Experiencing Burnout? Tips to manage stress and mitigate burnout

How are you? No, really - how ARE you?  

Our work at MP6 connects us to clients around the globe and across industries. In almost every coaching engagement we have, some version of overwhelm and time management arises as a topic in coaching. We as a society are working at a high pace on little reserves, coming off a pandemic. We’re feeling the pressure of increased workloads, rising inflation, and a desire to make up for the lost time of connection during COVID. No wonder the stress, fatigue, and burnout are high!

The term “burnout” was first coined by psychologist Herbert Freudenberger in 1975. He defined it as having 3 components: Emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a decreased sense of accomplishment. We are seeing increasing numbers of burnout (or near burnout) in industries throughout our practice. 

We see you. We hear you. And you’re not alone.

What do we do about this? As we look at prioritizing our resiliency and stress management, a few suggestions consistently arise through various channels of research:

• Values-focused decision making:  It’s no accident that the first item we teach and utilize in coaching and our programs is a values assessment. What matters to you? What value demonstrates you at your best self? How do you use that value for decision-making? Identifying your values and the corresponding behaviors that represent you at your best - and use those as guideposts in decision making. 

• Awareness: Change is best implemented when awareness precedes action. How do you know you’re out of alignment? What reflective practices or metrics do you have for yourself to objectively evaluate your stress level?  

• Attunement: In the article mentioned above, the authors identify attunement, or checking in on where WE might be creating stressors for others…who in turn may boomerang that stress back to us. Take an inventory of where you may be emitting micro stressors, and make a plan to reduce those. Emit less = Receive less in return.

• Boundaries: We see it everywhere: Boundaries. What boundaries are in place? Where do I need to adjust them? Remember we can’t control others’ actions - how are we holding ourselves accountable to our own boundaries? 

Finally - treat yourself (and others!) kindly. A gentle reminder - you are doing the best you can in a world that is moving oh so fast.