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Work Life Balance: 7 Keys to Avoid Burnout

Work Life Balance: 7 Keys to Avoid Burnout

© copyright 2007 Hueina Su, MS, BSN, CEC

Last week I gave a workshop on time management for a women's group. Most of these women are moms. I asked the audience about their biggest challenges about time management and stress management. Not surprisingly, most of them feel stressed out, overwhelmed, juggling too many competing priorities, have too many things to do with too little time, and virtually no time for themselves. If you're a mom, I bet you can probably relate to this, at least to some degree.

What surprised me was that, some of these participants were trying to wear so many hats and doing so many things all at once. For example, some of these moms are running two businesses, attending school, heading PTA committee (or church Sunday school), and raising young children (some of them with special needs), all at the same time. Let's not forget most of them also have a husband and marriage to take care of. To be honest, it makes my head spin just reading about their lives. Is it any wonder that they are so stressed out and exhausted?!!!

It's obvious to me that some of these moms are experiencing or heading toward Nurturing Burnout. When you spend all your time and energy taking care of others, without nurturing and recharging yourself at the same time, you will eventually experience Nurturing Burnout. You might feel emotionally drained, overwhelmed, stressed out, overly anxious, irritated, trapped, depressed, hopeless, resentful, self-pity, angry, withdrawn from social relationships, etc. Some people might fall into severe clinical depression or even become suicidal. Physically you might feel exhausted, overly sleepy or can't fall asleep, loss of appetite, or overeating, digestive problems, elevated blood pressure, neck & back pain, etc. Research has shown that chronic stress is linked to elevated risk of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, back pain, diminished immune function, obesity, etc. More and more doctors and researchers believe chronic stress is the underlying cause or risk factor for many physical and mental problems.

Burnout could greatly impact your physical & emotional health, relationships, work, and everyone related to you. When you are burned out, you can't function at your best, and everyone you care about suffer with you. It's not difficult to see that there is much at stake here.

So, how do you avoid Nurturing Burnout? What are the proactive steps you can take today to prevent (or overcome) burnout? Here are some advice I give my clients:


1. Prioritize by Your Core Values

In order to have a balanced life, you need to set your priorities straight and live by your core values. Once you can identify your top 5 core values, you can then use them as a "filter" to decide which activities or tasks you want to take on, and which ones to drop. You can then make a conscious choice about how you spend your time and energy, and focus on what truly matters, without worrying about something important "falling through the cracks".


2. Make Intensive Self-Care a Top Priority

You are the most important person in your life. When you are in a nurturing position, it's even more critical to take good care of yourself. Practicing Intensive Self-Care is not being selfish, it's an act of self love and self respect. If you have a daughter, it's even more important to model this for her. After all, if you can't honor and respect yourself, how can you expect others to do so?

Do something good for your physical, emotional & spiritual well-being every single day. If you don't schedule time for yourself ahead of time, and guard this time as sacred, you may never find "spare time" to do it. (When was the last time you have "free time"?) This can be something small like spending a few minutes enjoying a cup of tea/coffee, taking a walk around the block, taking a bubble bath, chatting with your friend/sister, having your nails done, reading a novel (or some jokes), watching your favorite TV show (just don't veg out in front of the tube for too long), exercise (the endorphin will make you feel great), cooking your favorite dish, playing with your pet, listening to your radio (instead of your children's music) in the car, etc. Once in a while, go out with your girlfriends or book a massage (or whatever pampering you prefer). Trust me, you WILL feel a difference if you practice Intensive Self-Care on a regular basis.


3. Practice the 3-D Principle (Do it, Delegate it, Dump it)

When you feel overwhelmed, it's a sign that you're doing too much. As a mom, it's easy to feel too "indispensable" and take on all kinds of responsibilities until you run yourself down!!! Take an honest look at your to-do list -- how many of those tasks are **truly** necessary for YOU to do? Can someone else do some of those jobs for you? Can you hire help or barter with your friends (or other professionals) to get some tasks done?

A friend of mine once told me a great example of bartering. She doesn't like to cook but loves to clean. When her boys were little, she used to team up with another mom who's just the opposite. They would do play dates at her friend's house, and while their children played, she would clean her friend's house, and her friend would give her cooked dinner to bring home. I used to have a coaching client, a massage therapist, who would give me massages in exchange for coaching. Let me tell you, it's heavenly to have a full-body massage every week!!! (By the way, I'm looking for people to clean my house, do marketing, optimize my website for me, in exchange for coaching. Any takers?) :-)

There are many creative ways to delegate or barter with other people, so you can have less items on your to-do list. Think about your strengths and talents -- what can you offer to exchange for other people's services?

If you are a business owner, the same principle applies. Look at all the business tasks. What are the tasks that you must do yourself? What are the ones you are good at, or actually enjoy doing? Try to focus most of your energy doing those things, and barter or hire someone else to help you with other tasks. You will be more productive and happier.

One word about housework -- get your husband and kids to do their share. They are not "helping you out", they are "sharing responsibilities" that belong to them. One of my favorite principles is "Don't do for others what they can do for themselves." You're doing your children a disservice by not training them to be responsible and independent individuals.


4. Learn to Say NO

Setting good boundaries is essential to creating work life balance. Learn to say NO to requests & tasks that are not aligned with your core values & priorities, do not move you toward your long-term goals, or not good for your physical or mental well-being (e.g. pushing yourself past your limit could break you and cause more problems down the road).

Before you take on any new tasks or responsibilities, take an honest look at your schedule, and assess how much time & energy this new project will cost you. Sometimes we take on responsibilities with a false estimate of how much time and energy they would consume, and end up overwhelming ourselves.


