You're Not Being Consistent Because You're Burnt Out... Here's What To Do About It

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1:43What is up? I'm Grace Beverley and welcome back to Working Hard, the podcast-shaped guidebook on how to improve your own life and achieve what you actually dreamed of doing because life's too short for boring podcasts and bad advice.

1:56What is up and welcome back to Working Hard. It is time for another deep dive episode and as always I've done a ton of research and spoken to experts so that you don't have to sift through all of the self-improvement information out there and end up procrastinating what you're actually trying to do. These episodes are basically designed to be a shortcut to theories that could genuinely help to level up your life. They are data-backed, I go into the research and the idea is that you can get them all in in one walk, commute or while doing the dishes. And today we are talking about a big one which is burnout.

2:24You might feel like you lack motivation or you can't stay consistent or that no matter how much effort you put in you are never really making progress but before you start calling yourself lazy or unmotivated, which you might need to do and you might know if that is appropriate for yourself, it is so important to think about what's really going on. I heard someone say the other day that burnout is the silent killer of consistency and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. I'm a firm believer that if you don't have the right systems in place you are going to keep running on empty. So in this episode we're going to break down why burnout happens then and most importantly speak to experts about how to manage it with a new structured plan.

3:00I want to say at this point that I am not a doctor and burnout is a condition that is linked to a huge number of mental health conditions that I am not qualified to help cure but I am someone who has been in the depths of burnout and has employed my own strategies that have really helped me to get out of there. So this is based on personal experience and also having compiled research so that you can understand it too. But if you are struggling with your mental health, please consider reaching out to a health professional. I've left a few helplines in the description for this video. If you do enjoy this episode, please follow our podcast on whatever app you're listening to it on.

3:32Only 12 % of our listeners follow us on the actual platform, probably because it's not something that you automatically think about doing. But if you do, you will get an episode drop every Monday without even thinking about it, which in my opinion is the perfect kind of habit to start the week with. You can also now very excitingly follow us on Instagram at workinghardpod. I wanted to create a space for everyone who's listened to this podcast for the past three years now, but also a space to chat, to share ideas, to give each other advice, to talk about dilemmas people are having, to keep ourselves accountable, to help each other with our finances, literally everyone who shares the mindset of this podcast to give them a space to be together.

4:06So I will see you over there. So let's get into it.

4:14Burnout is one of those things that sneaks up on you. One minute you are juggling everything like a pro and the next you can barely bring yourself to complete the simplest tasks. The worst part is that burnout often masquerades as a lack of motivation or as inconsistency, making you feel like the problem is you when reality the problem is how you're working or how you've been working in the past. The World Health Organization officially classifies burnout as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that hasn't been successfully managed. And I don't want to be the one to take on an official definition, but for me at least, burnout doesn't just happen at work.

4:48It can happen because of all of the things in your personal life, your fitness routine, your relationships, a combination of these things, and the mental load it puts on you. Essentially, it's physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress. It doesn't happen because you're weak or unmotivated. It happens because you don't have the right structure, balance, and recovery systems in place for a period of time, which is exactly what I want to get into today. Before we get into how to fix burnout, you know I don't do anything without receipts. A systematic review and meta-analysis published in Human Resources for Health in May 2024 found that approximately 39 % of the global public health workforce experiences burnout.

5:26I also can't help but think that it's also been exacerbated by our always-on-work culture, but also this 24-hour news cycle and 24-hour social media cycle. So even if you're not working, your mind probably feels somewhat like it's working even when it's not. Sometimes it absolutely blows my mind to think that in some previous generations, you would just leave the office at 5pm and unless someone literally brings your home landline or comes around to your house, you cannot be connected to work until you arrive the next morning. And another mad thing I discovered while researching for this episode is that burnout actually shrinks your brain.

5:56Studies, including one in the psychological journal cerebral cortex have found using MRI scans that chronic stress and burnout reduce the volume of grey matter in areas of the brain responsible for emotional regulation and cognitive function. So this means that burnout doesn't just make you tired, it literally makes it harder to focus and manage emotions. I might not have known the background to that but I could very much tell you that for free. And this really puts into context just why burnout can make you feel so useless. It's all to do with something called the energy depletion cycle. A study from Stockholm University essentially found that people experiencing burnout enter a cycle of low energy and high cognitive demand, meaning they keep on pushing themselves mentally while running on empty.

6:33It is this imbalance that creates a feedback loop where they feel less productive, then work harder to compensate and ultimately burn out further. I know this one well. So overcoming burnout is all about stopping that cycle as early as you can. So why do we burn out? Let's get into the theories. First of all, there's the ego depletion theory, which was coined by Roy Baumeister in 1998. His theory essentially suggests that willpower is a finite resource. So if you're constantly pushing yourself without rest and relying only on your willpower for motivation, your ability to stay disciplined and motivation will run out.

7:08This explains why burnout leads to inconsistency. It's not that you're lazy. You have just used up all of your cognitive resources to keep pushing, partly because you've been relying solely on your willpower rather than your systems to keep balance in your day-to-day. It's something that came up time and time again in the episode we did on discipline and why literally everything links back to the habit theory which I did my first ever deep dive solo episode on over a year ago now. The second theory I want to look at is the demand control model coined by Robert Karasek in 1979. Karasek theorized that everyone has a balance of demands and control in their day-to-day work and life.

7:41He wrote that burnout happens when you experience high demands in your life but low levels of control. I feel this one greatly. Essentially, if you feel overwhelmed but don't feel like you have autonomy over your schedule or responsibilities, burnout becomes inevitable. It is why so many solutions to burnout include regaining control over your life and workload to reset the balance. The market's uncertain, revenues tied and hiring on hold. That's why results-driven companies are using Upwork to keep work moving. Go to Upwork.com today and start hiring proven freelance talent fast. No bulky overhead, no rigid long-term contracts, just the right expert right when you need them.

