103: How to avoid burnout

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Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of Cani Crystals, the podcast. I hope that you're all well. As you know by now, my name is Mart, I am your host, and this week I'm not even in the country. Yes, I am coming at you live and direct from Johnny's mom's house in Spain. Arriba! Is that Spanish? Who knows. It's currently 28 degrees, it's 8 PM, I'm living my ultimate best life. It has just been so nice to get out of the office And so nice to get away. I know obviously I had a cruise with Fran in— was it June or July? God, this year is flying, isn't it? Um, but yeah, it wasn't really like a holiday holiday because it was only for 5 days for a start, which don't get us wrong, I was so, so grateful for, but it was a working holiday. We, we barely got any time to go out and explore anything, do you know what I mean? We were working. It was just nice to work in the sun. But with that said, on the lead up to this little getaway for a week in Spain, I obviously had the event last week and then I was away in Leeds overnight to see Shania. So on the week leading up to these busy 2 weeks, I had to sit down and schedule out everything, and I mean everything, I was going to need to do for my business, basically, including, you know, things like social media stories, recording podcasts, ordering surplus stock, ordering packaging, and so much more that you wouldn't even believe. Like, I had a list so, so long. In fact, I was saying to my Manifest with Mark members just a couple of weekends ago And I spoke to Fran about this as well, about how I was, you know, one inch away from burnout. These last few weeks have been so, so testing. And, you know, trying to do all of our adoption paperwork and all of our homework and all of our meetings on top of all of that just really sent me to that cliff edge. And it's really not a nice feeling when you're absolutely drowning in it. You can't see a way out. You can't see a light at the end of the tunnel. So I thought I would do an episode on avoiding burnout when things get tough in life. So just to go to the dictionary, it— dictionary corner, I'm like Susie Dent of Countdown. The dictionary defines burnout as a state of chronic emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by prolonged exposure to excessive stress and a demanding workload. So burnout typically comes about from a combination of internal and external factors. It's not just all internal. It's not just all external. It's a combination of the two. So the first could be, I'm using this as an example, the first could be work-related stress. So the primary cause of burnout is work-related stress. And that's something that, you know, if you work in the NHS, I feel you, I see you, you'll be more than familiar with this. This stress can result from heavy workloads, unrealistic expectations of you, tight deadlines, a lack of autonomy or control over your work, or even little things, you know, like being short-staffed, because that's going to put more and more pressure on you as a person. So constantly feeling overwhelmed and unable to meet these demands can really, really lead to burnout. The second factor of burnout is having that high level of responsibility. So things that entail high levels of responsibility, such as healthcare professionals, You know, like ambulance drivers and paramedics, they're especially susceptible to burnout. Can you imagine the pressure to make critical decisions and perform flawlessly, basically? You know, can you imagine being a paramedic and trying to treat someone knowing that if you make even the slightest mistake, they could die as a result? You've got someone else's life in your hands, so obviously that can be quite stressful. But high level of responsibility doesn't just necessarily have to be about work. It could be in your home life as well. You could, like, have 3 children like Fran does, or you could even just have one. It like requires a lot of like attention and love, do you know what I mean? So that level of responsibility, it could go for your personal life, could go for your work life as well. The third factor of burnout is what most of us listening will probably experience in our lifetime, and that is a lack of work-life balance. So I was just speaking to Drew, my barber, about this a couple of weekends ago, and he said he was in deep thought one night about, you know, the rat race of waking up going to work, having food, going to sleep, and then waking up the next day and doing the exact same thing day in, day out, every single day. And I said to him, you know, I find it so weird, and you might as well, I just find it so weird that we spend 8 hours on average a day in bed. There are 24 hours in a day, so 8 hours a day in bed, and we all go to bed every single day, don't we? Unless you're a psycho. Um, but that is a third of our life. A third of our life in bed. I just, I don't get it. It's a third of our life sleeping. Yes, we all need to recharge, but I just find that absolutely mental. It was like my mom the other week, my mom had basically said that she was looking for a new mattress, and I asked her like, when was the last time you changed your mattress? And she said about 10 years ago, but the springs are starting to go. And I was like, 10 years? 