How to avoid burnout

Just before your Christmas break last year, what state were you in?

I was madly cleaning my flat, tapping out corrections to a feature story and readying myself for a five-hour red eye flight to Canberra to see my family. I felt like an Olympic bobsled team member, cooking in the pressure of the start tent- all stations were lit up shouting ‘GO!’ There wasn’t a moment for rest.

This year, I have to get smart about the way I work. And smarter about the way I draw energy.

So far, I’ve skirted just above the fatigue wave at work thanks to a coffee in the morning, another coffee after lunch, sugar at 3:30pm and a 6pm walk to mentally unpack stress from the day.

But by 8:30pm, I am almost always embarrassingly tired. Exhausted. Done.

And it seems I’m not alone. According to a South Australian survey of workers in 2010, 30.4 per cent of employees frequently feel fatigued (‘extremely tired or completely exhausted’), which goes on to affect how happy they are at work and in life.

Thea O’Connor, a presenter at the 2013 Happiness and Its Causes Conference and a lecturer at Monash and Deakin Universities in Victoria, believes we’re standing on the edge of a ‘Great Fatigue Crisis’, fuelled by a pro-inflammatory lifestyle high on stress and calories, and low on sleep and physical activity.

“Some choose to work like crazy for the material gains and status associated with higher incomes. Others find themselves caught in an economy trap where they have to work hard just to meet ‘basic needs, such as the mortgage and school fees.

Either way, when economic growth becomes an internalised mentality, as well as an external pressure, depletion looms,” she writes.

O’Connor is a big advocate of what she calls ‘personal sustainability’, cleverly using your available energy and creating habits that nurture you, rather than deplete you, in the long term.

Here are some ideas on how to put these ideas into action, and avoid burnout this year:

1. Tune into the rhythms of your living system

As O’Connor writes: “All of our ‘operating systems’ – such as our cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive or hormonal systems, are cyclical, not linear, with ebbs and flows over a 24-hour cycle.

“Imagine enjoying a work ethic designed around such biorhythms, rather than over-riding them. I do, and that’s why I’m such an advocate of normalising the mini-siesta in our work culture. When our alertness dips mid afternoon, as it’s genetically programmed to do, responding with a powernap is wonderfully restorative, improving mood, concentration, alertness and memory.”

2. Take movement, mindfulness and nap breaks

O’Connor says that very short breaks can make a real difference to health. She advises taking:

Movement breaks – breaking up sitting time every 20 minutes with just two minutes of light activity (e.g. a stroll around the office improves glucose metabolism by up to 30 per cent and so can reduce the risk of a number of chronic diseases, according to research conducted by David Dunstan of the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute).

Some workplaces now have standing or walking meetings to encourage this. Others have stand up desks.

Mindfulness breaks – Mindfulness specialist, Dr Craig Hassed of Monash University says just five minutes of mindfulness meditation twice a day, will deliver benefits you can build on. For clearly measurable health benefits 2 x 20 minutes per day is recommended.

Nap breaks – A nap as short as 10 minutes (which in practice is more like 15 to 20 minutes to allow time to drift off) is enough to increase alertness, mood and concentration and reduce workplace accidents and errors.

3. Have a strong morning routine

“I’m quite convinced that having some sort of structure to the start of your day is key to living a life that counts,” says health writer and blogger, Sarah Wilson.

“The best kind of morning routine is one that’s a fiesta of stuff that gets you grounded… that brings you home to you. You tick off these things and then you can get on with serving the world.”

Here’s her routine. It’s an indulgent one (time-wise), but I am envious!

1. Drench. I drink two litres or so of hot water with a hunk of lemon squeezed in. I potter while I drink. Tidy a little…and, let’s be frank, hang about until nature calls.

2. Exercise. I leave the house and get outside to job, walk, do yoga at the beach. I don’t think about it too much. I just slide into my green running shorts and grey singlet and… move. I try to go with what my body needs…often a 20 minute walk or stretch in my lounge is enough. But the deal is, I move every day. No deliberation. I just do it. It’s my routine.

3. Meditate. I always meditate for 20 minutes, often down at the beach after exercise. After exercise is best – my body is open.

4. Feel. After meditation, I sit for two minutes and feel for a bit. I try to access the tone of the day that I’d like to lead. It’s just a faint feeling and then I try to hold it for as long as I can, as I have a shower and get out of the house…the longer I hold it, the more grace I carry.

4. Get a healthy supply of B vitamins

All nutrients work in concert with each other, but to avoid burnout, B vitamins are among the most important. As Willow Lawson writes in Psychology Today:

“Fatigue, irritability, poor concentration, anxiety and depression – all can be signs of a B vitamin deficiency. That's because compounds in the B complex are needed for everything from the healthy maintenance of brain cells to the metabolism of carbohydrates, the brain's source of fuel.

“Bs are also necessary for production of neurotransmitters, which regulate mood and conduct messages through the brain.”

In other words, they help your brain to work efficiently, so you can maximise the hours you’re at the office.

And then you can take off, and start living.

References available on request