Avoid Burnout with Personal Times

No matter what industry you are part of there is a familiar foe waiting to reveal itself…burnout!

The common denominator for burned out people is our own inability to take care of ourselves.

Life itself comes with several responsibilities and even more so, we may add onto those responsibilities with other ventures, hobbies or dreams we have. We strive to do our best and want to attain to a certain degree of life, which is ok.

Yet in the midst striving to be good stewards, it can be easy to lose yourself if not careful. Your identity suddenly will be in what you are invested in. What makes a good day would be based on if you accomplished certain task or not. Before you know it, burnout causes you to lose sight of yourself and what makes you, you.

So how do you avoid burnout?

Here is the strategy I use to help me stay refreshed:

Implement Personal Times

It is imperative to have a scheduled time where you can get away from the grind of life. My wife and I have two children both under the age of four. We both work and have other ventures that vie for our time, but one thing we have implemented and guarded is our times for self-care.

There are three ways that we do this:

1. Daily #Refreshment

This happens for 30 minutes to an hour and involves upfront planning, but it can be done. Whether in the early morning or at night when everyone else is sleeping, take some time to watch a tv show, movie, play a game, read a personal book or exercise, but that time is for your personal well-being.

2. Weekly #Refreshment

This happens once a week but for a longer period of time. Give yourself a day where you can spend 2 hours of personal time for self. This time is used to reflect on life, assess your goals, take a walk in the park or whatever else takes you away from the noise of life.

3. Seasonal #Refreshments

This is one of my favorites! Have a pre-planned time away for you or your family. Take time off of work and step back from as much busy work as possible. During this time be intentional about building up relationships with family and friends. Catching up on other things you otherwise would have missed.

I understand this is easier said than done and believe me, I am not 100% effective at this, but the key thing to do is try.

Do what works for you as best as you can.

Thus, I leave you with something that was quoted to me, “Self-care is not selfish.”