10 years is a long time, Mom. I was like, we've had ours like 6 years and we're starting to look at another one right now because ours has started getting a dip in it in the middle, you know, like it's got like a mountain in the middle and then it's got two dips at either side where me and Johnny both lay. And I said to her, I was like, so how much are you wanting to spend on a mattress? And she was like, oh, maybe, you know, £50 to £100. And I was like, Mum, I hate to break it to you, but like you're probably not going to get a mattress for that cheap. And she was like, oh no, it's fine, I'll find one for that cheap. But I was saying, oh, I was like, you are spending 8 hours a day, a third of your life, in this bed. You have a really bad back, you have really bad legs. She's got really bad knee problems at the minute. And you want to do everything you can to support your body and re-energize yourself so that you wake up like refreshed and that you wake up as full of energy as you possibly can. Because a third of your life is going to be spent lying on this mattress. You need to basically get a mattress that is going to support you as much as it possibly can for— if you're going to have it 10 years, for the next 10 years, do you know what I mean? So anyway, I went on to, um, this place that we got our mattress from. Well, Johnny's dad actually bought our mattress for us very kindly when we first moved in together, and it's one of those, you know, I think it's called Eve. Is it Eve? It might be Simba. It's one of those. Anyway, they're about £300, I think, but it was like a moving-in gift. But honestly, like, it is amazing and it's memory foam and it supports my back because I've got sciatica. So it really, really helps my lower back, it helps my lower limbs, it helps me to recover at night. And I can go to bed at night knowing that, like, that bed is supporting me for those 8 hours and I'm gonna wake up, like, feeling amazing about myself. So I said to my mom, I was like, look, you've just got to see this £300 as an investment. And she still wasn't interested. And I could clearly see that she wasn't like interested. So I went behind her back and I bought her a mattress anyway. So she's got a mattress coming this week. But yeah, I just find it mad that a third of our life is sleeping. I find that mental. But yes, we then spend an average of 5 days a week at work. So that leaves us with, you know, very little time to see friends or family or actually do something for ourselves such as self-care or hobbies or even just taking time out to do something that our heart yearns for. An inability to maintain a healthy work-life balance, that can really contribute towards burnout. And when work encroaches on our personal time and our commitments, we're going to have limited opportunities for relaxation and recuperation. Okay, so that was the third factor. The, the last factor of burnout is personal reasons. So what I mean by this is that, you know, individual characteristics and coping mechanisms they all play a role in burnout. So it might be perfectionism, excessive ambition, you know, difficulty in setting boundaries with people. They are all personal traits that might predispose us to burnout. So you might be thinking like, do I have burnout? How will I know I have burnout? Let me tell you, because burnout is characterised by a range of physical, emotional, and behavioural symptoms. So you could have physical symptoms, you know, such as chronic fatigue, You could have insomnia or disrupted sleep patterns. You could have headaches. You could have stomach problems. You could have weakened immunity. Now, when my mom worked, uh, before I retired her last year, she was working like 3 12-hour shifts a week. And on those 12-hour shifts, she would work from 7 PM till 7 AM. They told her that she had to be in for her shift half an hour beforehand so that they could do a handover. And then she would stay half an hour afterwards so she could hand over to the next staff. So technically she was at work for 13 hours. It would take her 15-20 minutes to drive to work, 15 hours to get back, so technically 13 and a half hours a day working. She got a 20-minute lunch break in amongst that, and lunch break was at like 2 o'clock in the morning. 20-minute break. I think she was supposed to get a 10-minute on like the first half and a 10-minute on the second half, Didn't work like that. And then she would come home, 8 o'clock. By the time she took the dog out, saw my nana, um, seen my stepdad, you know, gone and done some food shopping or something like that, she would literally go to bed for 2 or 3 hours and then go and do exactly the same thing again. She was at the point of ultimate burnout. And there were her symptoms, you know. She had disrupted sleep patterns, she had chronic fatigue, she had headaches, she had stomach problems. She had a weakened immunity. She literally was getting colds and flus all the time because physical illnesses often manifest as the body's response to prolonged stress. I know in the past, like, I've had like knots in me stomach, for example, and that just makes you feel so ill. And I would get in from work some nights when I lived with me mam, and you know, I would think, ugh, I just need to lie down and rest me head. And that was like 5:30, 6 o'clock at night., and before I knew it, I'd be waking up on the couch and it would be 10 or 11 o'clock. So