Are you constantly exhausted and never wake up feeling refreshed?
Do you worry about everything and no longer find joy in the things you used to.
You have no energy to do much of anything and feel like you are failing in almost every area of your life. You want something else, but you’re not sure what that is, or how to get there.
If this hits home, it sounds like you haven’t just arrived on burnout island. Rather, you’ve bought a house and planted yourself firmly in the neighbourhood!
How do I know?
Well, I've found myself on burnout island more than once, and it’s not the kind of postcode you want to settle down in!
The good news is that it doesn’t have to turn into a permanent residency. The first step is recognising what’s happening; from there, you can make the changes needed to get your life back.
Let’s take a tour of burnout island and find out what it is, how you got there, and how to get to a better place!
It’s Time To Get Off Burnout Island
What Is Burnout?
The World Health Organisation defines burnout as a condition “resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”
I think that’s putting it lightly!
To summarise, burnout is what happens to the body and mind when prolonged stress causes you to be exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally. Basically, you are all out of gas with no petrol station in sight.
How Do You Know You Are Burned Out?
No doubt, you will already recognise that you are either burned out – or on your way to burnout island – from the introduction. But if you’re not sure, here are a few key signs that shouldn’t be ignored:
- You are utterly exhausted all the time
- You find it hard to focus or find motivation
- You’ve lost the “spark” you used to have towards your job or career
- You feel like you are failing in almost all areas of your life
- You get sick often and experience headaches and body aches
- Maybe you have trouble sleeping or sleep too much
- Your appetite or eating habits may have altered
- It’s hard to snap out of a negative mindset
- The things you used to enjoy no longer bring satisfaction
Personally, I experienced all of the above and more. During my career, I’ve burnt myself out three times, clearly I was a slow learner. It felt like the energy and life were sucked right out of me.
At 47, I had to reinvented my life. That meant everything from health and wellbeing to my career. I had to find new ways of operating to ensure I never go back to that place again.
Why Does Burnout Happen?
If you are a female, it will come as no surprise that burnout happens to women more often than it does to men.
One research study, in particular, revealed that lack of equality in the workplace due to gender was a key factor.
In spite of our experience or qualifications, it remains a sad fact that women often have less authority to make decisions in the workplace. All too often, we are also overqualified for our roles.
The frustration caused by this imbalance leads to increasing dissatisfaction at work. It can be completely disempowering as a professional woman to find this kind of attitude throughout the workforce.
On top of these challenges at work, women still often (but not always) bear a lot of responsibility at home. Whether you are a single parent or have equal responsibilities, parenting is full of pressure. We take on so much, work harder to prove ourselves professionally, and beat ourselves up when we can’t do it all.
How To Fix Burnout - Or Get The “F” Off Burnout Island!
It can be scary to realise that you are burned out and aren’t sure where to turn. But, it can also be empowering. Now that you have identified what’s going on, you can start taking steps to fix it.
I know it can be overwhelming to think about making changes when everything already feels too hard. But you don’t have to do it all at once, and you certainly don’t have to do it alone.
Here are some tips on getting started:
Put yourself first – this may be a new concept for many, but as the old saying goes, “you can’t pour from an empty cup.” Putting yourself first may involve scheduling time exclusively for you to do the things you want or need to be well. It may mean learning to say "no" to things that drain you, too!
Get back to basics – taking care of ourselves often falls to the wayside when life feels like a struggle. When this happens, it’s time to strip it back to the very basics we need to be healthy. Eat well, move your body every day, get plenty of sleep, drink enough water, and find ways to manage your stress better.
Get support – sometimes it’s hard to get out of your own head. An outside perspective can help change your mindset and steer you to a new neighbourhood. Don’t underestimate the value of talking to someone who’s been where you are!
After I climbed out of burnout hell, I found my real power, and it became my mission to help women like you do the same.
Together we will refocus your mindset, so you ditch the BS stories and beliefs that are holding you captive, and transition to loving life and living your dreams!
All my sessions take place via zoom, so you can choose your surroundings, from a private office to the couch or anything in between. The most important thing is that you are comfortable, warm, hydrated, and relaxed to get the most out of the experience.
Whether you're a business owner wanting to take your business to the next level or a professional woman who needs help, take your next step forward. If you feel like you need extra support in making these changes, don't hesitate to reach out. Book in a time to chat with Hana or follow her on: Facebook Instagram or LinkedIn
What Is Self Sabotage?
Self-sabotage is when we make choices or behave in a certain way that prevents us from reaching our goals. While consciously we may passionately want something – a promotion or career change, a fitness goal, a long-term relationship – subconsciously, we develop habits or micro-decisions that undermine our efforts to achieve those goals.
It's mindlessly reaching for a chocolate bar after we have committed to eating healthy food or procrastinating about working on a project that will help us launch our business.
Self-sabotage is a common behaviour, so don’t think you are alone if you have these tendencies. But, just because many people experience these feelings, they don’t have to hold us back.
Why Do We Do It?
