3 Tips for Avoiding Future Burnouts

Has your fatigue and overwhelm gone from bad to worse? Have you gone past the point of being in jeopardy of burning out into feeling the full-fledged effects of burnout? It’s time to get yourself back on track and find new and better ways to avoid future burnouts.  

You can avoid burnout’s overwhelm and associated feelings by learning the three D’s that prevent burnout. 

Here are those three D’s to prevent burnout from becoming an issue again:  

1. Design 
2. Delegate 
3. Delete 

Design- Design and plan as much of your day, week, and month as possible. Having a framework for your time spent helps to avoid burnout. Even if you love flying by the seat of your pants, don’t discount the benefits of a little structure. Making an emphasis on certain important elements of your life allows you to build in the freedom to be spontaneous. Prioritizing those things that are non-negotiable and getting them out of the way or making sure that they will be handled means you won’t have to stress out about them later. Design your schedule to accommodate what needs to be done and you will avoid future burnouts. 

Delegate- Delegating is a key skill to avoid burnout. A high percentage of people who experience burnout are taking on entirely too much pressure without allowing their natural resources to support them. Your natural resources can be co-workers, friends, family, or service workers. Delegating aspects of your life and workload to others can prevent future burnouts and help your life feel better balanced and more manageable. Start with small tasks to get used to asking for and accepting help. 

Delete- Chances are, there are aspects of your schedule and your life that you can afford to take off your plate entirely. An honest evaluation of your schedule will likely reveal commitments you can consider deleting from your life to prevent burnout. Having more on your plate than can possibly be done, or spending your energy on activities that bring you no joy or serve no true purpose, will deplete your energy and contribute to burnout. Assess your commitments and your day-to-day activities and delete the ones that are not contributing to your overall success.  

Design, delegate, and delete: the three D’s to prevent burnouts when you are bouncing back from overwhelm and feeling “in over your head.” Exercising control of your environment and handing off some of your responsibility is a great beginning. Ultimately, deleting some of your unnecessary burdens will reduce your stress load even further. Enjoy your newfound freedom and keep yourself from future burnout!