they're the physical symptoms of burnout. But we don't just have physical symptoms, we also have emotional symptoms. So these could include, you know, feelings of cynicism or like detachment from work or personal family life and increased irritability or emotional exhaustion. Like, we might become emotionally distant and experience that kind of sense of hopelessness, you know, that we don't have any meaning in our life. I would always close myself off and just think, you know, oh, what a shit day at work. And then I would just want to jump in the shower, get into bed, whack Netflix on, and just chilling me on my own without seeing or hearing from anyone, like really detaching myself from people. And if someone did get in touch with me and my phone started ringing, I'd be like, oh, I wish they would leave me alone. And that was like kind of an increased irritability. So they're kind of the emotional symptoms. The third kind of symptom of burnout is that it can impair your cognitive functions. So that might result in, you know, reduced concentration or memory problems or even a decreased decision-making ability. You might struggle to stay focused on tasks. You might find it hard or challenging to, you know, complete assignments. You must have felt like this at some point in your life where it's got to, you know, mid-afternoon at work and you've got maybe 2 or 3 hours left till home time and you just can't concentrate on anything. Your memory just deteriorates and you can't do your job properly. And you just think, oh my God, I need to get up. I'm gonna have to go for a walk or I'm falling asleep at me desk. We all get like that. And that is a symptom of burnout. And then the last symptom is behavioural changes. So what I mean by this is changes in your behaviour that might be evident in reduced productivity or withdrawal from social interaction or reliance on unhealthy coping mechanisms such as, you know, turning to cigarettes or alcohol or drugs to help you feel better about yourself. No matter which of these symptoms you might be experiencing, so it might be behavioral changes, it might be emotional symptoms, it might be physical, whatever it is, burnout always takes a heavy toll on us as a whole. Like, it can lead to severe physical and mental health problems. People don't realize this. It can lead to depression anxiety disorders, and even heart disease. And when we go through burnout, we could also experience a decline in, you know, job satisfaction, in, you know, a decreased self-esteem, not wanting to be around your friends, not wanting to be even spending time with your family. It can really damage those personal and like work relationships, basically. So how can we overcome burnout? Like, how do we counteract it? So I've wrote down a few strategies here and notes that might help you, like they've helped me over the last few weeks. And this is probably like, it's not like, oh my God, I can't believe this. It's not like any of those. It's like things that we're probably already doing that we just have to prioritize more, okay. These are things that have helped me. These are a few things that we can all do on a daily basis, such as, you know, planning ahead or scheduling and several other techniques. So if we start with planning ahead, for example. So I think planning ahead is a crucial first step in combating burnout. I think we've done this maybe probably 60, 70 episodes ago now, but remember when I asked you to make those lists on a Sunday night of your priorities for the week ahead? This is going to come in so useful for counteracting burnout. So things we can do here are things like goal setting, for example. So if we begin by setting clear, realistic goals for, you know, both your personal and your professional life, Having those well-defined objectives, they're going to provide direction and motivation. So that's going to help you avoid the aimless feeling that can contribute to burnout. Like, imagine if we just had no goals in life. Imagine if we didn't know what direction we were headed daily. We wouldn't have any purpose. We wouldn't have any meaning. We would just feel as though, you know, we were just existing, if that makes sense. Something else that can really help is by prioritising things. So identifying your most important tasks and responsibilities 'Cause when we prioritize these tasks and we allocate these times and energy accordingly to those tasks, that approach is gonna prevent you from spreading yourself too thin and becoming really, really overwhelmed. I like to think of things to do as glass and plastic balls. So use this as a mental, like, visual thing. The glass balls are things, you know, like brushing my teeth, eating, drinking water, talking to my partner, all the essential things that help keep us alive, okay? All the other non-urgent things are my plastic balls. So think about your list of priorities and go through them all one by one. Categorize them. Like, are they glass balls? Are they plastic balls? If you were to start juggling the balls and you kept on like adding one more in like every few minutes, which would you rather drop? A plastic one, obviously. You're not going to want a glass one to drop, are you? It could hit your toes, it could smash. Prioritising is going to help us to see what we've got on our plate and in which order they need to get done. I always say, chew