So why on earth would we choose to block ourselves from getting what we say we want? The precise answer may be slightly different for each of us, but it always comes from some kind of self-doubt and fear (which are actually one and the same).
Our emotions are the puppet masters behind our behaviours and habits, and some feelings are so deeply hidden that we are barely aware of them. Here are some examples of how your core beliefs can turn you into a self-saboteur.
Low self-esteem
If you believe that you are not good enough, smart enough, or strong enough (insert your own adjective!), you will unwittingly act in ways that reinforce this core belief. Our internal chatter has a direct impact on how we behave and our brain seeks to validate our thinking.
Fear of success
If you are not blessed in the self-confidence department, you may actually think you don’t have what it takes to manage your success. As much as you want to run your own business or get that promotion, deep down you may be terrified that you will be exposed as a fraud (Imposter syndrome alert!) or not be able to handle the responsibility.
Redirect the blame
If we believe deep down that we can't reach our goal, we may find ways subconsciously to NOT achieve it so that we can blame something other than ourselves. If you run out of time to apply for that job (that you believe you wouldn’t have gotten anyway), you can blame the lack of progress on that, rather than face the unpleasant emotion of potential failure.
Retain control
There's something just a little magical about "hope." If you don't put yourself out there and try to achieve your goal, you can hang onto that thread of hope that "one day" you will do it and it will be fabulous, rather than releasing control and risking failure.
Defeating Self Sabotage
If you recognise yourself in any of these scenarios, don’t stress. Self-sabotage doesn’t mean that you are broken, worthless, or useless and should just call it quits on your goals.
It means you are human!
And the fantastic news is that now that you are beginning to recognise and understand why you self sabotage, you can start learning how to beat it. As with any habit, it’s about learning to recognise it, put the brakes on, and turn in a new direction.
Here are my top tips on how to start:
- Recognize your patterns – take time to think about the areas of life you feel stuck in and the patterns that have kept you there. Then, when you feel yourself slipping into old habits, you can react accordingly.
- Identify your behaviours – what are the things you do to get in your own way? Procrastination, impulse buying, snacking, forgetting things… Identify them so that you can recognise them when they start to occur.
- Explore your emotions – see if you can pinpoint what emotions are involved with these behaviours. They could be anxiety, anger, worthlessness, fear, etc. If certain emotions are triggers, you can create mechanisms to process the emotions without sabotaging yourself.
- Spot your core beliefs – where do these emotions come from? What assumptions are lurking that is not in your best interests? Working on your mindset can help you to transform those core beliefs into positive
Practical Ways To Manage Self Sabotage
Challenging self-sabotaging behaviours isn’t easy, and it won’t happen in a day or even weeks. But over time, you can form a new mindset and fresh habits that support success instead of sabotage.
Journalling, affirmations, meditation and self-care are all part of the journey, but one of the most effective ways of digging down into your psyche and making changes is by investing in a coach.
The right coach can help you see the blind spots that have been holding you back, provide strategies to reach your goals, and hold you accountable for doing the work. A hypnotherapist and/or NLP Practitioner can help you access your subconscious mind and make rapid change happen.
All my sessions take place via zoom, so you can choose your surroundings, from a private office to the couch or anything in between. The most important thing is that you are comfortable, warm, hydrated, and relaxed to get the most out of the experience.
Whether you're a business owner wanting to take your business to the next level or a professional woman who needs help, take your next step forward. If you feel like you need extra support in making these changes, don't hesitate to reach out. Book in a time to chat with Hana or follow her on: Facebook Instagram or LinkedIn
What Is Professional Christmas Anxiety?
For many people, the mere occurrence of Christmas is anxiety-provoking in itself. But when you work in a professional environment, those pressures are often magnified.
Tensions seem to run high in the leadup to the Christmas break. There's an intensity from employers to tie up loose ends, complete projects, and a stream of tasks to work through before going on holiday.
It's also a festive time with the additional pressures of morning teas and lunches to fit in, adding to the time pressure.
As an employee, you push yourself to meet unrealistic deadlines, berate yourself for not coping, and dial-up that anxiety in the workplace.
Of course, there are also additional layers of stress to deal with outside the workplace. Before you know it, your heart is racing, and it feels like you can't stop the constant noise whirling around inside your mind.
Rethinking Christmas Anxiety In The Workplace
In the last few years, there has been a shift by many organisations to focus more on wellness and wellbeing. However, the pre-Christmas rush seems to be embedded in many workplace cultures.
But does it really need to be?
As a society, we've been taught to tie up loose ends before the end of the year. While it's a noble concept, do we really need to stress our employees out at all?
Research tells us that stress lowers productivity and morale, resulting in more sick days and higher staff turnover. With just a few tweaks and a mindset change, employers could make life easier for their employees during the festive season. Instead of the pressure, provide them with the space, time, and tools they need to survive this hectic time of year and return to work refreshed and motivated.
How to Release Christmas Anxiety
Whether you are an employer looking for ways to support your employees or need some coping strategies yourself, there are many ways to release anxiety and decrease your stress levels at any time of year.
