Rachel Boehm, NBC-HWC, PhD Candidate

Prioritizing your physical, mental, and emotional health is critical. These can be healthy coping mechanisms that release stress, reduce anxiousness, boost energy, and improve your confidence and resilience. It doesn't do the full job of eliminating burnout, but it can help you be more resilient in the face of the workplace stressors contributing to it.

Burnout comes in stages (some research says 12) I've had people tell me they aren't burnt out enough yet to work with me. My question is, how burnt out do you want to be before you try to prevent burnout? As someone who has survived that 11th (arguably 12th) stage, I do not recommend it. It will be faster, cheaper, and less painful to take action sooner rather than later. When you start to feel consistently overwhelmed or exhausted, take action. Or, when you start to feel consistently cynical and resentful of your job/business, take action. Or, when you start to consistently doubt yourself and your ability to be effective at your work, take action. When you are all three, you're in burnout mode. Don't wait till you've hit bottom.

Ideally, you can get support for yourself and support to make changes at the organizational level. For yourself, get clear on what type of support you need and who in your circle is best to provide it or who can connect you with an expert in burnout. When helping my clients build an emergency self-care plan, we look at who they should not turn to in certain instances as much as who to turn to. There can be a stigma with burnout, so if you don't feel comfortable sharing all that you are feeling it's ok. This is when a burnout coach can be especially helpful in validating your experience, and providing a judgment-free, objective view to help you get your mojo back.

Burnout is what I describe as a "slow extinguish". It doesn't happen overnight, though it can feel like it does. Yes, it is important to get clarity on what you are feeling and why. However, it's critical to understand that burnout isn't a "you" problem. There is nothing wrong with you. You aren't broken or incapable because you are burning out. There's a problem with the organization. Burnout is the result of chronic work stressors that have not been resolved. Helping individuals better cope and take what action they can, is important. But we won't banish burnout if we don't address the organization causing the problem.

Mindfulness exercises can be a helpful tool in this effort but it alone can't solve the problem. You have to first define what "work-life balance" means for you. You have to also understand how you got "off-balance" in the first place. Related: W-L balance is a poor phrase. It implies that permanent balance is possible and that work is not a part of life. Try thinking of it as work/non-work "balance" or personal-professional integration. If you skip the self-awareness work, you're just putting a Band-Aid on a broken leg.