HOW TO GET MORE DONE WITHOUT BURNING OUT: 5 SECRETS

How to get more done without burning out

Can you get more done with a with a finite amount of time? How do you get more done than everyone else?

Answer: You have to do things differently and better.

Yes, you may have a lot on your plate at the moment or are an overachiever. But working 24/7 can be detrimental to your overall health. Before you know it, you’re feeling tired, cranky, and downright awful. These are some of the classic signs of burnout.

In today’s 24/7 society, it can be hard to resist working around the clock. This is especially more so if you are trying to get ahead in your career. However, if you want to avoid completely burning out, you need to make sure to take mental breaks now and again. These mental breaks are imperative to help keep you feeling refreshed.

Your way out

Realistically, not everyone can take a six-month-long sabbatical from their job to destress and refresh their minds. However, there are several things that you can do to help you get more done without burning out.

The following five techniques will help you maintain your energy throughout the day. They not only help you to get more done, but also help to avoid the all too common condition of burnout.

Warning: Don’t try to do everything at once as it could overwhelm you. Instead, try adding one of these techniques to your daily routine at a time until you can make a habit out of it. Incorporating these methods into your life will dramatically increase your energy and focus and help you avoid burning out.

Before we move on to the list that will help you get more done, let’s answer an important question. Why do we burn out and fail to get more done with our time in the first place? 

Why you don’t get more done

Burnout is, unfortunately, a road hazard in life that most high-achievers often face. Their passion leads them to take on heavy work loads and ignore the long work hours. Additionally, they place an enormous about of pressure on themselves to get more done and excel. All of this makes them susceptible to burnout.

Burnout is a state of chronic stress that leads to physical and emotional exhaustion. It also leads to cynicism and detachment, and a feeling of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment. Your best chance to avoid burnout and get more done is at recognizing the signs and symptoms. Here are some of the signs that you should look for to avoid burnout in your life.

• Chronic fatigue
• Insomnia
• Forgetfulness
• Increased sickness
• Loss of appetite
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Anger
• Pessimism
• Isolation
• Detachment
• Feelings of hopelessness
• Increased irritability
• Poor performance at work

To give yourself the best chance of avoiding burnout and get more done, it is crucial that you are able to recognize the signs and symptoms.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, it’s time to make a change. Use the following techniques can help you to make the right changes in life, get more done while avoiding the destructive nature of burnout.

Choose work that boosts your energy

One of the easiest ways to avoid burning out and get more done is to choose work that boosts your energy, instead of taxing it. Do you want to make your life fuller instead of working yourself into an early grave? If so, you need to select projects that boost your morale.

If you wake up every day and dread having to go to work, it’s a sure sign that you are working yourself into an early grave. Stop committing your time to complete activities that make you tired rather than excited. Furthermore, stop doing it compulsively. Doing so might turn you into a workaholic and will lead to certain burnout eventually.

If the prospect of going to work brings a smile to your face, then you’ve found a job that enhances your quality of life. And it’s much easier to continue working on things that make you happy.

As you try to get more done, ask yourself this important question. Is my job a source of energy and happiness, in addition to being a source of money? If it’s not, you have to ask yourself what you can do to change that.

Can you try to leverage your current position into something that will be more meaningful for you? Are there any related positions within your present company or elsewhere that would leave you with more energy at the end of the day? It is crucial for you to do what is needed to find happiness in your work.

As you try to get more done, ask yourself this important question. Is my job a source of energy and happiness, in addition to being a source of money?

Other activities

To increase your quality of life, even more, be sure to add activities to your free time that invigorate you. Work to cut out those activities that drain you emotionally. These activities include, but are not limited to, scrolling through Facebook, or binge-watching your favorite television show. Try to replace these with activities that energize you, like playing sports or working out.

Having creative outlets, outside of your job can help to keep you engaged and motivated in your daily tasks. It’s possible you’re not able to flex your creative muscles at your position. In that case, it is essential to find something outside of work that will allow you the opportunity to include things you love in your daily life.

Have a plan

One of the most valuable aspects of having a schedule is that it establishes a routine while allowing you the flexibility regarding what work is being done. However, to get more done without burning out, you need to have a more detailed plan. This is where creating a daily to-do-list can be invaluable for you to get more done.

At the end of every day, you should sit down and develop a plan and establish the priorities for the following day. Doing so allows you to hit the ground running when you get to work the next morning.

Prepare a to-do list

Having a to-do list is important for you to get more done throughout the day. Additionally, it is essential to have a framework in place to evaluate what’s worth your time and what isn’t. To get more done, you must prioritize!

To get more done, you must prioritize!

Too often you might find yourself being pulled in a million different directions and ‘fighting fires’ all day. Also, you often go home feeling like you didn’t accomplish anything meaningful or worthwhile. When creating your to-do list, you need to ask yourself if everything on your list has to get done.

