What is the quickest path to burnout in your professional life?

 Take a moment and think about your response to this question.

Let me add to that.

What would the recipe be to burn out, become cynical, increase resentment and dread Monday mornings?

The easiest way to achieve all the above is to NOT say NO to more work, clients, projects, bosses, team members and stakeholders.

We all have a weird relationship with the word “NO”.

There are places, relationships and situations where it is easy to say NO. But when it comes to work, it becomes difficult to say NO. The places where we do not say NO are the places that eventually trip us down the line, causing us to burn out.

Are you burning or burnt out?

If the end of the work day exhausts you to the bone, you never get the sense of satisfaction you used to derive once from work, if you are dreading the next day or the beginning of the week, if days are blurring into each other, you are likely burnt out or on the verge of it.

What can you do?

If that is the case with you, consider the following.

1. Is your to-do list or your work tasks gated? How easy or difficult is it for someone to give you more work?

If your boss asks you to do something, how quickly do you say yes? If a stakeholder demands something, how quickly do you say yes? How quickly do you say yes if a team member asks for something? Which one of these categories of people do you find hard to say no?

If you find that the barriers to adding a task to your to-do list are non-existent or minimal, then you will find that people will always find work for you to do. Make it harder for yourself and others to add tasks to your to-do list.

Take your time to say yes. Tell people, “Can I check my schedule and get back to you?”

2. Are the work tasks that you have on your plate consistently stretching your skills to the limit, or are they beyond it?

Everyone likes to be challenged, but not all the time. Facing challenging situations every day can quickly become frustrating. Take a moment to check if you are correctly equipped for the work that you do every day.

If you manage people, how comfortable are you with difficult conversations, managing conflicts, making time for your team, and coaching and developing them?

If you find yourself managing a complex project, are you equipped with the right tools, knowledge, ability, and resources to execute it without having to learn everything on the fly?

3. Look at your calendar and see how much time you have to do your work.

In the post-pandemic world, the number of Zoom meetings has trebled. At one point, I averaged 50 calls weekly (a five-day workweek). I had only slivers of time between meetings, half an hour or a maximum of an hour, to do my work. These slivers of time were never enough to dive deep into my work and focus.

Look at your calendar and see how much of your energy and time is spent in meetings. Do you have any time intentionally blocked for deep work? Do you have any time during the day for recovery or breaks that don’t involve screens, housework or chores?

Are there any other strategies you use to manage your work life with sanity? If so, please write back to me.  I’d love to know.

P.S. If you are ready to level up, work with me for 1:1 career coaching. Hit reply, and I’d love to share more.

💌 Siri