Productivity Taken a Dive? You Might Be Dealing With Burnout

Do you get tired, stressed or anxious when you think about work?

Most of us have felt temporary burnout at some point in our careers. Ever since you started your first job, you knew there would be stressful days, overwhelming projects and long hours.

But real burnout is much more than a bad day or even a bad week at the office. Burnout is a state of constant stress, anger or frustration. It causes you to feel perpetually worn out, exhausted and disconnected.

Studies show those suffering from burnout also experience cognitive deficits. When you suffer burnout, your executive functions, attention span and memory all suffer with you.

Bad News for Stressed-Out Professionals

Evidence suggests burning the midnight oil too often leads to less productivity, not more.

If you’re incapable of performing executive functions, you’re unable to use your reasoning and problem-solving skills. Your working memory doesn’t function as well and your task flexibility plummets.

Another way of saying it? Burnout makes you bad at your job.

Falling into this state prevents you from performing your best. It interferes with your ability to pay attention to simple things or remember tasks and details as well as you normally would.

But stress and pressure come with the territory of any professional career, and burnout can be difficult to avoid. To save yourself — and your career — from burnout, you need to be able to recognize the signs before it’s too late. And if you’re already existing in a state of burnout, you need to understand how to recover and get back on track.

Recognizing Burnout Before Your Job Performance Suffers

If you’re a professional, you need to learn the signs of burnout so you can take action and correct course before your job performance suffers.

According to Psychology Today, burnout is a state of chronic stress. The signs of this manifest themselves in a few key ways. You may seem physically or mentally exhausted all the time, think cynically or feel detached, or you may think your work is ineffective or otherwise lack a sense of accomplishment.

Specific warning signs include:

tiredness or insomnia

loss of appetite

anxiety and depression

increased susceptibility to illness

feeling apathetic, hopeless, irritable, alone or angry

Burnout leads to cognitive deficiencies that make it difficult to function at a high level on the job. If you’re approaching burnout, you may find it hard to focus on anything but negatives. Problem-solving becomes more difficult and you become more absent-minded.

How to Avoid Burnout on the Job

Recognizing these warning signs will help you avoid burnout, but an even better approach is to be proactive. Don’t let your performance slip into jeopardy; take action now to avoid burnout on the job.

Chronic stress often causes burnout, so do everything you can to reduce stress before it compounds into something ugly.

Don’t be afraid to tactfully say no at work if you have too much on your plate. Work with your manager to prioritize the most important tasks, and don’t take on more responsibility than you can handle.

Take care of yourself, mentally and physically. Ensure you’re getting enough rest and exercise. Working out will make you feel good inside and out, and it comes with the added benefit of making it easier to get to sleep at night.

Provide creative outlets for yourself, too. Some professionals hold jobs that are stressful or cause anxiety by nature. Burn off extra stream, stress or other pent-up emotions by engaging in activities that allow you to express your creativity. This is especially important if your career requires lots of rigid, in-the-box thinking.

Provide yourself with a way to decompress. Take breaks and make time for things that relax you. You may need to set up strict boundaries between yourself and your work. You might make a rule that says, “no checking email of any kind after 8 pm,” or “no taking work-related phone calls on weekends.”

If you fear having too much work will lead to burnout, find ways to better manage your time and spend your office hours more efficiently. Cut distractions and create a schedule — then stick to it. Don’t forget to pencil in time for breaks and time just for yourself, too. Setting goals may help you focus, but keep them within reason and manage your expectations. Track your progress and celebrate milestones along the way.

Tips to Help You Recover from Burnout

If you don’t catch yourself slipping into burnout mode before it happens, you need to make some serious changes to get your career — and your happiness — back on the right path. Consider these strategies for recovering:

Recommit to relaxing. Everyone needs to step away from work every now and then, even if you love your job. Make time in your schedule to relax, meditate or decompress.

Put down the technology. We’re more plugged in than ever, and that makes it difficult to leave work at the office and unwind when we have the opportunity to do so. Turn off your phone, laptop or tablet and just enjoy the moment. If you can’t bring yourself to turn this stuff off, at least leave it in another room.

Remember, burnout can affect you physically. Allow yourself to recover with plenty of rest. Get lots of sleep, exercise and eat right.

Ask for help if you need it. If you’re taking on too much, reach out and admit that you can’t do it all, all the time.

Take a step back and give yourself some space to evaluate your current situation. Can you identify the source of stress? If so, is it internal or external? How can you reduce the anxiety it causes? How can you prevent experiencing burnout again in the future?

Answering these questions should allow you to take action to avoid burnout at work. If you’re in a toxic work environment that’s causing burnout, it may be time to move forward with your career and seek a new position.

Burnout is more than just a few bad days. It’s consistent, it’s chronic and it can ruin your job performance.

Don’t let burnout tank your performance and make you miserable. Take steps to recover from burnout if you’re currently experiencing it, learn to recognize the signs so you can head it off before it drags you down, and be proactive in avoiding burnout so you’re not affected in the future.