Do you ever feel like you've reached your limit being unable to balance it all? Whether it's balancing your personal life, work, school, or parenting?
I've experienced moments where suddenly I felt exhausted, unmotivated, irritated, and couldn't focus.
Sometimes I was sure I was fine and maybe needed more sleep, but how can I sleep when I had to complete a lab? How can I complete the lab if I wasn't comprehending or processing the information I was attempting to understand? How can I do all this and find the time to work, parent, and maintain my home? So naturally, I began to doubt myself in everything.
I felt like I needed to get it all done regardless of how I felt at that moment, but it continued to weigh on me. The more I pushed myself too hard the heavier the doubt sank in.
Someone mentioned to me that I might be experiencing burnout. So I decided to do some research online. After reading numerous articles, everything I read in regards to the symptoms all sounded too familiar, and suddenly all made sense. I was indeed experiencing burnout. Therefore, it was time to get it together, recover, and keep moving forward!
The best way to begin was to create a plan for time management! We all do it. We take on too many tasks all at once, forget to find time for ourselves, or even believe that we can't enjoy a personal life or self-care just because we have to work, study, and take care of family.
It shouldn't be all work and no play! Find the time to balance it all and appreciate the process!
It was essential to be able to be my best self while accomplishing it all, and finding my confidence again!
My time management involved studying during downtime while I was at work so that when I got home I used the time to enjoy my time with my family. On weekends I would start the day by doing something I enjoyed. Once that was done I'd tell my partner to take the kids for 2 hours to do an activity while I studied a bit more or completed a lab.
While my time management wasn't perfect every day, it was improving! In addition, I was surrounded by support and realized I never used my voice to ask for help. Once I voiced it, it became even easier.
My advice to anyone who might feel the same feelings that I've mentioned at the beginning of this blog would be:
Pace yourself. Don't compare yourself to the next person. We all have different situations that allow us to complete a task at a different pace.
Find someone you can relate to that can help uplift you when you begin to doubt yourself and you can do the same for them. Remind yourself that you can do anything you put your mind to.
Manage your time as best you can by planning your day or week.
Do something you enjoy. Whether it's reading a book, going for a walk, spending the day out with your kids, or self-care.
Take a break when you need it. Set a timer if you can. So if you've spent 30 minutes trying to complete a lab, test, or code... TAKE A BREAK! Walk away from the computer and come back to it later. Or better yet, ASK FOR HELP!
Don't let burnout control your emotions, your confidence, or your performance. Take control and accomplish your goals by finding a balance ❤️.
Top comments (7)
Happy to know that you've been recovering. I've also been burntout a while back from the load of college, personal projects, community projects and trying to spend time with friends and family.
Making time for yourself no matter what is an integral part of keeping yourself sane and motivated.
Felling burntout lately again due to college exams and having an internship simultaneously, this post is a much needed reminder. Thank you! ❤️
Glad you came upon my post when the reminder was needed ! I wish you luck and know that you are not alone. Take the time for yourself to ensure you maintain your mental health while studying for your exams and going through your internship! You will achieve it all and we’ll speak it into existence ! You got this !!
Another tip I might add that has also helped is trying to stay off the phone or social media until you complete a task such as studying.
Or change your scenery in where you study. Enjoy the outdoors and you will feel relaxed 😊.
Best of luck on all your exams !
It's so important to find balance, especially for moms like us. We got this though!
We definitely got it! We must take it one day at a time!
Work-life balance is essential for mental well being.
Yes! I agree! Many people seem to struggle with reminding themselves to take the time for self-care. Mental health is an ongoing issue all over the world. Hopefully, more people are set out to remind eachother to take a break and manage their time or prioritize what's most important, such as their mental health. Thank you for reading my post!
As someone who has experienced burnout, it can be hard to avoid when you don't know your limit. It's important to know your limit to prevent it before it happens. Good time management skills and a supportive environment are also needed. I prefer to use task management software to help plan and schedule my tasks. Don't forget to schedule short break time during work hours. Tick Tick and Quire are great tools.