Avoiding Burnout During Busy Times

We all know the feeling. We’ve plowed through tasks for days, weeks, or even months on end, and finally, we’ve had enough. We feel burnt out, and something has to give. 

Although burnout is not a medical diagnosis, its effects can be life-altering. According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of job burnout include becoming cynical or critical, being irritable or impatient with coworkers or clients, finding it hard to concentrate, and using drugs or alcohol to feel better or to “not feel.” Contributing factors to burnout, specifically on the job, can include dysfunctional workplace dynamics, lack of social support, and work-life imbalance.

Around the holidays, risk of burnout is high for medical professionals, who often balance extra family priorities alongside their careers. The practices below won’t make those competing priorities go away, but could help you find a sense of calm amid the crazy.

1 - Practice Mindfulness

You don’t need massive amounts of time on hand to start practicing mindfulness, which mindful.org defines as “the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.” A number of apps, such as Headspace and Calm, offer meditations as short as three minutes. You can even incorporate mindfulness and meditation while walking the dog.

There’s growing research that mindfulness can help health care workers in particular. A three-month Duke University study showed that twice-daily transcendental meditation helped “alleviate anxiety, insomnia, and burnout” among participating medical professionals. Transcendental meditation is a technique where you repeat a mantra for 20 minutes, but there are plenty of other meditation strategies that could help you maintain focus and calm through busy days.

2 - Do What You Love

Making time for yoga, reading, video games, knitting — or whatever you love — might be tough around the holidays. But ignoring your needs completely is certainly a recipe for burnout.

If (and when) your schedule fills up, find creative ways to sneak in activities you love. At work, put time on your calendar to have lunch at the new place across the street. At home, escape visiting relatives to go on a brief walk. If you can, turn chores into a time to relax — consider listening to a mindfulness podcast (or that sci-fi novel you’ve been missing out on) while cooking or cleaning, or try having a short bath in place of a shower.

3 - Find Social Support

A study conducted by Frontiers in Psychology found that social support “ameliorated the negative effects of burnout on health” in health care workers, which reflects results found in similar studies. If you’re struggling to make time for social connection, consider combining it with other wellness-supporting habits. Take a walk with a trusted family member (maybe even do a mindfulness practice together), or schedule weekly or monthly lunches with friends.

Confiding in close friends and family is an important aspect of social support, but although they’re (usually) wonderful, sometimes they simply don’t or can’t understand the challenges unique to your profession. Belonging to affinity organizations (like ACOMS) is a great way to connect with peers who are experiencing similar challenges.

4 - Evaluate Your Social Media Use

Social media can be a great way to connect with support systems, but using it (even in an attempt to relax) can actually increase burnout — especially when you’re watching influencer upon influencer who seems to “do it all,” one study found.

It’s unrealistic to ask you to delete all apps forever, but consider doing a new year reset — unfollow influencers who bring up negative emotions, spend one day a month without your phone, or consider deleting your social apps just around the holidays.

5 - Set Goals

It is a new year, so why not make changes? Evaluate what external factors might be contributing to your burnout: Is it the lack of control surrounding your tasks or schedule? Lack of resources to be able to do your job well? Dysfunctional workplace dynamics? What goals could you set that would help you address (or advocate for others to address) these factors next year?

Neuroscientists have found that the brain learns new behaviors in small nudges. This means setting small, obtainable goals can be the best way to achieve big ones. Doing so helps you avoid burnout because your brain becomes anticipatory of realistic successes. Break down these large goals into small ones and list out all possible outcomes of you completing said goals (to increase anticipation). Read more tips here.

Whether you create a granular to-do list, schedule time to read a book, or lock up your phone for a weekend, try at least one new strategy to prevent burnout this holiday season. And be aware that some medical professionals theorize burnout has its roots in diagnoses such as depression. Your wellness is just as important as your patients’; don’t hesitate to seek professional help if you need it.