—it takes discipline.
This only works if you stick to the time you commit to.
If you say you will leave work at 5pm, leave at 5. → Not 7.
→ Not 5:45.
→ Not even 5:06.
Just 5pm.
This is an example of a healthy boundary.
Where we spend our time is what we prioritize. By setting a boundary like this, you’re saying you prioritize your worth beyond your work.
When we let the never-ending work control how we live our lives, we're setting ourselves up for burnout.
The work will always be there tomorrow.
There will always be something else to do.
So let it be there in the morning.
If Your Discipline Needs Work
Some of us need an extra push.
One of my favorite ways to ensure I hold true to a boundary I set:
Schedule a real event you must get to directly after the intended boundary.
This will certainly motivate you to leave on time.
Because if you didn’t, you’d be late for the next thing.
Schedule a reason why you must leave on time that's a healthy transition. (ie. meeting a friend at the gym)
Once you make enough healthy reasons for leaving on time, you’ll naturally give yourself permission to do so automatically. It will become a habit—a part of who you are and see yourself to be.
It doesn’t matter what time you set the boundary.
It matters that you don’t yield to the little devil on your shoulder telling you, “One more minute. One more email. Just one. Just one more.”
Examples of Healthy Transitions to Better Boundaries
There are three common times of day I’d recommend looking at first to start your first boundary: When you wake up, when you leave work, and when you go to bed.
Caution: These are individual places to start. Do NOT try to do them all at once.
When You Wake Up
(aka Things To Start the Day Right)
Prepare your coffee machine to turn on automatically at the same time as your alarm.
Set your alarm across the room so you can get up and out of bed to turn it off.
Set only one alarm. No backups. No snooze.
Splash cool water on your face first thing.
Do a simple 10/10/10. Ten push-ups. Ten sit-ups. Ten minutes of walking or running outside.
When You Leave Work
(aka Things to Start Your Evening Right)
Set when you leave work every day to meet a friend for a workout.
Schedule a class for a new skill you’re interested in, such as cooking, photography, etc.
Turn off your computer, close your laptop, and tell yourself you’re “shutting down for the day.”
Get yourself a dog (or a child if you’re so obliged) and pick them up from daycare.
When You Go to Bed
(aka Things to Start Your Sleep Right)
Stop consuming calories 2 hours before bed to help your body slow down.
Sit down in your favorite chair, prep a calming cup of tea, and read a book.
Leave your phone outside your bedroom and stop looking at it 1 hour before bed.
Write down 3 things you’re excited to experience tomorrow.
Several months ago, I stuck a marker board on the fridge in our Kitchen and wrote down a series of “Rules” for every day.
I do my absolute best to stick with them. I don’t always, but that visual reminder certainly helps the cause.
Final Thoughts
Burnout happens when we lose sight of who we are and lose control of who we are trying to become.
By setting boundaries, we take back control of our future.
We improve the likelihood of meeting those boundaries by increasing the tension or process to follow them. Give yourself reasons to leave work on time, go to bed on time, wake up on time. Make those practices engaging and impactful.
You don’t have to do them all and shouldn’t try to right away. Just start with one and see how the effort inspires you to do another, then another.
You’ll be building a resilient life with boundaries that wall off burnout before you know it.
TL; DR
Fighting burnout long-term is complex
There’s one small thing you can do right now to help
Create real-world boundaries and stick to them
How to make a boundary
How to improve your discipline
Examples of healthy boundary transitions
Quote of the Week
Motivation for the days ahead of you.
“The only people who get upset about you setting boundaries are the ones who were benefiting from you having none.”
— Unknown
That's all for now.
Stay creative, my friends—and have a great week!
