Beat Burnout With Sustainable Self-Care

A new study by Asana looked at over 10,000 knowledge workers across seven countries, and they found that approximately 70% of people experienced burnout in the last year, 70%. Is that number shocking to you or. Does it seem pretty much on par with what you know? ? Yeah. Burnout's not new, and news of burnout is not really news. So why is it still an issue? And more importantly, what can we actually do about it? We know about it. We know that it's a thing.

Why have we not been able to fix burnout? There are solutions for employees, for leaders, for organizations that begin with rethinking and reimagining what organizations look like. But first, it's important to look at the gravity of the situation. Welcome to Passion and Profits Without Burnout. I'm your host, Jacob Moore. I'm a speaker coach, childhood suicide loss, survivor and filmmaker who left Hollywood to follow my heart of service.

I've helped tens of thousands of people find the balance in their life between passion and profits. On the show, I'm gonna teach you how to build a trauma responsive, resilient, and impactful community and organization, all without burning out. Let's get started. Okay, so on this episode about self-care and burnout, we are gonna

be talking about three major topics. First, that burnout is real and has serious impact. Second, the way we work needs to change. Beginning with self-care and third, productivity and self-care aren't mutually exclusive. But first, a little context. So sustainable self-care is the fourth of my core four of impact leadership. The first being mission, mindset, the second being, uh, professional and personal progress. The third being a compassionate culture. And the fourth sustainable self-care.

Now, arguably, sustainable self-care should have been first, because we can't really be great leaders creating a compassionate culture and focused on our personal and professional progress if we're not practicing self-care. But nobody wants to talk about self-care. It's, you know, cliche at this. Fill up your cup before you can fill up others, and people don't really want to hear it. Well, too bad. I'm here to tell you that it's, it's important to talk about.

And, um, we're gonna do so today from the perspective of the work that you do and the fact that it is so incredibly important for you to take care of yourself, not so that you can take care of others. So that you can live the life you wanna live, which may include taking care of others, but most importantly, so that you get what you want outta life. All right. That's enough for the peer pressure around this. Now, let's talk facts and figures about. Sustainable self-care.

All right, so let's talk about this first topic, the fact that burnout is real and has serious consequences. Back to that study that I shared at the beginning of the show, nearly two thirds of people are experiencing burnout in the workplace. And folks, that's just one of many studies that popped up when I Googled. Burnout in the workplace. Uh, this is not a new phenomenon. Uh, this predates covid and workers are not interested in working in stressed out environments.

They're not interested in burning out. Uh, it's an old school way of thinking that we can somehow just grid. And bear it through the stress and be able to, you know, will ourselves through this. This thing called burnout. If you don't believe me, here's a study by the Mayo Clinic. Ignored or unaddressed job burnout can have significant consequences.

Including excessive stress, fatigue, insomnia, sadness, anger or irritability, alcohol or substance misuse, heart disease, high blood pressure, type two, diabetes, and vulnerability to illnesses. Folks, that list seems like I'm, uh, I'm, I'm talking about, you know, a lifetime of, of, you know, poor diet or smoking or other high risk behaviors. We're, we're talking about going to work here. Creating cardiovascular issues, creating high blood pressure, creating mental health challenges.

What, and the thing is, is no one is impervious to that. And if you think you are my friend, let me tell you from experience. You are not special.

I mean, you're special. Like you're, you're, you're special, you're unique, um, but you're just as susceptible to burnout as anyone else. And if you're feeling it, please gimme a thumbs up because I know I have been there before. And folks, it's real. It is beyond just feeling stressed or feeling it. Upset about stuff or being unhappy with work. And this is like real deal business here.

So that leads me to my second point, which is the way that WeWork needs to change and that starts with self-care first. I think it's important to. Define self-care. Um, because we're not talking about bubble baths. We're not talking about, you know, taking, you know, a, a break and, you know, scrolling through TikTok. Um, this is not even, you know, a mental health day. Sustainable self self-care means an integration into our daily lives in a way that mitigates stress and allows.

Our baseline, our our homeostasis to be in effect so that we can be as productive as possible. Some ways that burnout can be prevented include adequate rest, healthy diet, exercise. Setting aside everyday time for things like relaxing, enjoyable activities, spending quality time with friends and family, practicing good time management. That is a tough one, which by the way, just a side note, I've been using a program called Sun Samma and uh, it has changed my life as far as time management and.

Really helping to determine priority projects. I'm gonna leave a link in my, uh, show notes here. Uh, sun Samma is the name of this, uh, this program. It's really fantastic. Integrates with your calendar. I'm not getting paid to say this, it's just something that I, I really enjoy and has worked well for me. Um, but uh, on I go. So practicing good time management, knowing and accepting one's limitations. Oh my gosh, do I have a challenge with that sometimes?

