Burn-out is one of those things that can kind of sneak up on us. There’s so much pressure to do it all that we can push ourselves and not realize that we’re doing too much. I also often see people transition from working full-time to operating their spiritual business full-time. Shortly after, they suddenly find themselves struggling and don’t know why. Often the culprit is burn out. They were burnt out in their work and didn’t take time to recharge between leaving that work and going full-time in their business. They brought the burn-out with them. Here are 4 signs that you’re burnt out and didn’t realize it.
Procrastination
Ever sit down to do your work and find you just can’t get out of neutral gear? It could even be that you’re struggling to start on things you usually enjoy doing. You might even be thinking that something is wrong with you or that you lack self-discipline.
The truth could be that you’re just burnt-out. When we’ve overtaxed our energy, we just don’t have any more to give. It doesn’t matter how much we enjoy our work. It’s not about enjoyment or self-discipline. It’s about being tired and not having the energy to see it through.
If you’re dealing with procrastination and think burn-out could be behind it, show yourself some grace. Take a day off (or two) and rest. This is your subconscious letting you know that the energy reserve is empty.
Creative blocks
Another way that burn-out can show up is in creative blocks. You might sit down to write, paint or do anything creative and just not be able to think of anything. Often, the creative block is related to procrastination. You just can’t seem to get started and ideas aren’t flowing like they usually do. It’s frustrating but it’s fixable. You just need to recharge your batteries. It’s much easier to feel and be creative when we’re rested and have plenty of energy.
Overwhelm
There are a lot of things that can leave us feeling overwhelmed. Maybe your list includes a lot of things that you don’t know how to do or don’t feel confident doing. That can certainly create a sense of overwhelm.
So can burn-out though. When we’re burnt-out, we don’t have excess energy for coping. As a result, when faced with a to-do list, we struggle to zero in on the most important things. We sense how tired we are and the list feels daunting.
Reordering the list by priority and other tools won’t help here. What you really need is rest. Take some down time and when you return recharged, that list will suddenly feel so much more manageable.
Mood swings
I don’t know about you, but I can get pretty irritable when I’m exhausted. If you find that suddenly you don’t have the energy to cope with stress, you might be burnt out. When little stuff is getting to you or you find that you’re overreacting to challenges in your life and business, it may just be that you don’t have enough energy to cope with them. This could be a sign that it’s time to take a few steps back, rest, and recharge.
Burn out is a real problem for soulpreneurs. Unfortunately, we’re really bad at being aware of our own burn-out. We feel so driven in our business that we don’t notice how much our energy is flagging until it’s too late. If you’re experiencing some of these common signs of burn-out, it’s probably time to shift gears and create more opportunity for rest in your life and business.