DO LESS, BREATHE MORE

Here is what I know for sure: YOU are your most valuable business asset. Period.

So if you’re feeling like you’re juggling too many things and are feeling breathless, let’s talk about burnout.

BURNOUT is when you do too much, for too long. It’s a state of physical and mental exhaustion. Your energy is drained and you might feel less creative, less productive, less motivated, more frustrated, and more anxious.

Possible remedies for burnout:

- Creating healthy boundaries and scheduling time for yourself.

- Taking care of your body, including good sleep practices.

- Practising mindfulness, writing a journal, slow breathing, meditation.

- Increasing positive self-talk; encouraging instead of judgmental.

- Talking it out with a friend or therapist.

- Spending time with other people you enjoy.

- Doing nothing or nearly-nothing: reading, watching tv, looking out the window.

This isn’t an academic paper!

This is an action plan.

Pick one or two, and commit to your wellbeing.

Remember that bit about being your most valuable business asset? If your computer crashed daily, if your car made an unhappy grinding sound, if your clothes were so old they were falling apart - you would pay attention and do something about it. And you are more valuable than they are. So pay attention.

Burnout is a lifestyle issue, and healing from burnout means making changes in how you live. Do less, breathe more.

First, figure out how you might do less, for example: insist (to yourself) on better work-life boundaries, ask for / pay for help, lower your expectations in household management, and so on.

And what if you CAN’T do less? Like, literally, cannot. If you cannot do less, then breathing MORE is even more necessary. When you’re climbing Everest, you need the oxygen most.

Second, decide what “breathe more” looks like for you. Does that mean, going for a walk alone, meeting up with friends, meditating daily, keeping a journal, singing out loud? You do you. But DO IT, ya know?

Feeling too overwhelmed to even commit to one?

Start with slow breathing. It’s free, and it’s always available to you.

Slow breathing is good for your body (hello, oxygen!) and gives your mind a chance to pause.

Do less, breathe more.

It’s not a one-and-done situation. This is about making shifts that allow you more oxygen every day, so that after a month you notice you are less stressed than before, and breathing deeper.

So go back to that list, and make a commitment to your own wellbeing.

Yes? Of course yes.