Day 1: Getting Over Burnout in a Week (and Still Getting Work Done)

The cause of burnout is always mental exhaustion. This mental exhaustion eventually ruins your physical well being. In turn we see this depletion of energy manifest in irritability, periods of depression, inability to communicate effectively and thrive in social settings. Your reaction rates to everyday actions lower significantly and a lot of the activities that bring you joy no longer seem as appealing.

In my getting over burnout in a week plan (while getting work done), the first day is about labelling your feelings. The MBI (Christina Maslach’s Burnout Inventory) toolkit is used to measure the extent of burnout. Just figuring out why we feel so irritated, angry, sad, confused etc. can help us see the bigger picture i.e the solution/escape. So, let’s use the MBI Toolkit (adapted for students) to understand our burnout.

1. Emotional Exhaustion

Maslach definition: Feeling emotionally overextended and exhausted by work.

Feeling emotionally drained, overwhelmed, or too tired to deal with school demands. You’re mentally checked out and can't recharge.

Make statements on how you feel emotionally exhausted. For example,

How you may feel emotionally exhausted:

• waking up tired

• not being excited about co curriculars or hobbies that usually brought you joy

What do we do with these statements?

• understand that we have too much on our plate

• understanding that succumbing to the pressure to perform instead of learning and growing is unhealthy

  
  

2. Depersonalization / Cynicism

Maslach definition: Developing a cynical attitude toward people or your work; feeling detached.

Becoming detached or indifferent toward school, teachers, or classmates. You stop caring and may feel numb or sarcastic about everything.

Make statements on how you feel negativity enveloping your relationships. For example,

• all of a sudden your friends start to irritate you (even though they haven’t done anything to provoke you)

• you find yourself making more sarcastic comments and or mean comments on people or situations

• you find it hard to go the extra mile or put in the effort you usually did in your tasks

What do we do with these statements?

• understand that we are protecting ourselves emotionally by not caring/detaching from friends or situations

• understand that your efforts are valid even if no one is noticing them

  
  

3. Reduced Personal Accomplishment / Inefficacy/ due to Burnout(You feel useless.)

Maslach definition: Feeling incompetent or unproductive, despite working hard.

Make statements on why you feel incompetent/unproductive:

• you’re doing a lot everyday but still achieving nothing

• you feel like a failure even though you are not

• you start to compare yourself to others

What do we do with these statements?

• understand that you are working hard, but your depleted energy is reducing the quality of your work, and it is fixable!

• understand that measuring progress through achievements and comparisons is NOT healthy

  
  

Even the act of labelling your feelings and explaining their effect on you can change how you think about burnout. It is not your fault for feeling this, and the best way to come out burnout is NOT by pushing through, but by reducing your workload and introducing tools and skills that help manage stress.

Never let yourself get to the point of complete and total breakdown!

Love,

Vanta <3