Beating Stress & Career Burnout

Careers have ebbs and flows to them, similar to a river which may have points of peaceful flow through a springtime valley dotted with wildflowers as well as points of violent crashing waves through ravines as winter ice melts. If you find yourself in the middle of some violent waves or rocky waters, hang tight and read on. If you are at a peaceful point in your career sitting nicely among the poppies, store these tips in your mind for the future or begin practicing them now while it comes more easily. Be encouraged, because at some point or another everyone feels some level of career stress or burnout. Sometimes it is utterly unavoidable. However, I believe that the stress or burnout can be minimized and controlled to a certain degree by taking practical steps of self-discipline and intentionality. The three tips I will share with you below can assist you in finding repose during the meandering ebbs and flows your career takes.

Numero Uno - Focus on the blissful trio.

By the "blissful trio", I mean focus on activities that fit the most of these criteria (1) things that you can control, (2) things you are good at, and (3) things you enjoy doing. Make a list of these activities- and DO MORE OF THEM. Quit doing things that aren't on this list, or at the least only do the absolutely essential ones. This type of approach gives you the ultimate chance of success. If you do the opposite- trying to fix things you can't control, aren't good at, or hate doing, you are sure to experience burnout and negativity.

Numero Dos - Prioritize relentlessly.

Prioritizing applies in the office and outside of the office. Every morning, write down the top 3 things you want to accomplish that day and follow through. Rank your activities based on value, time commitment, and deadline. Once you start completing high value activities, you'll create positive momentum along with a proven track record of delivery. You'll also begin seeing positive returns on your wise time investments in value-adding activities. That momentum grows exponentially each day you complete more. Soon, you'll look up, and find that you have more confidence and job satisfaction.

Numero Tres - Say "no" so that you can say "yes".

This ties back to how willing and able someone is to prioritize effectively. Once you prioritize your activities based on value (see Numero Dos above), say "no" or "not now" to those that don't make the cut for that day, week, or month. Otherwise, you'll constantly be at the mercy of other people's priorities or schedules, and living in chaos, stress, and unproductiveness. Saying "yes" to everything is in fact saying "no" to the most important things and that is not a cycle you want to be in.

© 2017 by The Process Maven