Checklists are always useful, for anything, and I thought that a checklist for how to get over burnout was a great idea. A little list to verify what to do and/or what not to do while you are trying to heal from or get through burnout is something that can come in very handy.
Based on some of my previous articles, on what I learned from the therapist that was assigned to me during my burnout, and some lessons I learned from my experience, I am going to compile two checklists here.
A “to do” and a “do not do” list
One list will give you recommendations that may help you walk the road to recovery. The second list will advise what would be best to avoid, in order to ensure that there are no bumps on the road or that you keep the speed bumps to a minimum.
Have you ever driven your car into a pothole? Ouch, painful, isn’t it? For both you and the car … So, dealing with stressors, conflicts, difficult neighbors, and what-have-you can be compared to such potholes – or nasty speed bumps. It’s best to avoid them if you want to get better.
We often have the best intentions and we are determined to stick to our principles and to what we have learned, but life tends to throw certain situations, difficult people, or other obstacles on our way which may or may not hinder us a little and make us forget our good intentions.
So, having a little checklist can be great help. It could be a mental checklist, or even a printed one. Yes, why not print this and keep it in a place where you can easily reach it, like your jeans pocket, your wallet, or whatever you like to use?
Let’s look at those lists.
Your To Do List
Feel free to print this list 🙂
Your Do Not Do List
Same here, feel free to print this list. Perhaps, after you print both, you could put a protective covering over it, to make it last for a long time, or at least for the time that you are going through burnout …
Final Thoughts
Today is the first time that I am sharing a short article on my blog, but I thought that these lists would be useful. Before I wrote this article, I asked myself, “what would I have liked to have when I went through burnout in 2016?” The answer was this, a checklist of what I should and should not do; recommendations for daily life. A list like that might have helped prevent some unpleasant situations I could have done without 😉
Having such a list is like carrying a constant reminder with you at all times. You can pull it out any time and look at it, especially when the mind is being provoked into a stressful or conflictive situation.
If someone tries to unsettle you or if there is a stressor, perhaps this list can help, who knows, right? I am not proclaiming myself as a burnout guru. I would never claim such a thing, but I have been through burnout and I know that it isn’t easy to get through it. So, I hope that what I learned during my journey may be of some help to you. 🙂
Excellent article, Christine! When we’re stressed out and burnt out, we tend to try to force ourselves to do more work, thinking that this will compensate for our lack of energy, lack of enthusiasm, and lack of drive. When we entertain such thinking and action, we get the opposite effect-we’re even more tired, more stressed out, we get even less down, and we’re even more restless. I love and agree with your lists! While we should definitely work on ourselves when we’re experiencing burnout, I personally find that helping other people with their problems actually helps me. As children of God, we are to demonstrate the love and service of Christ Jesus as much as possible, even when it seems hard to do. When I can make someone else’s day better, it actually puts me in a better mood, makes me calmer and more peaceful, I sleep better at night, and I wake up with a smile on my face. I understand that we’re all different, however! Just my two cents. Haha. Great read! God bless you!
I certainly understand where you’re coming from, and I agree. Help whenever you can, I would do the same. I meant that you should not listen to others complain about their problems, which will only bring you down, but helping others definitely, always. When I went through burnout I was also asked for help. A lady asked me if I could foster two puppies she had rescued from an abusive situation. I was not sure at first if I could, but I decided to help them, and in the end I ended up not only helping those puppies, but those puppies also ended up helping me, and the two families who adopted each of them had found their loves. So, we made a lot of people (and puppies) happy 😉
Hi Christine, Thanks for the checklists! The Do Not Do List seems to be a pretty close description of my lifestyle, I seem to be on the ragged edge of being burned out most of the time. Two jobs, Family, and pets/animals keep me jumping thru the hoops but I have found that Nature and meditation work best for me to heal enough for another day. Nothing beats sitting on my favorite rock and watching the dogs run and letting my mind be still for even a few minutes each day. Both of your burnout checklists are spot on and now have a place under a magnet on my fridge.
Hi Sanders,
Sitting on that rock and watching your dogs play must be so relaxing. I also do that sometimes, right before sunset, I sit on a few cement blocks and watch the sunset with my dogs. Playing with them is also very relaxing. Nature and meditation are always wonderful healers. I find that a walk on the beach always clears the mind.
Thank you for your comment!
Hey Christine,
This is a really great article on Burnout the way you have put this together as a checklist for sure is a great way identifying things which experiences. Make a note and then going to the recovery Road for sure healing from the burnout is a big one to go through put, day by day it gets better
Thanks for sharing
Tommy
Hi Tommy,
I’m glad you found this helpful 🙂
Thanks for visiting my website!
I can relate to this post. When I worked at my last job I was going through burnout almost every day, and It would resort to overeating and sometimes smoking. This year I did the checklist you have mentioned in the first section, and it has helped me out a lot. I was able to get things done efficiently and not becoming too overly stressed in the long run. Thank you for this information it is a really great read.
Joshua
Hi Joshua,
I’m glad this was helpful 🙂
Thank you for your comment!
How to get over burnout checklist is something I really need to start using regularly, I have a habit of working too long of hours and I do pay for it eventually. I just get so involved in helping other people I sometimes forget to help myself, and then I am forced to take as much as a full day off which is torture for me to do.
Thank you for these great tips
Jeff
Hi Jeff,
I can relate. I have helped so many people (and animals) over the last 20 years that I often neglected myself, and in the end I did myself more harm than good. It is important to also make time for ourselves.
Well said Christine – alcoholic drinks are not the solution to counteracting a period of feeling burnt out. Needless to say that relaxation is extremely important, but alcohol is also a mild type of poison, which must only be consumed in moderation.
Very true, alcohol is a mild type of poison and it will do more harm than good, especially when you’re drinking it during burnout.
Thank you for your comment!
Hi Christine,
Sorry to hear you had your own burnout, but I’m sure many of your readers will appreciate you sharing with them.
These lists are great, and helpful for everyone whether they’ve had a burnout or not!
If we can practice these things on a daily basis, it could very well prevent it!
Thanks again for sharing this great advice,
Suzanne
Hi Suzanne,
I am glad these lists are helpful. Thank you for your comment!
Hi Christine,
This is a great article. Your to do and not to do list is very useful, if only we would follow it! Meditation, yoga, breathing techniques are all important tools we should use in order to change and improve our life for the better.
I hope many people will read your article and follow the advice, I have definitely learned a lot from it.
Kind regards,
Yoana
Hi Yoana,
Thank you! I am glad that you find this useful 🙂
This was very timely for me as I’m on a four month sabbatical off from work. We were supposed to be traveling Europe but because of covid that didn’t happen so I’m pretty much stuck here in Finland. I knew I was exhausted from work but it took me few weeks to realize and admit to myself that I was actually completely burnt out. I was so deep in stress and exhaustion that it had became the normal state. I’m sure you can understand that I wasn’t feeling very good.
So now I’m happy to just do things without too much pressure. I agree with your lists! One thing that has helped immensely is daily meditation and doing positive thinking in a meditative state. Feels much more effective than just doing it in a normal waking state because I have a lot of negative baggage in my sub soncscious minded.
Hi there,
I am so glad that you are taking this time to meditate and focus on positive thinking. It will help you enormously. Feel free to check out my other articles which also deal with healing from burnout. I hope they will be helpful to you too.
Thank you for stopping by! And wishing you all the best!