Is it something that can wait or be scheduled to be completed later? You also need to determine if you can delegate anything on your list to someone else. Not everything that you write down is something that you have to do yourself. Look at your list and ask for help to complete specific tasks.

 Use a calendar

When it comes to planning for meetings and other time-sensitive tasks, take advantage of an electronic calendar. The moment you learn about a new meeting or time-sensitive task, schedule it on your calendar. Set alarms in advance to make sure that you have enough of a reminder, so you don’t miss those important events.

The planning process should become a part of your routine. Start the habit of writing down your priorities in advance. The power of planning in advance is that you never have to worry about whether you’re working on the right thing or if you’re going to miss a meeting.

If this feels like you, click here and get the timeless 5 Truths about self-discovery and growth.

Take small breaks throughout the day

To get more done, you must keep your productivity high, and your stress level low. You can achieve this by taking small breaks throughout the day. Taking short, purposeful breaks throughout your day can help you reorient yourself. Thus, it allows you to stay focused on the task at hand.

Take time to review your priorities and check your progress toward meeting each of your goals. That way you’re able to orient yourself with the next set of tasks you need to complete. You’ll find this makes you more efficient and effective at your job.

Along with it being important for your recovery, taking small breaks throughout the day facilitates productivity. It is impossible to sustain working 80 hours per week over an extended period. You don’t get more done by simply putting in more hours.

You don’t get more done by simply putting in more hours.

When you work at that level of intensity, you will be working yourself into an early grave, no matter how much you love your work. It is vital for your mental well-being and your health to spend time every week to do absolutely no work.

It is essential for you to start making a habit of pausing periodically throughout the day. While you do that, evaluate your work and assess whether you are meeting your goals. This way you get the chance to figure out the reasons you are or are not meeting them. Take the time to decompress and forget about the challenges you are facing at work once a week. This greatly helps you avoid burning out and get more done eventually.

Adopt a daily routine

Having a routine in the morning before work is a great way to keep yourself on time and get more done. Creating a daily routine, that includes the tasks, you must complete throughout the day can set you up for getting more done throughout your day.

When you are working, break down your time into chunks. Give yourself more flexibility in the evenings to relax and tackle any lingering activities you may currently be working on.

Your daily routine should reflect the priorities in your life and at your job. Also, it should incorporate those priorities into important parts of your day.

The power of having a routine is not having to think about what you have to do next to complete your tasks. You don’t have to waste your time deciding what the most important thing to do is. Additionally, you don’t have to spend time thinking about what makes the most sense because you’ve already done it.

Once you’ve developed your routine, do your best to follow it daily. You can’t always control every minute of your day. You have to have flexibility in your routine to tackle emergencies and tasks that you weren’t expecting.

To get more done, the challenge is not allowing your entire routine to become derailed when unexpected things happen. If you do find that you’ve deviated from your routine, stop. Step back from what you are doing and take proactive steps toward getting back on track.

To make the most out of this technique, you need to find and develop routines that will incorporate activities that will energize you throughout the day. Having a method makes it easier for you to stay focused, organized. This allows you to be efficient and to get more done while avoiding burn out.

Mix up the type of work you do

Having a routine doesn’t mean that every day has to be the same.

As the saying goes, “Variety is the spice of life.” This is just as true when it comes to your daily schedule.

Having variety in your day is essential for preventing boredom in your life and exhaustion. If your job gives you the opportunity, switch up your activities throughout the day to maximize your productivity, and get more done.

You may have a few objections to this technique. You may be stuck working on one massive project without the ability to take advantage of the opportunity to mix things up. Sometimes there is just no getting around this situation.

These kinds of situations, while they do happen, are rare. An average day at your job should provide you with plenty of opportunities to tackle different activities throughout the day.

Depending on what you do for a living, it may be difficult for you to mix up your daily activities during normal working hours. However, you can use this technique and apply it to the rest of your life.

When you’re not at work, make it a priority to switch up your activities every couple of hours. Fill your day with events that you want to do and that get you excited. Shaking things up throughout your day is a great way to not only stave off boredom at work but also increase your productivity.

Mix up your activities to incorporate different types of work to help you avoid burning out. When you are constantly on the go, you diminish your ability to get more done.

 Reading burnout signals

It’s easy to think that a headache is nothing more than dehydration or that a stomach ache is from something that you ate, and that the pain in your neck is from sleeping wrong. However, this isn’t always the case. Many times, the aches and pains that you feel are a result of stress and anxiety that has accumulated in our body.

The symptoms of burning out that manifest in your body can be mistaken for many other common health issues. So, it is essential that you pay attention to the signals that your body is projecting. By so doing, you can stop burn out in its tracks.

Just because you’re a high achiever doesn’t mean you are destined to suffer from burnout more or less. Learn the signs and symptoms associated with burnout and incorporate these easy techniques into your life to keep you going, get more done, and enjoy everything you do in your life.

Further reading:

7 Apps That Will Help Improve Your Productivity