Sometimes I have to think about what's causing the burnout. Some things I've run into:
trying to get that promotion
my turn to be on-call was extra rough
working extra hours - even if it was a project I was excited about
crunching for that performance review
not learning to say "no"
meeting a deadline
There's probably other reasons. Ultimately, a lot of those issues ^ involved me putting in extra time. What I found, was that I just needed to learn to work smarter - not longer. Sometimes you might have a bad culture where they work you to the bone and you might just have to make a judgement call about whether that's the right employer for you.
Productivity and Time management changes I am currently making:
Plan my next day in advance. This doesn't always work out like I want, but I try and stay disciplined and plan out my whole day, it makes it easier to tell someone "I'm busy with X, can you sync up with me at Y time?"
Similarly. Block off chunks of time to do focused work on projects. Mark it on your calendar as "Do not schedule" and turn off Slack notifications.
Make a list of 3 things I am going to accomplish for a day. I've heard it said, "If you have more than 3 priorities, you have zero priorities." Basically, we're bad at multi-tasking and we should limit our own mental work in progress and focus on those 1-3 things before moving on. It can't always be helped, but using it as a rule has helped me.
Getting good sleep.
Having a "shutdown" schedule at the end of my work day (do some planning, check email, check Slack, review priorities, follow up with team, etc).
When I go home. Be home - especially if you have family. Exercise, cook your self some dinner, play a game, read a book, catch a bit of Netflix (I avoid binging because then I get upset about not being productive), fix that sink, teach my dog a trick, etc. It helps your mind refresh.
Take that lunch break rather than working through lunch.
Take a few 15 minutes walk in the day. Step out of the office or your home for lunch. You don't even have to go out to eat. Maybe a park with a table is nearby.
If possible, go for a walk if you need to meet up with someone.
Reading Recommendations:
Deep Work
A Mind for Numbers
I could go on forever, but that's because I've burned out more than I'm willing to admit, but these changes have helped me take a much more positive direction and I do a lot better now.
Sometimes I have to think about what's causing the burnout. Some things I've run into:
There's probably other reasons. Ultimately, a lot of those issues ^ involved me putting in extra time. What I found, was that I just needed to learn to work smarter - not longer. Sometimes you might have a bad culture where they work you to the bone and you might just have to make a judgement call about whether that's the right employer for you.
Productivity and Time management changes I am currently making:
Reading Recommendations:
I could go on forever, but that's because I've burned out more than I'm willing to admit, but these changes have helped me take a much more positive direction and I do a lot better now.
This is an ideal approach. It's very tempting to take work home which unfortunately I'm a victim of.