the frog. Get that worst thing on your list out of the way. That really helps you to make yourself feel better because then you won't be procrastinating thinking about that awful task that you've got specifically left to last. Like, if you think of, like, just, you've got, like, this list and you've got this really, really awful task. You'd be like, yeah, I'm gonna leave that to last 'cause it's gonna drain me. No, do it first. Get it out the way because then you'll do things slower on the rest of your list knowing that you've got this awful task at the end. Whereas if you do this awful task first, it's gonna like boost your self-confidence and you're gonna be like, yes, I've done that. It's only taken me an hour. I've got all day now to crack on with the rest of this. I might get finished early here. Do you know what I'm saying? Do the awful task first. Something else that really, really helps me daily is time management. So I block out everything in my diary, and I mean everything, and I even allocate time for myself, like, such as lunch break, because otherwise I just forget to eat. And I allocate myself so much time for certain tasks because then I'm just able to keep myself on track and know when I'm falling behind on something. And I am so, so easily distracted by any notifications that go off on my phone because I end up reading them, I end up aimlessly then scrolling TikTok or Instagram So I've even turned off all social notifications on my phone. By blocking out that time in my diary, it means that, you know, say for example I give myself an hour to do a specific task, I'll then put my phone out of the way for that hour and just crack right on through that workload. And even a couple of weeks ago when I was planning for these 2 weeks ahead of like the event and going on holiday, I removed myself from the office because I knew Jade was in there. I know I am easily distracted, like watching her pack orders or talking to her, so I just thought I'm going to remove myself from the office completely so that I can literally just get my head down, keep my phone over to one side, and just crack through stuff and get through my list twice as quickly as I would be if I was down physically in the office. Efficiently managing your time by creating schedules or to-do lists, that's going to allow you to allocate specific time blocks for different tasks and just allow yourself to be mindful of setting aside time for self-care, relaxation too, because. That's just as important as the work at hand, okay? Just remember to give yourself those breaks that you need. And then my last strategy is learning your boundaries. So establish boundaries to protect your personal time and your well-being. Learn to say no when necessary. Communicate your limits to your colleagues, your friends, your family, because boundaries are crucial for maintaining a healthy work-life or like personal relationship balance, basically. I've had to say no to a couple of my friend gatherings just the other week because I just didn't have capacity to attend with my heavy workload, and I knew that I needed to crack through it all. And then it was one of my friend's birthdays, which I knew I couldn't miss, but I went. I didn't drink. I had non-alcoholic beer. They all went out afterwards. I drove myself home. I just didn't have capacity. I knew that I needed to just crack through my workload I knew that it would knock me off track the next day, you know. So once I let me friends know how stressed and how busy I actually was, what I had coming up on my plate, what I had the next day, what I had the next week, they were okay with that. But I just had to put that boundary in place and just say, you know, look, for the next 2 weeks, do not invite me to anything. Not to be awful, but I just don't have the capacity. So that's planning ahead in a nutshell, but Effective stress management is also huge in preventing and recovering from burnout. So like I say, prioritise self-care practices such as regular exercise, meditation, deep breathing, adequate sleep. They can all help to reduce stress, boost your resilience, and improve your overall well-being. I got really, really into my exercise again, um, about 2 months ago, and it lasted about 4 weeks, and I've just totally fell off the bandwagon again. And I really, really need to like prioritize that. That's my number one thing for between now and Christmas. I am going to prioritize exercise and meditation and all of that jazz to make me feel better because I've probably hit burnout. Because like I say, it's not just those external factors, but it's also the internal factors as well. So I'm going to start and prioritize those for myself starting from today, basically. And I know I spoke about it in last week's episode as well, but engage in mindfulness and relaxation techniques That'll help reduce your anxiety. It'll promote your mental clarity because mindful breathing exercises, you know, progressive muscle relaxation, guided visualizations, they can all be beneficial. And something that we don't do as often as we probably should because we feel like a burden is to lean on your support network. This can really, really help us with burnout. Share your feelings and concerns with friends, family, or colleagues. Connecting with other people can really provide that emotional support, and it'll foster a sense of belonging as well. You'll realize that, you know, most, most of the people that you speak to are probably in the same boat as you. They're just not talking about it. