What to Do When You’re Feeling Burned Out

Being the boss is certainly a rewarding accomplishment. Whether you worked your way up the corporate ladder or you decided to ditch the 9 to 5 and start your own company, you’ve finally made it to the top. As you’re probably already aware, there is a lot that is required of the boss. Not only are you responsible for your own job duties, but you also have the added responsibility of attending to the needs of your staff.

Needless to say, it can be rough at times. Though on a typically stressful day you might be able to handle it with a few deep breaths or some time off, there comes a point where (executive) burnout is on the horizon.

What in the World is an Executive Burnout?

An executive burnout is best described as an extreme level of stress that is felt by executives, managers, and business owners. While burnout and stress are closely related, they are not the same. Stress is known as a state of mind in which your body is conditioned to feel overworked from the day’s events. A burnout on the other hand is a state of mind in which you feel extremely overwhelmed, powerless, depressed, and lack motivation to continue with each day. As you could probably imagine, a burnout for an executive is certainly nothing to play around with.

Signs a Burnout is on the Horizon

When you become mentally stressed or taxed your body responds physically. If stress is allowed to continue without resolve it can lead to a burnout. Some of the signs that a burnout is on the horizon might include:

  • Anger
  • Anxiety
  • Pains in the chest of shortness of breath
  • Depression
  • Low libido
  • Eating issues (too much or too little food)
  • Fatigue or low levels of energy
  • Lack of concentration
  • Increased use in alcohol or drugs

Warning: If your burnout has lead to the increased use of drugs and alcohol to mask your physical ailments or emotional feelings it is time to get help. Some companies can help you find the best programs for men and business professionals to help deal with not only the physical act of addiction or abuse, but to also work on dealing with the underlying emotional cause of the addiction.

Tips for Dealing With Executive Burnout

If you’ve noticed any of the above mentioned symptoms it is important to reach out to your doctor for final diagnosis as many of these symptoms could mean other things (including stress or depression). Once it is determined that you are experiencing executive burnout, you will need to come up with a plan of action to rectify the matter before things get worse. Below are some suggestions on how to accomplish this:

  1. Take Time Off – Here’s one you’re sure to love, taking time off for yourself. Sometimes if you’ve been working too hard with little or no results, it can begin to get the best of you. Take the time off to simply enjoy things that you love to do. This means no working while on vacation. You’ll need to set up a way for all of your tasks to get handled with the help of a business partner, secretary, or other support staff. Your work will be there when you return, but if you don’t take a vacation soon, you may not be physically up to working anymore.
  2. Create a To Do List – Feeling like nothing is getting done or things are out of your control is a surefire sign of a burnout. To minimize these feelings, creating a sensible to do list is advised. By creating a daily list of things you want to accomplish (within reason) you can visually see the progress you’ve been making throughout the day whether it looks like it in the grand scheme of things or not.
  3. Set Reasonable Deadlines – In the world of business, time is money. However, if you’re pressed for time because you have so many things to accomplish then you’re stretching yourself too far. Set more reasonable timelines for finishing projects so that you don’t feel the pressure to get things done instantly.
  4. Ask for Help – Even the boss of all bosses (the president) needs assistance in getting things handled, so keeping all that work to yourself is no way to get ahead. If you can’t finished everything on your plate delegate tasks to responsible employees.
  5. Seek Counseling – If your feelings of depression are heightened and you can’t seem to shake them on your own, then getting help from a therapist is ideal. A therapist can help to transform your negative thinking into positive thinking thus helping to boost your confidence and outlook on life in general.

Being the boss is a lot of hard work, but someone has to do it. It can be challenging to keep yourself from falling into the daily stresses that work brings about, but it is important to try. If you’re in a managerial or executive position it is important to find effective ways to deal with stress. Learn how to recognize the signs of a burnout or other form of mental health issue and get help when you need it to prevent further complication in your personal and professional life.

 

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