- Have monthly “burnout barbecue” to encourage employees to take a moment and keep things in perspective.
- Host stress relieving events in the business such as neck massages, ice cream breaks, and pizza parties. Check with the more social employees for great ideas.
- Address burnout at weekly or monthly departmental or company meetings. Identify it when it exists and work together as a team to respond to it.
- Clip humorous work related comics from the Far Side or Dilbert. Pass them out daily or start each day with a joke.
- Take over for an hour for an employee that is suffering from burnout (tough customer, overwhelmed with volume, etc.); allow him/her the time to compose him/herself and maintain perspective.
- Take a walk on a break to clear your mind and re-energize.
- Cross train employees so that many employees can help in the more stressful jobs; always let employees know that they have support and backup.
- Have a discussion with your family about the needs of your job. Openly communicate about the demands of the job before the busy season starts. Develop a family response together.
- During busy work periods, have your family join you for lunch one day a week/month.
- Leave notes in your kids lunch boxes reminding them of family plans that night or on the weekend.
- Take your family into your job or business to show them what you do and how important your work and time at the job is.
- Plan specific family or leisure time event weekly during a busy season to stay in touch.
- Plan a monthly family calendar of events and activities. Include all family members in the plan.
- Spend time planning your workday to direct it instead of respond to it. This will allow better control to complete the required tasks in less time, allowing you to leave work at a reasonable time.
- For employees with children, contact your kids’ schools to find out what help they need with field trips or in the classroom in your slow or off season. A commitment to participate in school events (even in the future) helps children feel supported in the times where the work schedule is more hectic.
- Allow recovery time from hectic work periods to maintain focus and energy. After a particularly busy time, allow yourself to take some time off to do things that you were not able to do during the busy period or to reinvest in a hobby or leisure time activity.
- Build in some predictability in your leisure time activities – if you are into sports, join a basketball, volleyball or racquetball league – the organized nature will keep you motivated to attend. In other activities, look on the internet for clubs or similar interest groups and attend meetings or events regularly.
Introduce yourself to a new genre of books – mysteries, spy novels, non-fiction, etc. Try something new and commit to finishing it in a reasonable time period.
- Spend time with your employees to understand what is important to them (in their personal lives) – find ways to incorporate their personal needs into the job schedule or job responsibilities. This keeps employee motivation and energy levels high.
- Invest in a time management book or tape. Get good at managing your time – buy a day planner/electronic planner to help prioritize tasks so that time is well spent.
- Reach out when you feel overwhelmed – call a friend. Talk about your frustrations for several minutes – don’t try to fix everything, just get it out and move on.
- Don’t burden yourself with high expectations. Eliminate “shoulds” from your vocabulary. “To make peace with yourself, you may have to stop straining to be someone you are not – hiding parts of yourself you feel are unacceptable or worrying about what others think” says Harold Z. Bloomfield MD, psychiatrist and author.
- Focus and finish by doing one thing daily that you have been putting off. Make a “done” list instead of a “to-do” list.
- Avoid over-committing - and learn to say no without feeling guilty.
- Stay in the present by focusing on today. Anxiety is an attempt to control future outcomes before they occur.
- Insure that time is regarded as the gift it truly is. When time is wasted, energy is wasted. When energy is managed, time is also managed.
- Allow yourself regular time-outs every day. Stretch, daydream, think, write, or look out the window. Use the time to re-energize.
- Get involved in something just for the fun of it – sports, painting, music, acting, etc. Allow yourself to fully participate without feeling that other things are waiting.
- Go for a walk – and take someone that you care about. Dream when you walk, plan activities, talk about favorite songs or music.
- Close your eyes and do rhythmical breathing – breathe in slowly counting to five, hold it for 2 seconds and exhale on a count of five.
- Go to bed early and catch a few more zzz’s. Turn of the TV and radio. Rest, relax and read a light or pleasant book. Avoid the CNN and 24 hour updates on the strife on the rest of the planet.
