Burnout Prevention Tip #4

Written By: Jason Rose, CD-SV, RIT

I use an assortment of strategies to prevent burnout. These strategies help keep my “can do” pace with my “doing”. A few focus on keeping the body healthy. Some are mental strategies to maintain balance. And one or more help keep the spirit nourished. These are necessary for a consistent “can do” attitude. Below is this month's tip for helping to prevent burnout.

Plan For Adversity and Diversity

One of my most successful coping mechanisms to prevent burnout is varying my routine. I plan my daily schedule by building in diverse activities. I avoid doing the same thing for too long or the same thing at the same time routinely. No two days are alike by design. My wake-up alarm is not set at the same time every day. I drive to work at a different time daily. I have weekly meetings with my team, but often move them to different days of the week. My most unpleasant day of the week is Mondays because the morning is full of reoccurring meetings set by other people. Yuk! But Monday afternoon and the rest of the week is a shuffled deck of meetings, training events, product testing sessions, travel, and blocked out time for side impacts, because, well, they happen.

What adds a lot of stress to me is a daylong meeting. Ouch, painful. Or week-long conferences with day-long meetings. Feelings of burnout and fatigue build up quickly in these situations. So, I live my daily life in what others often perceive as chaotic: Erratic random appointments. 10 pm product sessions. 2 am webinars. 6 am phone calls or meetings. Lunch at 10 am one day and 3 pm the next day. Stretching and working out at different times and days throughout the week. All of this keeps my daily life interesting, keeps me alert, and sustains my energy and happiness. This helps prevent me from getting stuck in a rut or routine or getting burnt out.

Don’t miss out on the entire Burnout series by Jason! Find previous articles here:

• Article 1
• Burnout Tip 1
• Burnout Tip 2
• Burnout Tip 3