Let's look at some of the best...
Cultivate Mindfulness
Mindfulness training can reduce stress, help us be more positive, and cope with what life throws our way. Mindfulness is about bringing your attention to the present moment and not worrying about the future or ruminating on the past. If you find yourself carried away by your thoughts, come back to the task at hand and focus on that. Using your breath is also a great way to ground your mind in the present.
Practice Self-Care
This may seem like a no-brainer, but when we feel overwhelmed, we often neglect the most basic of self-care concepts. Ensure you get enough sleep, drink plenty of water, and eat healthily (in moderation, of course – it is Christmas, after all!). Exercise is also a fantastic way to alleviate the triggers for depression and anxiety.
Let Things Go
Will it really be a major drama if you leave a report until next year or put a project on hold? If your to-do list feels overwhelming, ask yourself if every item is that important. What's the worst that can happen if the timeline is extended? Is it truly urgent, or are you putting unnecessary pressure on yourself?
Return To Your Breath
Connecting to your breath is one of the most effective ways of calming your body and mind – and it's completely free. Spare a few minutes several times a day to breath into your belly slowly and deeply for a count of four; hold for a count of four; then exhale slowly to a count of four.
After three or four rounds, your body will be feeling calmer, and you will find there's a little more space in your mind.
Hypnosis
Sometimes we need a little help to rein in our thoughts or alter our behavioural patterns. Hypnosis is an excellent way to access your subconscious mind and modify your habits, behaviours or routines. It can help you get out of the stress mindset and assist you to be more productive, motivated, and confident at work, or specifically tackle a fear, phobia or habit you want to drop or improve on!
If the pressure of Professional Christmas Anxiety is starting to build and you are feeling anxious, transformation coaching may just be the thing to help you hit the New Year feeling energised and excited rather than worn out and strung out!
Contact me today to see how I can help support, guide and inspire you to ditch the overwhelm and start the new year in a powerful way.
Sessions take place via zoom, so you can choose your surroundings, from a private office to the couch or anything in between. The most important thing is that you are comfortable, warm, hydrated, and relaxed to get the most out of the experience.
Whether you're a business owner wanting to take your business to the next level or a professional woman who needs help, take your next step forward. If you feel like you need extra support in making these changes, don't hesitate to reach out. Book in a time to chat with Hana or follow her on: Facebook Instagram or LinkedIn
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Today I want to talk to you a little bit about “The List”. You know, the list that you have (whether it be and your head, on your phone, your computer, on a to-do pad) and how that list can quite easily provide you with a degree of stress and overwhelm. Because when you look at it, you're thinking “There's just so much to do and not enough time in the day”.
We put things on that list that sometimes aren't really necessary in the scheme of life. If you don't do them, will your world collapse? What's the worst that's going to happen? And is it a nice-to-have-done or a must-have-done?
We ALL need to start analyzing the things that we put on the list!
I know from experience that when I get super busy, I will write a list but there are random things that go on the list, things like OMG the skirting boards haven't been cleaned for however long - that's not a ‘must do’ is it? It’s a ‘nice to do’ and if it doesn't get done for another week or month, it's okay. But what many of us tend to do is increase our stress and overwhelm by adding these things to our list.
If you think about Pareto's rule of 80/20 – it shows that 80% of the results comes from 20% of the work. If you look down your list can you identify one task, that if you nailed that, it's going to make an 80 percent difference for you?
Once you've identified what it is, how about you ask yourself a question?
What is the one thing on that list that you've found, that if you did it would make everything else either easier or possibly unnecessary? And what would it be like if you just focus on that one thing? (Because believe me, multitasking is a fallacy - there's even science to prove that it doesn't work these days.)
What actually does work is:
Narrowing down your focus down when you're feeling stressed and overwhelmed. When you've got so many things to do and you just focus on the one thing you actually increase your productivity. You get that task completed sooner and more efficiently, and then once you've completed that you can then move on to the next one thing. This tool of only focusing on one thing until its completion is a tool that you can also use in other areas of your life.
For example in relationships, if you're looking at your relationship, wondering how you could make it better, try this question.
What is the one thing that you could do today or tomorrow that actually would change your relationship going forward?
How about your finances?
What is the one thing that you could do in the area of finances?
It doesn't matter what area of life that you are in, you can use the one thing in so many different ways. You can really drill down on the essence of something that's going to make a significant difference for you.
If you're really interested in learning more about 'The One Thing' it's a book written by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan and you can find out more about it here.
All my sessions take place via zoom, so you can choose your surroundings, from a private office to the couch or anything in between. The most important thing is that you are comfortable, warm, hydrated, and relaxed to get the most out of the experience
Whether you're a business owner wanting to take your business to the next level or a professional woman who needs help, take your next step forward. If you feel like you need extra support in making these changes, don't hesitate to reach out. Book in a time to chat with Hana or follow her on: Facebook Instagram or LinkedIn
