I have to admit, I used to look at burnout as a buzzword. I also used to think that I was completely immune to it, since I’ve always led a busy and active life. I was an athlete from the age of 4, went to a private school that had time management as one of its top values (and therefore mandated a lot of work and activity) outside of the classroom, and worked multiple jobs while I was in Undergrad.
In addition to that I went to gym nearly every day, went to class, worked in an office, and hosted at a restaurant three times a week, all while finding the time to date and have a social life.
Everything above is not meant to be a brag. It’s just all to provide context for my mindset towards burnout.
But then, I learned.
As I look back on my life and try to pinpoint where burnout started, I would say it was following my Master’s. That probably sounds strange, as it would probably make more sense that I would feel burnt out during.
I didn’t have much of a social life that year, didn’t go to the gym, and was still working for Radio Laurier (which I was so glad to be able to do) as a manager for two of the segments. I constantly had a lot of reading and writing to do, had to run team meetings, office hours for both radio and the courses I was teaching, teach, and be on the air.
As busy as this was, I also wasn’t working outside of school, and everything was very routine. I was able to give myself ample time for tasks and block out my days. However, I made the mistake of not prioritizing my physical and mental health and cut out the gym entirely.
After 8 months of not going, it was hard for me to get back into it. I went to the gym in the buildings I lived in following school maybe once or twice in the time I was there. It wasn’t something I was used to doing anymore.
As a result, I became really sluggish. I jumped into working literally two days after finishing my last class of my Master’s, and haven’t really had significant time off since. The longest gap was probably between my last job and my current job, but in that time, I was going to interviews and driving back and forth from Waterloo to Toronto to look at apartments. It wasn’t really time off to do nothing.
I started in my current role in September, while getting settled in a new city and a new routine with my partner and our dog. He also started a new job at the beginning of October, and we moved mid-September.
Before we knew it, the holidays came, and even though we had hoped that time off would be relaxed, there was stress with family that carried over even after we were back in our own space.
Now, the new year/decade is upon us, and I’ve been thinking and acting on a few things to help me feel better physically and mentally. I touched on a few of them in my last post, but this is the full list:
Putting limits on screen time.
I’m doing my best to not use my phone for the first and last hours of my day to not overstimulate my brain when I should be moving more slowly.
Being okay with saying “no.”
I don’t need to be doing everything, and am starting to be okay with doing nothing. It gives me time to rest and reflect.
Prioritizing my attitude.
I like reading, I like writing, and I like spending time with the people who make me feel at my best. I admit, I can be a negative person at times and not that much fun to be around. I am working on this as I don’t want to be “that person” in someone’s life.
Making more (and healthier) meals at home.
My partner is usually the one in the kitchen, but I want to contribute more in the kitchen. I’ve been trying at least one new recipe a week. We were spending quite a bit on takeout, especially when we first moved, so now we’re allocating some of that money that we would’ve spent on that to having more variety in our groceries.
Going to the gym.
I’ve committed to going to the gym three times a week. I’ve been working on getting my form and endurance back to where it was, and then I will start to be more regimented in which muscle groups I choose to focus on.
Getting things off my chest so that I can breathe.
Communicating effectively is something I work on every single day. I don’t want to hold things in anymore, as none of us know how much time we have. People will either respect your honesty, or you’ll just have to accept that things have changed between you.
Just remember: You had the power to be happy before you even knew them. You’ll bounce back.
Khadijah Plummer Consulting 