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6 Early Signs of Burnout
July 26, 2024
Brent Monogue
Director of Strategic Engagement
Family fishing trips always fill my tank.
I love watching my kids enjoying boat rides, catching fish as big as they are, and dreaming of what lies beneath the deep blue sea. Plus, I need time off to focus on the people I love most.
Are you taking time off of work soon?
Most leaders are anticipating a family vacation, shortened work weeks, summer office hours, or maybe even a sabbatical. I hope those necessary breaks from your routine are fun and restful. These breaks will serve you well, but they are not enough to resist burnout.
Vacations don't cure exhaustion.
You are mission-critical to your organization, that's why we're passionate about helping leaders practice sustainable work-life rhythms that support healthy relationships and leadership vitality. Here are 6 early signs of burnout.
6 Early Signs of Burnout
- Joylessness-
If you're going weeks or months without feeling joy, you may be on your way to burnout. Maybe you see the joy around you but you don't feel it, that's when you know your numbing out to the best parts of your life. Burnout isn't just about feeling down, it's about the absence of joy too.
- Short Fuse- If you're snappy, irritable, snarky, extra sarcastic or catching yourself roll your eyes often, you may be struggling with early signs of burnout. Leaders, your patience quota reflects the vitality of your leadership. Burned-out leaders will unintentionally have short fuses and that impact a whole team.
- Trouble Sleeping- Good, deep rest is harder to come by the older we get, but I'm talking about the persistent struggles you might have falling asleep even when your body and brain are exhausted. Or, the restlessness nights of sleep where all you seem to do is toss and turn, waking up multiple times to look at the clock. You might need more than just a nap. Your body may be reflecting something deeper going on, a bone-level exhaustion that leads to burnout.
- A Lack of Self-Care- Think of Nascar— they have an entire team dedicated to ensuring the car and driver have a full tank. It would be nice if life offered us that same luxury, but we are responsible for our tanks getting filled. And if our tanks don't get filled, our leadership starts to run rough and clunky, headed for a blowout. If you lack self-care, you may be weighed down by feeling like you're always on the clock, having trouble remembering the last time you had fun, or beginning to ask: "Is this all that life has for me?"
- Procrastination- A sure sign that I am approaching burnout is putting off tasks that overwhelm me or drain me. Sometimes the tasks I'm putting off will only take me 10 minutes to complete, and still I resist crossing it off my list because my tank is running dangerously empty.
- Stop using my Workflow- Here at Integrus, we are big fans of our project management tool that paces our whole team on our to-do lists. A sure sign that one of our team members is nearing burnout is when she opts to keep handwritten lists spread across her desk rather than utilizing the workflow we have in place. Are you using the workflows your team has set for you? Or, are you taking matters into your own hands because you feel overwhelmed?
Leaders, we need to get honest about our energy levels and detect early warning signs of burnout long before we feel under the pile by using our free Resisting Burnout Assessment.
Burnout has a sneaky way of making us feel isolated from others, but you've got an army of leaders in your corner here at Integrus. Let us help you.
I've made time for you on my calendar this week. Schedule a free call, so we can assess what fills your tank and make a plan for you to get your tank filled.
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