Five tips to avoid burnout and stay healthy at work

Ok 2020 is done. Even though we’re not out of the woods with the challenges from COVID, hopefully the last few weeks gave an opportunity to catch your breath. As we hit the start of a new work year, now’s a good time for a reminder of healthy habits to apply (and keep applying) to stay well and help avoid burnout. It’s always handy to build mental buffer against stress. So here are five tips to help prevent burnout at work and to stay healthy:

1. Be present – Focus on one thing at a time, right here, right now. Notice if your mind wanders to thoughts of the past (like what happened in an annoying conversation from last week) or the future (especially worry – like what could be coming up at work next week). Then actively shift your mind back to what you had chosen to focus on in this moment. If that’s hard, then choose one activity and focus on it for half an hour. At the end of that time, you can continue or shift and repeat this approach with another activity.
2. Sleep – regular sleep is helpful for keeping balanced mood and handling stress. Avoid screens in the bedroom as much as you can (yes,  including this one). Aim to have a regular wake-up time and regular sleep routine ahead of bedtime to help your body and mind relax.
3. Engage in positive activity – This can be one thing each day, no matter how small. Choose from things that you’d usually enjoy.
4. Stay connected – this can be with anyone and in any way. Particularly with family or friends, but it could also be with others in your community like neighbours or colleagues. This could be catching up in person, phone call, text, email. But aim to make it real-time as much as possible. Aim for one type of connection each day.
5. Pace yourself – don’t try to do everything immediately and all at once. Ignore the perfectionistic mind. The year has 365 days so no need to finish before February. Try to set limits to your workday. Experiment with delaying things to the next day that aren’t actually urgent.

We’ll put more detail around each of these five habits in future posts.

If you’d like assistance with managing how you feel, please contact us on (02) 9119 8778 or email us on reception@healthymindclinic.com.au. We provide appointments in person, by phone and by video. Rebates from Medicare and your private health fund may be available for appointments.

If you are in a mental health emergency, please contact Lifeline 13 11 14, the Mental Health Line 1800 011 511, Emergency 000 or go to your nearest hospital emergency department.