5. Learn to Let Go

Can you be flexible about HOW you want things done? If you can be flexible, then there's greater chance you can delegate some tasks to someone else, and free up your precious time & energy for the tasks that really must be done by you, and/or things that you actually enjoy doing.

I challenge you to look at your "have-to" and "must-do" list -- are they truly "have-to" & "must-do" for you? How many of these tasks truly have to be done by YOU and you alone??? Can some of these things wait or be done by someone else? If you really, truly have to do these by yourself, can you do them in a different way that's easier for you? Remember, there are always more than one way of doing things.

Can you give up perfectionism? So many moms fall into the trap of trying to be the Perfect Mom or the Super Mom. Some moms I know believe that they MUST excel at work, keep a spotless house (with a couple children under age 5), be the best mom and best whatever-role-they-play. When you hold up unrealistic standards like that, it only creates stress, tension, resentment, and/or even self-hatred.

Can you do less? For example, instead of helping out with every single bake sale at school, choose only one or two that are convenient for you. Instead of demanding the house has to be spotless and dinner has to be cooked in a particular way, can you relax the standard from time to time? How about dumping some of the tasks or requests from your to-do list altogether? When you can eliminate some "have-to's" from your to-do list, you will free up time & energy for your "want-to's".


6. Avoid Multi-Tasking

While it's impossible to totally avoid multi-tasking, try to minimize it whenever you can. Many new studies showed that your brain actually works slower when you multi-task, because it has to stop and start to switch between tasks. Multi-tasking also increases your stress level and makes you more prone to making mistakes. Because you are distracted and switching among several tasks, you might find yourself running like crazy but not accomplishing much at the end of the day. It's very frustrating when every project is half-done and you can't cross them off your list. A better approach is to tackle the most important task for the day first (like Brian Tracy said, "Eat that frog"), and then move on to the next one.


7. Slow Down

I know, this might sound counter-intuitive. When you feel overwhelmed and your life is spinning out of control, instead of trying to work faster and harder, you should try to deliberately s-l-o-w d-o-w-n. Ideally, you want to create some "white space" in your life, i.e. pockets of quiet time to meditate, reflect, stop and smell the roses. You want to live in the present moment, and truly be where you are at every moment. Just like a Chinese painting needs adequate "white space" to maintain the balance, so does your life.

Allow enough transition time and travel time between your appointments and activities, so you don't have to rush, and you won't be so stressed out if you hit traffic. I always keep some good books, CDs, my iPod with some Teleclass I want to listen to, water, and snacks in my purse and my car. I always pick out a book that I'm dying to read, when I need to go to doctor's office. That way, when I'm stuck in traffic, or doctor's office, I don't feel like I'm losing time. On the contrary, I'm gaining valuable time to read the books that I might otherwise have no time to read.

When you are coming home from work, create some kind of ritual to signal the end of your work day, and prepare yourself for the transition back to home life. Take an extra 10-15 minutes to walk in the park, stop by your favorite coffee shop, or a book store, before going home. You can also sit in your car and listen to some soothing music, meditate or read something funny. Anything to brighten your mood, before you re-join your family for the evening.

On my front door I taped a picture of a smiling cat with two Chinese sentences I copied from a story I once read. In the story, there was a couple who used to come home from work stressed and irritated, and they used to fight very often. Then the wife decided to put a wooden sign on their front door that reads, "Upon entering the door, please take off your troubles. When you come home, bring happiness with you". That's a great reminder for me and my husband to leave work at work, and don't let the stress from work "bleed" into our family life.

Above all, you need to realize that you CANNOT do everything and be everything for EVERYONE. It's OK to let go of some of the tasks, so that you have time & energy to take care of what truly matters to you (that includes taking good care of yourself). It's OK to say NO and ask for help when you need it! Asking for support when you need it is not a sign of inadequacy or incompetence. Rather, it's an act of self love. You don't have to go it alone. Really.

When you can honor your own needs and priorities, ask for support when you need it, take proactive steps to eliminate stress and nurture yourself on a regular basis, you will be able to avoid Nurturing Burnout, safeguard your well-being and, in the long run, the well-being of your loved ones.





Work Life Balance 7 Keys to Avoid Burnout - To learn more about this author, visit Hueina Su's Website.

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Cheryl Matthynssens

Cheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur.  Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well.  A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles.  She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide-  to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being.  Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com

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Leanne Hoagland-Smith
Are your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website

Joe Dager
Joe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website

Dave Kurlan
Dave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website

George Ludwig
George Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website

Stephanie Robey
Stephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals.

She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com   Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences.  Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University.

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Hueina Su
(Visit Hueina's Website) Hueina Su, MS, BSN, CEC, is an expert in helping people find the missing peace and balance in their stressful lives. She is a Certified Empowerment Coach, Professional Keynote Speaker, Founder of Beyond Horizon Coaching, and Author of "Intensive Care for the Nurturer's Soul: 7 Keys to Nurture Yourself While Caring for Others." Written for nurses, doctors, moms, caregivers and other women nurturers, this book offers inspiration as well as practical solutions to prevent burnout and create more joy, peace and balance. Best-selling author Terri Levine calls it "a must read for anyone who is in the role of caregiver." With more than 20 years of experience in nursing, counseling, coaching, and training, Hueina empowers her clients and audiences to go beyond their horizons, and create the life they truly desire. As a professional keynote speaker, Hueina speaks to different groups including government agencies, nonprofit, and professional associations. She speaks from her heart, and offers the audience inspiration, hope, compassion, as well as practical solutions. Visit www.RxForBalance.com for a FREE Intensive Self-Care Kit, monthly Teleclass, coaching programs, and other resources.

Hueina Su is a Gold author on EvanCarmichael.com
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