Dec 5, 2021
What strategies can I use to make my transition back to work during/after burnout recovery as smooth as possible? This question was recently posed in our FRIED Facebook Group, and the conversation that ensued was incredibly powerful. I decided to follow up on our discussion with a #straightfromcait episode that addresses some of the most helpful suggestions.
While this list is certainly not exhaustive, here are seven tips for returning to work during/after your burnout recovery:
• Watch out for feelings of resentment in order to set internal and external boundaries
• Be as honest as you feel safe being with your colleagues
• Spend a few minutes before you start working and after you finish doing some breathing exercises to set the pace for your day and for your time at home
• Take breaks during the day to protect your nervous system
• Pay attention to any of the symptoms you are feeling at peak burnout
• Build white space into your calendar
• Turn off all non-crucial notifications
To see the suggestions that others had in response to this question, join our FRIED. The Burnout Facebook group, linked below!
Quotes
• “Resentment is such an amazingly powerful tool when you are coming through burnout recovery. I want you to watch for feelings of resentment and notice that they’re a good thing, that you noticed them, and that that’s amazing because now you have some information that lets you know that a boundary needs to be put into place.” (03:02-03:22)
• “If you don’t know where the boundaries need to be, it’s impossible to put them into place and it’s impossible to reinforce them.” (03:23-03:29)
• “Our attitudes change when we know each other’s stories, and you never know who you might help by sharing yours. You can absolutely choose to protect parts of your story, but having a version of it that you can share will go a long way when it comes to asking for accommodations and creating new boundaries.” (04:40-05:00)
• “Give people the opportunity to see you, give you grace, and meet you where you are. They can’t do that if they don’t have your story.” (05:28-05:37)
• “Giving yourself mini breaks and times away from your desk and your phone will go a massively long way in keeping you safe. Remember that a huge part of burnout recovery is creating feelings of safety, so that your nervous system doesn’t have to stay on alert all the time.” (08:04-08:22)
• “Everything that you don’t need to hear, everything that doesn’t need to pop up on your screen and interrupt you, shut it down. This will also help you create some white space because you’ll be able to focus easier and therefore get things done faster. And when things are done faster, you have more white space!” (10:44-11:04)
Links
https://caitdonovan.com/resentment-journal
https://m.facebook.com/groups/friedtheburnoutpodcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-happy-brain/id1377502232
XOXO,
C
If you know that it’s time to actually DO something about the burnout cycle you’ve been in for too long - book your free consult today: bit.ly/callcait
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