Self Care Tips to Avoid Burnout
First off, burnout is not needed for success or some badge of honor you need to achieve in order to “allow” yourself to take a break.
This was the hardest thing I had to learn, and still actively remind myself daily. Just because someone else is working or “doing more”, doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice more of your soul in order to keep up.
This is something I took more seriously in the years leading up to my 30s, and not something I’m actively trying to learn now. It takes time if you grew up or lived in the hustle and pushing yourself. But my guess is that you’re looking for ways to avoid it or work through it now, and this is my best advice for that.
So these are my simple steps to start adding self care to your daily life:
Stop reading self help books
Stop journaling to success prompts
Stop pushing off tasks that can wait
Start treating yourself like you’ve done enough now
Stop Reading Self Help Books
What a way to start, am I right!?
Ok, hear me out, because I was THE self help girly. I had an Audible subscription and only listened to business and self help books. I listened and followed all the business and growth podcasts and influencers, and guess what?
Did I grow, yes I did learn some things. But also, I never got “there”. “There” always had a hidden secret, something more to learn, a niche I needed to dive into more, contradicting advice or gurus that turned out to be scammers.
You know what doesn’t have any of that? Books. Romance, fantasy and (don’t tell my mother) smut books. The thing my good Christian teen inside would be TERRIFIED to find out I read now. But listen, when I’m reading books, no matter what the story or contents hold, I’m so happy. Like actually happy.
And I’m an anxious mess. Like when I talk to my boyfriend about marrying him and have health insurance for the first time in years, he’s like “Yes! Then we can get you help and medicated!” That type of anxious mess.
Nothing has been more monumental that getting back into reading again like when I was a kid and reading through an entire book camping. There’s something to be said about going back to what you enjoyed when you were little. And if you stop reading at this point, just go back to what was fun when you were younger and you’ll feel SO much better.
Otherwise, let’s keep going! But if you want a list of my favorite books that left me with all the feelings and none of them anxious burnout, check out Book Recommendations To Escape The World For A Bit.
Stop Journaling to Success Prompts
If you’re in the self help and business growth space, you have been journaling your fears and doubts away for years and however many journals you’ve gotten through now. I know I have at least 6 on my book shelf from over the years. Full of doubt, questions, confidence, fear and grand plans for growth.
But a lot of times, when you’re this deep, all you talk about is growth. And remember, there is NOTHING wrong with growth, bettering yourself and continuing to learn. It’s when that’s all you do and think about that it starts to become a problem.
I wouldn’t journal if it wasn’t going to accomplish something or help me focus in one way or another. And anytime I just wrote down my feelings, it was always about how I was failing, needed to be better or just straight fear of existence.
Now, I write about my day, my goals, what I’m reading, how I’m feeling and it’s so much more positive! I add stickers and notepad paper I love, make it look pretty and now my journals are FULL of me.
Notice I did say I wrote down my goals, but it wasn’t in a “I’m getting this and this done in order to create this outcome and achieve this life”. But “I would love to do this because then I could live this life and here’s how I’d like to see that happen”.
The goal with just journaling to journal, is to remember to enjoy the present. When you’re constantly needing to succeed and work towards tomorrow, you forget and can easily get sucked into what’s not going well and what you need to do for tomorrow. I want you to be present and enjoy your life now in order to better appreciate the reward of tomorrow.
So if you haven’t already, go and find your new journal with the vibe you want to create. I love going through and finding my next journal at Target. Otherwise whatever gives you all the vibes for the next existence you want to have.
Stop Pushing Off Tasks That Can Wait
You may have had to reread that a few times. Don’t worry, when I was making notes and got here, I almost didn’t understand what I was saying either!
But here’s what I mean:
When you’re burnt out and doing all the things yet nothing at all, we tend to push off the everyday stuff that needs to get done.
Dishes, laundry, tidying up, putting boxes away, etc. And I get it. Sometimes it’s hard to just open a bag of chips and eat ANYTHING let alone clean the kitchen.
But I have to remind myself that my outside space reflects my inside. When my house is cluttered or even just a little dirty, I’m even more anxious and lose motivation even faster.
So a lot of times I force myself to put things away before I realize what’s going on. Because half the battle is feeling like putting dishes or clothes away takes 2 hours, when it’s 10 minutes. So I’ll either put on a YouTube video quick OR tell myself I can watch a show once I put things away. Because I’ve totally spent 5 minutes just trying to find something to put on before even starting.
So force yourself to do something. Not all of it, but 10 minutes of one thing. One podcast worth of cleaning, or as much pick up as you can with the song you’re listening to at the moment.
Just like with fitness in the morning, I have to start moving and doing before my body realizes what’s going on. And once it’s going and I start hating what I’m doing, I just rush to get it done. Because clutter is bad, but half done clutter or clean up!?
ABSOLUTELY NOT!
Start Treating Yourself Like You’ve Done Enough Now
And finally, buy yourself the treat. Even if you’re low on funds, even if you haven’t crossed that milestone you set 3 months ago, even if you said you’d wait until “next time”.
I missed out on a lot of my 20s because I was waiting to reward myself until I had done something. And I did a lot! A lot of good from starting a business, learning a new craft, buying a house, taking a chance on me and seeing success, it was never to the level that I wanted it to be.
Did a lot of bad things and lessons happen at that time? Yes.
But a lot of small good things happened too. And we tend to miss those.
So once you’re done reading through all of this, here’s what I want you to do:
If self help books have been your thing, find one non-fiction book to read next.
Go out and get a new journal for the new mindset you’re working toward (not burning out).
Clean up ONE thing that has been staring at you for far too long.
And lastly, get yourself a little treat. Whether that’s the ice coffee you love, a box of macaroons, a physical copy of a book you want to read, flowers, a new shirt or anything that you’ve been putting off until X, Y or Z happens.
Even if you have $5 to spare and nothing more. You. Deserve. It.
The burnout is happening because you aren’t allowing yourself rest or the chance to see all the good you’ve been doing. So take a step back, take a breath, take it easy and allow yourself (however hard it is) 24-48 hours of no thinking. Just straight being and existing in the moment of time you’ve made it to in life.
And once you’re done and feeling refreshed, then dive back in while keeping all of this in mind. The goal isn’t a break from burnout, but finding out what you need in order to avoid it moving forward.
Looking for support in implementing this, a healthy diet, workout and self care routine all while still seeing progress in your business and career? Then I’d contact me about my RCK SLD Method personalized coaching offer. Spots are limited, but if you’re looking for accountability that ACTUALLY makes a different, then I’m your girl!
But either way, you’ve got this!
