Have you ever noticed when you meet someone professional, within the first 5 minutes they tell you their job title, and/or what they do for a living? What is really happening is that the person is declaring with pride, they aren’t a slug. Americans pride themselves on a hard work ethic and their ability to get the job done. It is such an integral thread in our culture we don’t even notice that we have this unwritten rule, but it is there and it affects the view we have of ourselves.
When we are meeting the demands of our job, we normally feel good about ourselves which is rewarding. We take pride in doing a good job, and let’s face it, the pay doesn’t hurt. But there are times when work demands begin to exceed our ability to do the work in a way that allows us to enjoy it. As our work becomes consuming, we make excuses to ourselves that it is just a short-term spike in our work load, but what happens when it isn’t? As the demands exceed our ability to take pride in our work we often begin to cut corners in an effort to get the job done… but we pride ourselves on doing a good job, not just an okay job. This creates an internal problem for us because a thing that used to make us proud has become something that takes away our pride. As the work demand continues unabated, we begin to disappoint our family and friends… which makes us feel worse. We begin to realize that our other responsibilities in life are suffering. By this point, we might feel physically tired and mentally drained. The path to rebalancing our lives… is hidden in the burden of work… the thing that previously brought a feeling of pride.
In the big scheme of things, the sun will rise tomorrow, the world will continue to spin… most likely, and we will still have a limited life span. Today’s professionals are connected 24/7/365 days a year effectively making work our primary responsibility even above our own lives. We forget that there was a time, when patients were seen, clients’ needs were addressed, and court dates were scheduled… ALL WITHOUT BEING CONNECTED 24/7/365. This is the starting point of addressing burnout… when you settle for doing your job without the same sense of joy it once brought… you are already on the road to burnout. The trick is to keep things balanced. This means you need to identify the imbalance and address it.
Professionals are quick to point out that THEY HAVE TO DO IT because it is expected. Here’s a little secret… it costs more to replace you than it does to work with supervisors to rebalance your life. When things are balanced, you are more focused, more productive, and produce a better work product. Having the confidence to communicate effectively at work and learning to set boundaries… can go a long way in not burning out.
It is also important to remember focus. A lack of focus makes us less productive and more likely to fall behind in getting things done. The more defocused you are, the more time that will be required to complete your tasks. As there are only 24 hours in a day, every hour you waste being defocused is coming out of the time you could have used to maintain balance in other areas of your life. Time and Clarity of Thought are Your Most Valuable Resources.
