Cody Lutz and Ken Corey recently shared insights that enlightened my understanding of burnout.
See, a musing of mine from a little over a year ago shared the idea that burnout rarely comes from running out of time; it’s usually because you run out of energy. To help stave off burnout, I suggested performing an energy audit. To do this, divide a piece of paper vertically. On one side, list things that drain your energy, and on the other side, list things that generate energy for you. Then, commit to eliminating at least one energy drainer, and use the energy you save to invest in one of your energy gainers.
Ken added to this idea with the concept of an energy budget. I think it’s hard to put metrics around this, but realize that when your energy budget becomes overdrawn, that’s when you start to feel burnout. That’s when it’s most important to shift your activities from energy drainers to energy gainers.
Cody further enhanced the idea with specific observations on how your environment can drain energy. When the fear of consequences compels you to participate in unpleasant tasks, and you can’t see any positive outcome from the work, and you don’t know how long it will last, that activity can drain your energy. But when you understand the purpose of the work and you know what the finish line looks like, that same activity can move to the other side of the paper, becoming an energy gainer instead!
One of the services I offer my clients is to help them see their individual purpose and mission, and then make the connection between their responsibilities and their purpose. The exercise is available for no cost at https://northwayinsights.com/exercises. Look for the Discovering Personal Values and Life Behavior Map downloads and the free webinar recording.
When you can see a personal purpose to your responsibilities and have a clear finish line, your work can move from the drainer to the gainer side of your energy budget.
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