The forever paradox - you need to take a break to recover from burnout, but you can't take a break because you've got too much to do.

Sound familiar, Reader?

It's such a common situation and likely fuels your burnout.

I don't say that to make you feel bad, but to realise how a fixed interpretation might keep you stuck.

I include myself in this by the way.

Many business owners and leaders who end up in burnout are high achievers, workaholics, perfectionists, and people-pleasers.

Literally the group who go over and beyond, and over again for good measure.

Just in case.

It's no wonder you burnout, because few people can consistently manage that level of output and effort without getting sick.

This is why it hurts you so much emotionally.

It comes from a good place.

To help others, or achieve outcomes, not let people down, or innovate and find new solutions.

But what if it didn't have to be so all-or-nothing?

What if you could adjust expectations and your strategy, just for a while, to recover and get back to who you want to be?

Sometimes, that trade-off is a step too far.

The ego kicks in and it feels like failure before you've begun.

That previous version of you, that delivered and achieved amazing things looms large in your psyche.

Annoyingly, it gets in the way of progress you need to make now.

My offer to you - tell that 'ego you' to take a back seat for now, and try something different.

Reset your standard for 'good enough'

It's no surprise that a personality vulnerability for burnout is perfectionism.

This is a lot of pressure to put on yourself or others.

I see it repeatedly with my burnout clients, and there is a real struggle to let go of perfectionist standards even if you know it'll help you.

At the core of perfectionism is a fear of failure or social rejection, low self-esteem, feeling inadequate, or high early childhood expectations from others.

It could be one or a few of these, but it's an overcompensation behaviour that acts as a protective mechanism and habit.

If you're as 'perfect' as you can be, no one can attack or judge you for it, right?

Unfortunately, humans aren't the most logical.

Even if you meet your unrelenting standards to a tee, someone will be able to find fault - whether that's you or another person.

So to start your burnout recovery I invite you to reset those standards you set for yourself, Reader.

Often, these are assumptions and not validated.

Take a step back and decide if your assumptions and expectations are needed or correct.

Chances are, they are an arbitrary set point.

Even in life or death-related roles, there are processes, standards and governance that sit around the actual bar to aim for.

Prioritise the non-negotiables, and find flexibility in the rest.

If this sounds horrific to you, pick one small area to test so it's manageable.

Don't spend another 30m perfecting that PowerPoint, rewriting your website copy or drafting email responses.

Drop the quality or effort in one task and get curious about what happens next.

A key takeaway when you're in burnout - done is better than perfect.

Once you reset your expectations of 'good enough', that gives you mental headspace to experiment more for a different approach.

It gives your body a fighting chance to kick off new habits that bring you back to a life more aligned to your values.

Pick one theme at a time for small change

Starting small is fine but beyond experimenting with a task, what else can you do?

In my coaching conversations, I suggest picking one theme from my top 6 burnout recovery themes.

These are key areas that focus on improving physical recovery.

Once you feel physically better, even if this is minimal, you can work on other complex changes.

These could be mindset reset, defusing thoughts, emotional regulation or deeper habit change.

Change needs additional energy and focus, so give yourself a fighting chance to make it work and build up your body.

Here are my top 6 themes that help burnout recovery:

Once you've picked a theme, follow the steps below:

1. Focus on which problem or challenge you need to solve in that theme - e.g., if you want to improve your sleep, determine what your sleep issue is e.g., getting to sleep too late, too early, not falling asleep or waking up early.
2. Choose a solution to implement during your experiment timeframe - e.g., choose an earlier get into bed time to maximise sleep for 2 weeks.
3. Stick to the new solution for a few days and reflect - consider what works and what doesn't.
4. Experiment with the solution until it improves - remember you're making small changes, so tweak your approach to build confidence.
5. Once you see improvements, pick another theme - choose another theme to experiment with. Remember, choose a small but manageable change.

These themes give you a focus point to experiment with.

Sometimes, you may have a very clear issue you want to solve, but it feels too big.

Give yourself a boost by making incremental changes with a positive impact that help you make better decisions.

The other goal of this approach is to give you hope.

Burnout creates disconnection from your life. You end up observing it instead of living it.

It might feel like things will never change but they always, ALWAYS can, Reader.

I've been through several periods of burnout over the years.

Even if I find myself making unhelpful choices or in a challenging environment that drives burnout, my recovery is quicker using these approaches.

Start small but stay consistent and your recovery will happen. I've seen it work and you will too.

Take care,

Sabrina

Burnout Coach | Neuroscientist | Art-based Practitioner

P.S. Want to listen to a fun chat about playgrounds and burnout? Listen to this interview with Christian Hunt and me, on The Human Risk Podcast.​

I share these insights, strategies, and experiments weekly...or more often if I have something fun or useful to share with you.

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