This is the second in a series of reflections I am writing on the ideas of How to Calm Your Mind by Chris Bailey.
I spend my days in the corporate world, so I certainly have felt and observed some amount of burnout. For me, it can feel like a very loaded and serious word to use, so I found the summary of burnout-related information in Chapter 3 of How to Calm Your Mind eye-opening.
It starts with the definition of burnout itself. The three components of burnout are:
- Feeling exhausted
- Feeling cynical/disengaged
- Feeling unproductive
Reading that precise definition of burnout, I was able to reflect on various periods where I felt some combination of these three factors. I also considered a recent episode at the end of November when I certainly was burned out but was too reluctant to use the B-word. When I think back on it, I think I didn’t want to say I was burned out because I felt it was too hyperbolic or complain-y for my situation. But accurately determining the way I was feeling as burnout likely would have helped me better improve my situation faster.
The book outlines various fixes for burnout, but what stuck with me the most was the general-purpose advice:
Generally, if you’re feeling exhausted, focus on your workload. If you’re disengaged, invest in social relationships and find ways of connecting more deeply with your coworkers if you can. If you’re cynical, identify whether you have the resources you need to do your job, and again whether you can double down on relationships at work.
That’s advice I plan to commit to memory, so I can access it the next time I need it.
