5 Easy Steps To Prevent Burnout And Regain Good Work Attitude

Burnout is what happens when you continually experience negative stress at work. Frequent stress drains your energy and enthusiasm that you become incapable of coping with the frustration you feel towards your job.

Burnout makes you feel distraught and helpless; it seems to give you no other recourse but to leave your job. However, leaving your job can have unpleasant effects. You end up unemployed for days or months. Unless you are sure you want to lose your job and have another job waiting for you, giving in to the exhaustion may not be a wise idea.

1. Eat Right

You get energy from the food you eat. Start the day with a good breakfast. Many people skip breakfast because they are late for work. Don’t do the habit of skipping breakfast, because you get so famished at midday that you tend to overeat. Proper food choice is important. Snacks and junk food are all over the place, and they are high in sugar or sodium. You need low calorie foods like fruits, vegetables, fish, lean meat, nuts, and whole grain. These foods will supply you with steady amounts of energy, keeping you functioning for the entire day. Nutritionists also recommend having five small meals a day instead of two or three large meals. This way, your energy levels don’t fluctuate dramatically throughout the day.

2. Have enough sleep

Lack of sleep lowers your resistance to stress, so you become irritable and uptight at work. It also reduces your cognitive function. Hence, you cannot think clearly and your decision making capabilities are slightly impaired. Make it a habit to get enough sleep (7.6-8 hours) every night. Losing even an hour of sleep can affect the function of your brain, lowering your creative thinking skills and making you vulnerable to stress.

3. Do brisk walking

There are many reasons why taking a walk helps you prevent burnout and job-related stress. If your office isn’t too far from where you live, you may spend some time taking a walk to your office. Brisk walking is the simplest form of exercise, which encourages good blood circulation and stimulates the release of endorphins, your body’s natural painkillers. Moreover, it aids in proper blood circulation and improves cardiovascular health. Exercise keeps you staying fit and healthy. You arrive at work feeling good and up.

4. Take a break

Office workers, especially those who work on mentally taxing work can benefit from regular breaks. A break can be anything from a 30-minute break to a one-month vacation. Everyone needs a time off from work. Studies show that breaks keep productivity constant, while continuous work results in loss of efficiency at the end of the day. Aside from short daily breaks, vacations are also important. Many companies compel workers to use their vacation leaves so that they can unwind and recharge their batteries.

5. Evaluate your goals

Most people thrive in workplaces where they are unhappy. They do work that they never planned doing when they were younger. This causes cumulative stress load, because you work hard each day but your quiet disinterest keeps you from achieving true fulfillment. See if you are inspired at work, and ask yourself if you love what you do or whether you would be happier somewhere else.