The Time Management of Burnout

At some point in your career and even in your personal life, you will hit a burnout phase. Life will seem like it is closing in on you and you don’t have the energy, productivity, and time to be at your best.

Burnout can come from very different places. As companies navigate life in a post pandemic world, trying to find employees to fill open vacancies can burden the existing team, creating an environment for higher stress. Conversely, with economic uncertainty and inflation suppressing business activity, corporations are delaying hiring and even downsizing. The remaining staff is saddled with increased workloads in an ambiguous work setting. The table is set for burnout.

The Mayo Clinic identifies possible causes as some of the following:

• Lack of control
• Unclear job expectations
• Dysfunctional workplace dynamics
• Extremes in activity
• Lack of social support
• Work-life imbalance

If this sounds like you, inventory your time management practices and make the necessary adjustments to reduce your stress level and gain back the right attitude and mindset. Walk through these items:

Identify the origin

You maybe sarcastically thinking, “Wow, thanks for the enlightenment, Captain Obvious.” Hear me out.

Many people pin burnout strictly on external factors (i.e., the job, the family, the outside commitments, the customer, the boss). That might be the case, but identifying the origin is an internal exercise where you look at “you” first.

If the origin is inward, then the time management improvement will be a series of actions where you need to carve out time to be able to save time. That may sound cyclical, but it is necessary to stop doing some items to improve on them all.

Should the origin be outward, then your time management improvement will be a series of actions where you will need to engage others directly (with a plan) on how to alleviate demands to reduce work hours and increase efficiency at the job.

Unsure how to pinpoint the burnout? Take the Work-life Balance Report (WLB) assessment for free to help you begin.

Establish time boundaries

Burnout typically occurs because of too much workload and too many hours. You need to build guardrails on your calendar.

First, create an outline of what your week needs to look like for you to be fresh and productive.

Next, overlay or compare that to your current calendar. Identify what needs to change. Remember, not everything should be treated as the same priority. Really challenge yourself and others for the need of your time.

Finally, track how you are doing and make adjustments as needed.

Allowing yourself to step away and recharge with valuable personal time will only make you a better employee and team member. You can get ideas on calendar management from our white paper and calendar time analysis assessment.

Courageously push and pull

Execution of any time management strategy involves a certain amount of courage. You will need to be able to find the strength to say no (push). Along the way, get the nerve to ask for help (pull). Protect your time to minimize distractions (pull). Construct a zone of productivity to limit the interruptions (push). There could be a hint of audacity in the process to cool off the fatigue and fire up the productivity.

Decide on the ultimate change

Sometimes, the only way to remove the strain and tension is to leave your current career situation and build a new fire. I only recommend this as a last recourse. Unless the job is unethical, physically dangerous, and emotionally toxic, find another role before you leave the current one. Be mindful, it will require an additional investment of your time, so get your time management house in order before you make that choice. Kairos Management Solutions can help there.

Inventory your time management practices and make the necessary adjustments to reduce your stress level and gain back the right attitude and mindset.

I have experienced burnout multiple times in my career. I have come out of it well and also poorly. The ones where I was better off was because I managed my time well through the adversity and came through the period stronger and more on fire than when I started. 🔥

Dave Buck is the Chief Executive Time Keeper of Kairos Management Solutions.

Learn about your time management opportunities by taking and getting a free Time Management Analysis (TMA) summary report. Schedule an appointment with Dave Buck to discuss a full-time management improvement program for individuals, teams, and companies.