Address burnout before it happens | Jun 11th 2007
There are lots of things that can cause burnout when you’re self-employed, have two children under the age of seven and work from home. Sometimes the source of the burnout is easy to pinpoint — many long hours in the home office and tight deadlines back-to-back without reprieve. Sometimes it’s mainly household-related burnout. After all, laundry never stops and parenting doesn’t come with a great sick-time policy.
The toughest thing I’ve realized when confronting burnout is it’s not always easy to recognize when it happens. Somewhere over the past six years I convinced myself I could be Super Mom — that I could do it all. I wear the cape stoically, intent on getting a million things accomplished and convincing myself I can handle any 10 problems that cross my path on a given day. That is, until it all becomes too much.
This compulsion to deny the overwhelming truth — that sometimes I just can’t do it all, has been an ongoing struggle for me since I went back to work full-time when my six-year-old was only six weeks old. Perpetuating this denial is an ongoing issue for me and ignoring the truth about my own limitations is like a ticking time bomb which has the potential to undermine everything I’ve worked hard for.
So after nearly five years of working for myself, I’ve developed a few tricks for avoiding burnout.
Solutions for Combating Burnout
The first step in eliminating burnout is recognizing there’s a problem. Pushing forward at a ridiculous pace day after day can lead to complete meltdown — never a good thing on either the work or home front. I’ve learned to recognize the signs of an unrealistic schedule and have begun giving myself much-needed breaks in the form of long weekends, early work days and time to myself.
Getting a life outside of work and home is the next step. In the spirit of self-preservation, I’ve just joined a gym and even sprung for six weeks of personal training to get the whole thing started. I realize working out regularly will mean missing either work or “mom” time. I’ve decided to cut into my work schedule rather than miss out on time with my kids. I’m hoping the consistent time away from work combined with doing something so positive will help.
This year, I’m experimenting with a new solution for combating burnout, which I’ll be testing in mid-October. I’m taking an actual vacation. It was my six year- old’s idea. She has been begging to go to Disney World and it so happens my best friend lives in Florida so I thought it was an excellent destination for the whole family to check out. I know it’s rather cliché and far from exotic, but I can’t wait.
That leads me to my final tip — always have something to look forward to. If you find you’re not getting excited about work, family or anything in between, it’s probably time to plan something new.
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This article was published in the Poughkeepsie Journal on Saturday, June 9th, 2007 with the title, “Make use of tips to keep burnout in check.”