Last fall, I took the time to go out with a friend for coffee. I had been employed for a few months, I was also a freelancer, no wonder I was doing nothing but sitting at the monitor to move pixels (burnout alert).

After coffee I went into a bookstore. In the psychology sector, Francesca handed me a book and told me “this is for you”, it was Burnout by Jorg Fengler. I laughed and bought the book.

I’ve browsed through it, without necessarily thinking that I need strategies to prevent burnout. For what? I’m young and passionate about graphic design, I’m paid to do what I like, how many people have this luxury?

In today’s society there is no balance between personal life and work, we are characterized by our profession, classified as accomplished or losers, which is why we forget to disconnect from work when we leave the office. A mistake that I also made, of course.

What is burnout?

Burnout is the bigger and worse brother of stress.

Stress is the set of reactions of the body to the external action of some disruptors, whether it means missing the bus, the death of the laptop, the uncertainty that the barista really put soy milk in the coffee, the lack of toilet paper; And burnout (i.e. burnout) is caused by long and continuous periods of stress.

How does burnout manifest itself?

Do not follow a grid test to find out if you have burnout because the diagnosis is established by a specialist doctor. Instead, you can easily become aware if your work-life balance is non-existent and your health is neglected.

1. Physical and mental exhaustion: does the job-home, home-work scenario sound familiar to you? You don’t have the energy to do anything after work, you don’t go out with friends, on dates, not to mention going to the gym;
2. The motivation to work and go to work are kind of absent. It’s normal to not feel like it from time to time, but it’s not normal to not feel like what you’re normally passionate about at all;
3. Problems with concentration, memory, attention and blurred thinking;
4. Problematic health: you often catch colds, your head hurts, your stomach, you have no appetite or you have aggressive impulses towards your colleagues if you don’t eat a chocolate;
5. You can’t disconnect from work at home, in the evening, on weekends or on vacations;
6. You no longer perform at work, you fail to solve problems, to be creative, fast or the employee of the month;
7. You’re irritable and annoying your colleagues for the smallest of issues: from leaving the door open at the office to munching on pretzels and chewing gum.

Types of burnout

You would think that burnout is only caused by a long schedule, “deadlines yesterday” and too many tasks, but there are several unfavorable situations that can cause an increased level of stress to an employee:

1. The classic situation: if at 8 PM you are still at the office and you think you will have to sleep there, it is clear why you are physically and mentally exhausted;
2. You don’t have challenges at work, you’re bored, you don’t have the opportunity to advance and develop, so you feel like you’re stagnating;
3. You don’t get the help you need, which is why you can’t keep up with the tasks you receive, and in the end you end up feeling incapable.

Are you prone to burnout?

A stressful job does not guarantee you sick leave based on the diagnosis of burnout. The line between too much stress and burnout is not clear and differs from person to person, but some personalities are more prone:

1. The “coolest” type – this person is ready to risk their health and relationships in exchange for a high, successful position;
2. Anxious gender – this person perceives stressful situations more intensely than the rest and finds it difficult to adapt to so-called stressful environments;
3. The enthusiastic type – this person loves what he works or is a junior, and finds it difficult to leave tasks unfinished for the next day; That is why he often works overtime and considers that he does not need a clear balance between his professional and personal environment.

Often it’s not a “it’s not you, it’s me” situation, sometimes it’s even the management at work. If you feel exploited, underappreciated, you’re neither rich nor famous, it’s time to find a job where you can be appreciated and happier (if you were waiting for a sign, that’s it).

How can you prevent burnout?

As we have established, burnout is the cause of stress, in conclusion, to prevent burnout we must leave it softer with stress. It’s normal to stress, we don’t even have to be at work for that, it also happens on vacation.

Everyone perceives stress differently and has their favorite way of relaxing. My help list goes something like this:

1. Give yourself the time you need in the morning to start the day with peace of mind. If sleeping an extra half hour means you don’t have time to make a coffee, put on makeup for both eyes and kiss your partner before leaving, it’s not worth it (that doesn’t mean not sleeping a minimum of 6 hours a night);
2. Take your food to the office and don’t forget to have a few snacks with you as healthy as you can, so you won’t be stressed and hungry;
3. Breaks are important: at least 5 minutes every hour. Make yourself a cup of tea, get up from the office, get out in the fresh air, talk to a colleague, and during your lunch break sit quietly for half an hour;
4. Don’t stress for nothing. Until the task is clearly defined and you don’t know all the details, there’s no point in letting yourself be stressed by your boss or other colleagues; things can change at any time;
5. Try to have a good relationship with your colleagues, it doesn’t have to be friendship, but in no case conflict;
6. At 5 PM, if it’s not a life-and-death situation, tasks can wait until the next day;
7. Make sure that you have life after work. You go out to dinner with a friend, to go shopping, to go for a walk, but if you feel like going straight home to order pizza and get into bed, it’s ok, today;
8. Weekends are for sleep and relaxation, but if you just sleep and stay alone in the house, you might not be so happy with how you spent your time on Monday;
9. You have 21 days of vacation per year, use them!

Burnout doesn’t happen overnight, it occurs after a longer period of time in which you’ve “lived” just to rush to work, write emails, smash your laptop against the walls, lose touch with friends, forget your partner’s birthday (oops), eat puffs for lunch and other wonders.

If you think you’re on the verge of burnout, you’ve been there for a long time, or you’re experiencing a higher level of stress, ask management for help. Surely your superiors also want you to be a happy employee, because a happy employee is productive, proactive, creative and enthusiastic. As for me, in the wiser version: I keep Jorg Fengler’s book handy and flip through it when I feel overwhelmed (I also keep a pack of cigarettes in the last drawer of the office).