Juggling responsibilities and getting everything done at work is always challenging. Despite all our modern conveniences and technologies, many people have too many items on their to-do lists and get burned out.
The trick here is to find a balance. People need to get the essentials done without becoming overwhelmed by exhaustion, anxiety, fatigue or cynicism.
But how?
That’s the topic of this post. It explores various strategies individuals can use to avoid burnout at work and become their best selves.
Ruthless Prioritisation
The first step for juggling responsibilities without burning out is to employ ruthless prioritisation. Workers should focus only on the tasks that matter most and stand the best chance of reducing overall stress levels.
For example, suppose Jane needs to complete a project by the deadline but is responding to emails instead. This approach is common, but it doesn’t address the underlying cause of her stress – the need to complete the project.
In this situation, she would be better off simply focusing on completing the most essential work and doing emails afterwards. Spending time on them now increases the likelihood of fatigue and emotional exhaustion.
Boundary Setting
The second step for avoiding burnout is boundary-setting. This method involves saying “no” more often to requests to do extra work.
Setting boundaries can feel awkward at first (especially for people-pleasers). However, it becomes easier over time (and co-workers eventually get the hint).
Setting boundaries usually involves postponing requested work or declining it. Managers can also delegate work to others, taking the burden off themselves.
Unfortunately, boundary setting can be challenging in some work cultures. Many leaders and managers expect employees to perform miracles of productivity.
Workers in this position should consider sitting down with the senior team and explaining why their workload is too high. Most responsible managers recognise stress and burnout as serious workplace issues and will take corrective steps.
Use Time Management Techniques
Workers can also use time management techniques to manage stress at work and get more done. These improve productivity and prevent mad rushes before deadlines.
Proper time management in most jobs involves time blocking – the practice of focusing on a single task for a given period. This technique avoids task switching – something research suggests reduces productivity and increases stress.
Time management also involves creating lists of task priorities from the most to the least essential. Workers should use these to determine what they should do first.
Scheduling tasks is challenging when employees have multiple competing or urgent objectives. Therefore, other strategies, such as delegation, can come in handy. Workers can also talk to management teams to ask what they want done first to know more about what to prioritise.
Use Technology, Tools And Resources
Using technology and tools is another strategy for juggling responsibilities and avoiding burnout. These help workers get more done in a shorter space of time.
For example, lawyers, researchers, doctors and even journalists now use AI to write documents and reports for them. Leveraging these systems avoids the cognitively demanding and time-consuming task of putting pen to paper.
Managers, team leaders and employees can also leverage work scheduling and communication tools. These calendar-like apps (such as Monday.com) show everyone’s progress, reducing the need for constant back-and-forth emails.
Other examples of tools that can help employees include:
● Trello, which creates visual boards to organise tasks, deadlines, and projects
● Slack, a chat app that reduces the need to send emails to coworkers
● Calm, a relaxing meditation app to help employees become more centred and mindful
● Headspace, another meditation app offering mindfulness exercises to reduce stress
● Focus Keeper, a time management app that leverages the Pomodoro Technique, getting workers to work in optimal 25-minute intervals
Self-Care
Finally, workers, employees and people with busy lives can sidestep burnout by engaging in more self-care. Investing in the body makes it more robust and, sometimes, less stress-prone.
Proper self-care should take the form of:
● Scheduling more enjoyable activities during time off, such as going to restaurants, chatting with friends, and enjoying hobbies.
● Eating more fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds and avoiding processed or refined foods that could disrupt metabolism
● Exercising regularly (and preferably incorporating various forms of movement into the working day)
Final Comments
Dealing with burnout is a significant issue in the modern world, affecting over 91% of adults in the UK. However, research is uncovering methods to deal with it, as explained here. Utilising them can help employees become happier, healthier, and more productive, reducing stress levels to acceptable levels.