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9:34Adobe Express is available on desktop, or you can download the mobile app and start creating today for free. So on the subject of solutions, here are the three steps for avoiding burnout that usually work for me. I say usually because we all let things slip from time to time. But as I said earlier in the episode, if you are struggling in the depths of burnout, please speak to a professional. These steps are to take to avoid burnout even kicking in in the first place. Number one is something that people often laugh at me for saying, but it is scheduling in your rest. So many of us see rest as something that just happens in the gaps between our work but we don't protect it in the way we would a work meeting meaning it can so easily be bulldozed by social plans or overrunning work or the demands of running a business or parenting or just life in general if you don't have control over your rest it is so easy to slip into that imbalance of demands versus control we just spoke about it might not seem relaxing but time blocking your recovery whether that's an hour reading before bed a walk every morning or whatever it might be for you means you prioritize it at the level you do your work, giving you control over it and helping you avoid slipping into burnout.

10:34Number two is implementing the 80 % rule. Instead of pushing yourself to 100 % every single day, try and aim for 80 % effort with 20 % rest. This might mean not running your fastest 5k ever on a random Tuesday, but just because you can, but instead knowing that you can go for an enjoyable job, personally an oxymoron for me, but might not be for you, and preserve your energy for tomorrow. Aiming for average keeps you productive without draining your energy reserves and sacrificing tomorrow and I say it time and time again but consistency beats intensity every time which is tough for someone like me who's really good at intensity but not so good at consistency.

11:08Number three is to audit your energy not just your time. This is something I spoke about in depth in my episode with Sahil Bloom but as a top line explanation if you feel burnout creeping up on you you need to spend a week tracking which tasks drain you and which ones energize you and also when you feel most energized and when you feel most drained in a typical week. Then you need to do what you can to place the tasks that energize you when you're likely to need energizing and to reduce the energy draining tasks as much as you can by putting them in time blocks or placing them when you know you'll feel most positive about getting them done.

11:41This isn't always possible but it can really help to avoid burnout before you slip into it. To get a deeper understanding of burnout and to find solutions for what to actually do once you're deep in it, I spoke with the amazing Jodie Karras, a therapist with over 18 years of experience who specialises in stress management. I asked her how we should recognise burnout in ourselves and the best ways of actually dealing with it. And the way I understand burnout is prolonged periods of stress with no moments to recover, which lead us over time into a state of burnout. And I want to kind of really acknowledge that stress in short bursts is actually manageable for the psyche.

12:18In fact, stress momentarily is the thing that kept us safe back in the day from predators. Stress can be mobilizing, motivating, and it can support us to get things done. But prolonged periods of stress will inevitably lead you to burnout. And the way to recognize burnout in yourself are noticing things like sleep, recovery and repair. Are you able to recover and repair? Are you able to connect meaningfully with yourself and other people? Are the things that used to bring you joy and peace unavailable to you right now? Are you seeing more use of alcohol, food, drugs in a negative way? And are you using these as a crutch?

13:01Are you able to say no where you might say no? Are you able to recognize yourself now? And if you're not, you might be struggling with burnout. Some of the ways that you can support yourself if you are in a place of burnout are making deep and prolonged periods for yourself to rest well. I don't just mean sleeping, but I mean really being able to rest, not doing things for others, not doing tasks or chores, but just being with yourself. Have a look at the levels of control you have in your life. Draw a circle on a piece of paper and in the middle right, things that are causing you stress that you're able to control and things on the outside of the circle that you're not.

13:46And are you spending too much time on the things you aren't able to control and not enough time on the things that you are? If the answer is yes, perhaps you're struggling with burnout. Are you really finding it difficult to hold your boundaries? Are you often saying yes when you mean no? Are you compromising yourself for others and people pleasing? Boundaries are something you can give attention to. I want you to remember that self-care, proper self-care is ugly, is not Instagrammable often and that is perfectly okay and I would urge you to do more of it. Understand what fills you up. Have you lost these things in your life?

14:21Perhaps that's sport, perhaps it's getting outside, perhaps it's being with people that you love, even for short bursts, these things are going to help you. Find a way to be creative for yourself, return to the inner child peace. What are the things that brought me joy back in the day? And can I cultivate more of this? Recognizing burnout in yourself and doing something about it is really important. Therapy is such a great place to come to support you if you're feeling stressed. And if you've tipped over into burnout, having a good conversation with somebody that's going to champion you and take care of you is always going to benefit you.

14:58Okay, that is it for today's episode on burnout. I hope this has given you some useful tools and frameworks to help stay consistent without burning out. But I do want to say now that if you do fall into burnout, please do not be harsh on yourself. If you are someone with big dreams and loads of ambition, it is very easy to... What's up, Grace from the Working How Podcast here and I want to tell you about something exciting. You're watching Every Dollar and Walmart Business helps you stretch each one. From office supplies to snacks and cleaning gear, you'll get everyday low prices, plus easy bulk ordering and fast delivery.

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16:11And the key is really kindness to yourself, because every time you put off actually recovering from this burnout, you are making it worse and it is just going to take longer to fix. Take it from me. As always, I've only just scratched the surface. So if you want to dive deeper, I've included a reading list with some of my favourite books and resources on this topic in the show notes. And it is a topic that I have consumed a lot on. And as always, thank you so much for listening. If you take one thing away from this episode, it should be that rest is productive. Structure beats willpower and you don't have to run yourself into the ground to be successful.

16:46Thank you.