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle by adopting a balanced diet, limiting excessive coffee or alcohol intake— that could be really beneficial for you as well, because nutrition and hydration play such a significant role in managing stress. And then something else that could also help you with burnout is delegation. Effective delegation is going to be essential for preventing burnout because if you learn to delegate tasks when possible, that's going to really, really help you out. We need to trust and empower others to take on our responsibilities, both at work and in your personal life. Delegation is going to lighten your workload. It's going to reduce your stress. And it doesn't just pertain to your workload at work as well. It could even be in your private home life. For example, me and Johnny both have our own tasks that we do around the house. Like, I do the hoovering, he does the washing. So, he puts everything in the washing machine, puts everything on the clothes horse. I do the hoovering and the dusting. So, we each have little tasks like that and they're all equally shared out, but they are all housework-style tasks, yeah. So, when I'm feeling a little overwhelmed, I've just got to learn to, you know, open my mouth and ask for help or delegate some of my daily tasks to Johnny. And I'll be like, "I'm really, really sorry, but, you know, I haven't had time to run the hoover around today. Can you do it when you get a moment?" Or, "Would you be able to, you know, walk JJ twice today rather than just the once in the morning?" And it sometimes does feel like you're putting onto someone else's workload, but honestly, it's not the end of the world. And 9 times out of 10, he'll message back and he'll be like, "Yeah, that's absolutely fine, no problem. I'm a little less busy today than I am usually, so I honestly don't mind." Something else that could help you is that you could take up creative hobbies and interests that bring you joy and relaxation, because when we engage in activities that you love, they can provide a valuable mental break. And speaking of breaks, like, remember to incorporate those short breaks throughout your day to refresh your mind and just reduce that mental fatigue, because these breaks are going to help you maintain focus and productivity. And something else that we don't always do is celebrate your accomplishments, no matter how small they are, because recognizing your successes, that can really boost your confidence and your motivation as well. So just be kind to yourself, set those realistic expectations, understand that you're not superhuman because it's okay to ask for help or take breaks when needed. And if that burnout persists despite your best efforts, consider making, you know, some massive significant changes in your life. Such as exploring new career options. You might want a new job, you might want to like adjust your family lifestyle or seek a change of scenery. But more than anything, just regularly assess your well-being and your stress levels. Make adjustments to your self-care routine and boundaries as needed, and that'll maintain that healthy balance. Because overcoming burnout, it's a process that's going to take you time and effort. Implementing these tips gradually and consistently are really going to help you if you're suffering from burnout, okay? Just remember, we all go through it from time to time. It's perfectly normal. You're not alone by a long shot. We all go through burnout. We all go through stress. We all go through anxiety. We all go through depression. There isn't a single person alive or in the past that wouldn't have gone through this. You are not alone, okay? So I hope that you've enjoyed this episode. If you'd like to support me, don't forget you can use the word podcast as a discount code at cannycrystals.co.uk. Or kanni-crystals-academy.co.uk for 10% off everything. If you would absolutely love nothing more than a 30-day free trial of Audible, have a look at the links in my Instagram bio. Hit the 30-day free trial button. It's great for self-development audiobooks on the go, and you can cancel whenever you want to. If you've enjoyed this episode, please, please, please go and leave me a quick 5-star review. Like, share, follow, do what you need to do. Tag me in pictures of yourself listening along, or wherever you are listening to this podcast right now. I love to see them. I love to share them on my stories. I'm @cannycrystals on Instagram. And I guess there's nothing left for me to say, but I'll see you all next Friday for another episode. Have a beautiful weekend, guys. Bye!

You want to get your backyard summer ready, but you don't want to break the bank? Wayfair gets it. Planning on dining alfresco or relaxing poolside? Wayfair has everything you need to prep your space. Shop now and save up to 70% off during Wayfair's Fourth of July clearance. Score huge deals on outdoor furniture, area rugs, and more. We're talking thousands of products for every style and budget. Plus surprise flash deals July 6th. Don't wait. Shop Wayfair's 4th of July clearance now through July 6th at wayfair.com.

Wayfair. Every style, every home.

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