Uh, and learning to say no. And no is a complete sentence. Right. Uh, and I, I think we're gonna have a future episode where, where we're gonna talk about, um, boundaries in the workplace, uh, and the, the use of, how can we use this word no in a way that, um, doesn't, doesn't make people hate us. Uh, I digress. So, um, there are are many ways that we can. , um, self-care as, you know, a mitigator of stress and burnout. Um, but l let me just give you one quick actionable tip here.

Usually I save these for the end, but it's, it's gonna be inserted right here. Um, 20 minutes is, is all you need. Um, This can look like meditation. It can look like movement. It can look like time outside, um, you know, connecting with

some type of support system. Um, 20 minutes on your calendar. Write it on your calendar. Include it in your daily agenda, and ideally do it before you begin work 20 minutes. , and here's the, here's the key folks. It needs to be done in a vacuum. Meaning don't try to multitask your self-care time while you're driving to work because despite what you may think that may be relaxing for you, you still are focused on the road or your, you know, podcast or whatever else you're doing.

There is, there are things occupying your attention. I'm talking about 20 minutes without distractions, without your social media up, without listening to other people. Take 20 minutes for you. Go in your room, go in your office, close the door, draw the shades. Uh, put your dun up, disturbs up, and spend 20 minutes. For just you on just you. And you'll be amazed at what a huge difference it will make if you cannot do it in first thing in the morning.

If you cannot preload your day with this self-care, then please take time during

lunch or take time as you end your day as a ritual for closing out the day. That can be a fantastic way to leave your stress, uh, and. At work. So, uh, we'll, we'll talk more about that. I got lots of tips and, um, and processes for, uh, including self-care in your day, um, stealing moments throughout the day. Um, we don't have time for all that today. We'll have a future episode on all that.

Um, so let's move on to this third topic, which is, um, the fact that productivity and self-care aren't mutually exclusive, argu. , taking time for self-care, taking time for things like meditation and, um, you know, eating well, uh, moving our bodies, connecting with support systems, uh, allow us to be more productive. Um, but I, I think it's important to get our definition straight here. Um, so I, I keep saying stress and burnout. Here's, here's a quick, easy differentiation between the two.

So stress is having too much on your plate, too much work to handle, too many responsibilities, too many hours spent working. Okay, so stress is the result of too much stuff. Burnout, on the other hand, is the opposite. Burnout means that you don't have enough. You don't have enough motivation, you don't have enough energy, not enough care.

Stress. Having too much of all these things can lead to burnout and this feeling of not enoughness. So if you have entered into a phase of not enoughness, feeling like you do not have enough resources, enough time, enough energy, enough cares to give, then buddy that's burnout. I also wanna point out that stress in and of itself isn't necessarily a bad thing. Stressors can motivate us to perform, to achieve. They can be positive in small doses.

. Um, when we're talking about stress, that leads to burnout. When we're talking about that too much, it is to a level that is no longer sustainable for us. Uh, that is more than we can handle. Um, but stress in and of itself isn't necessarily, you know, the, the evil, the, that we may feel like it is sometimes. So in conclusion, uh, burnout is real and it has a serious impact. The way that we work needs to change, starting with self-care and productivity and self-care aren't mutually exclusive.

In fact, self-care supports our ability to be productive, taking just 20 minutes a day. Can lead to greater focus and greater energy throughout the day and can actually increase our productivity. Folks, I just wanna wrap up here by reemphasizing the importance of self-care and, uh, bringing us back to the core four. And if, if you're not interested in self-care for your own sake, uh, then, then. Do it for the kids.

Do it for the work that you do for the sake of what you want to accomplish in your life. The core four of impact leadership are mission, mindset, uh, compassionate culture, professional and personal progress and sustainable self. Helps us achieve all those things. Like I said, that really comes first and the stakes here. Are you in your life not being able to accomplish your mission, not being able to convert the passion that you have into something that's a legacy.

If you are continu, In a high stress environment that leads to burnout, and the burnout goes unaddressed. The consequences are real for you personally, for you physically, for you spiritually, but the consequences for not being able to achieve your legacy. Your life's work, your purpose in life are very real as. Invest a little time now so that you can continue to sustainably do your work for the rest of your life. Your career is long.

You have many years even after retirement to keep working towards your mission. But if you burn out along the way, then you won't have anything left to give and giving back. Really what matters in the end, that's all I have for today. This is the conclusion of my Core four of Impact leadership, but each of these topics will drive future episodes, so we'll drill down into these topics and some really, you know, tactical.

Techniques for addressing each of these and, and bringing them into more focus in our work, in our lives as we go throughout the podcast. And as always, uh, I'll have guests on who will share their expertise as well. So thanks for, for listening. I appreciate it. And until next time, be well. Thanks so much for listening to Passion and Profits. Without. I hope that you found some impactful takeaways, and if you did, I'd love to hear from you.

Share a screenshot on your IG story, tag me or send me a quick message. This show is for you, so any feedback is welcomed. Hey, and make sure you're also subscribed to the show so you don't miss any of our new episodes. And if you could take a few minutes to leave me a five star review, that'd be greatly appreciated. Thanks for listening and be well.