Are Your Behavioral Patterns Causing Burnout?

Are you a creature of habit? Depending on those habits, your behavioral patterns may be contributing to your burnout. Maintaining behavioral patterns that set you up for overwhelm and failure will lead to burnout - if you don’t get a handle on them and learn to correct their impact.  

Some typical burnout-inducing behaviors: 

Procrastination- Putting things off is the biggest contributing factor to burnout. All due dates come eventually. Procrastinating leads to last-minute chaos and frenzy trying to make up for lost time. What once could have been an easy task with plenty of time to complete becomes a looming disaster with no time to spare.  

Passive-aggression- Avoiding necessary conflict and refusing to address important issues leads to burnout. Resentments and anger flare up even when suppressed, and while we may not intentionally take harmful action, oftentimes some passive-aggressive behaviors start to emerge.  

Not saying “no”- Saying “yes” to everything really means saying “no” to committing to do things fully. When you take on too many tasks, you simply don’t have the capacity to do those things you’ve committed to with your fullest attention and energy.   

Eating poorly- Unhealthy eating habits drain your energy and zap your ability to focus and power-through. Making damaging food choices may be the result of habitual self-harm or the lack of knowledge on how to safely nourish yourself. The truth remains that what you eat affects the ease, efficiency, and consistency of your daily efforts. 

Staying up too late- Sacrificing your sleep never pays off. Staying up too late will always catch up to you in the end. Your body has a natural rhythm that demands sleep as part of its ebbs and flows, and it is best to honor that rhythm so you can function at your best.  

Taking on too much- Piling on responsibilities is a surefire way to end up in burnout. Taking on too much is the same as not being able to say no; it leads to overwhelm and takes away time and energy from the things you are committed to doing.  

Couch-potatoing- It may feel like the best thing to do when you feel overwhelmed is to rest. This is true to a degree, but it is equally important to get routine exercise because it builds stamina and facilitates a healthy neurochemical environment in your brain.  

Combat your poor behaviors with these best practices-  

Take Focused Action- Avoid procrastination by taking focused action. Create a schedule for the tasks that need to be done and stick to it. Avoid distractions and minimize the influences that negatively impact your work time. 

Be Straightforward- Learn to communicate fairly, honestly, and quickly. Handling issues directly as soon as they come up prevents things from getting out of hand later.  

Set Boundaries- Learning to draw a line in the sand when you simply can’t take on anything more is a much better policy than saying yes to everything. Be confident in knowing your limits, and remember that things will work out whether you can be in the mix or not.  

Mindful Eating- Choosing a healthy and nourishing diet and eating right for you is easier than ever before. Finding resources online or using an app on your smartphone makes learning about your food easy.  

Set Your Bedtime- Develop a nightly routine that promotes timely and high-quality sleep, and stick to it. Make your own restoration time a non-negotiable element of your routine.  

Delegate or Deflect- Refuse to take on too much. Delegate any extra expectations beyond what you can handle, or deflect the responsibility to someone better suited for the job.  

Meaningful Movement- Incorporate at least 30 minutes of physical activity into your daily routine. Find activities you enjoy and make exercise as much a part of your life as taking a shower.  

Your behaviors are an indicator of your outcomes. How you do anything is how you do everything. Cultivating better habits results in a more focused life, and an easier time avoiding burnout.  

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