Caution! Feeling Burnt Out At Work?

We’ve all experienced performance-depleting fatigue. It can be mentally and physically exhausting and makes it difficult to deal with even the simplest situations.

 

Fatigue is particularly problematic when it comes to teamwork. We want to work with people who are at their best—energized, creative, focused, and responsive—but this falls apart when we feel overwhelmed and tired.

 

Here are some of the ways feeling burnt out at work has a significant impact on teamwork:

 

1.      Communication.

When you’re tired, it’s challenging to want to make the effort to talk to others—you just can’t be bothered. As a result, you isolate yourself and take on a bigger workload.

 

2.    Creativity.

Burnout affects your creativity. You have less mental energy to come up with new ideas, and the thought of experimenting feels too risky. You’re simply too exhausted to have what it takes to deal with the unexpected.

 

3.    Compassion.

Compassion requires understanding where the other person is coming from, and that takes emotional energy. You have to be able to step into someone else’s shoes and look at the situation from their point of view, which is much harder to access when you’re feeling burnt out at work. Making sure you’re taking the time to rejuvenate will set you apart from other business leaders because it will ensure you’re functioning at top levels.

 

Take a break from your business.

At Strategic Coach, we’re enthusiasts for taking time away from all work-related activities to rejuvenate. This means taking vacations, holidays, and days off (including weekends) to refill your tank.

 

Right after you take time away from your business, you’ll find that upon returning, you’re at your best and most creative. You’ll make great decisions, communicate clearly, empathize with others, and be at your most productive because you aren’t feeling burnt out at work. 

 

So many of us fall into the trap of convincing ourselves that there’s no way we can take time away from our businesses. In fact, Dan Sullivan, co-founder and president of Strategic Coach, has his own story about being totally run down but convinced there was no way he could take time off.

 

He wrote a list of all the reasons why he didn’t think he could take a vacation—there were 20 items on the list. He put the list in a drawer and forced himself to go anyway. When he got back, ten of the items had already been looked after, four were no longer relevant, and he was able to handle another three that day. The remaining three were taken care of in the following week, all as a result of restoring his mental and physical energy. It’s amazing how differently we perceive things when we’re well rested. 

 

Make free time a must.

One of the most important skills to develop as an entrepreneur is putting the right structures in place to give yourself the time to refresh and rejuvenate. Empower, train, and trust your team to take over in your absence. There are two benefits to this: One is that you’ll know how good your team is, and the other is that they’ll know how good they are.

 

This will give you and them the confidence and validation necessary when it’s time for you to switch gears and get away. So, give yourself permission to take time off. It’s the key to exceptional teamwork and excellent results.