Assessing energy during times of burnout
This is an obvious statement: regardless of who you are, you only have access to so much time in a day. When I was in college or graduate school, I’d often find myself feeling overwhelmed and wishing I could freeze time for everyone but myself. These fantasies allowed me to spend all the time I needed getting caught up on papers or studying for finals so that when I unfroze time again, I’d not feel as though I was in a state of panic trying to get everything accomplished to the extent I wanted by the time things were due. Or, I’d wish there was some way I could take a pill to give me the ability to exist without sleeping. That’d give me at least six extra hours in a day to be uber-productive and complete some of what I believed was needed. Sadly, I don’t have these magical abilities, though I still acknowledge they’d be pretty beneficial during certain weeks or months when everything seems to be happening.
Since we can’t manipulate time, another resource to which we all have access is energy. The amount of energy each of us has varies based on many factors. Our physical health, our mental health, the number of responsibilities we have, and the amount of money available to us each impact our energy levels. Some of these factors are harder to control than others. For example, some of us can use money to limit or delegate responsibilities: hiring someone to clean our home means we don’t need to dust or vacuum or mop or organize; buying take-out or pre-made food at the grocery store deli means we don’t need to prepare food for ourselves or our families. So though money doesn’t buy happiness, it might ensure little involvement in doing our own chores.
Assess your energy
Examining your energy levels and energy expenditures may provide valuable information if you’re feeling burned out. As burnout seeps from one area of life to another–such as from work into your personal time–a loss of interest may permeate more than the job you spent all week doing; you may no longer have a desire to “play” (by doing hobbies) or engage in activities that used to bring you joy. Instead, all you may want to do is sleep or sit on the couch and binge watch something; as a result, you might feel like you have no energy. You may believe your energy has all been expended, without necessarily realizing that sometimes these activities further zap your energy. (How many people jump up from binge watching a show to get outside and hike? It’s pretty frequent that binge watching begets more binge watching.)
Regular self-assessment of your energy helps you realize what may not be working for you. This can be done by taking inventory of how you’re feeling and how you spend your time. Conducting such an assessment could be done quickly, or it may require checking in with yourself over a period of a week or so to gather more data or double check your instincts. An assessment may be multifaceted to cover your physical health, your ability to meet your daily needs, your mental wellness, your relationships, your finances, your home, your community, your spirituality, your intellectual curiosity, or any other area that’s important to you. Ask yourself how you’re feeling about each of these areas: what’s going well and bringing you pleasure or joy? What’s not going so well? Are you able to pinpoint any reason why those things aren’t going as well? Ask yourself if you’re feeling purpose, fullness, or fulfillment. Ask yourself where you’re investing your time and energy and whether that matches your values or priorities. What’s your ideal in each area and what would need to change to get there? As you’re engaging in this self-assessment, try to be mindful of the first thoughts and feelings that come to mind while considering each area of your life. Are you noticing any self-talk or judgment of yourself as you go through the assessment process? Are you noticing any patterns?
Depending on how you feel about your assessment, you may wish to gather some more data. If you’re finding yourself unable to answer questions about where or how you spend time outside of work, you may want to track where your time goes. Depending on what you learn, you may want to consider whether the amount of time or energy spent on actions, activities, or meeting your needs throughout a week is worth it–or whether that time or energy detracts from things you’d rather be doing. (Obviously, some needs, like hydrating, eating, sleeping, and basic grooming are more important than others, and you likely shouldn’t sacrifice these in favor of other things. Though, there may be other ways to get some needs met, like changing what you eat, or ways you can scale down the amount of time you spend on an activity like grooming.)
Be realistic about energy
I started by saying I often wished I could freeze time. This is because I never had the time for all the things I thought I should be doing or to do all the things well enough. Sometimes, I found myself inadequate in areas because I thought I should be doing more or had ideas about what a finished product should look like or what I would like to do to prepare for something. Often my desire to do more or prepare in a certain way wasn’t realistic; I didn’t consider the amount of available time or how I’d sacrifice my energy for something that ultimately probably wasn’t as important as I told myself it was. (Like did I need to read and incorporate findings from five more research studies in a paper when a literature review already covered 20 studies?) My perfectionism didn’t help, as I’d then tell myself I wasn’t prepared enough, thereby impacting my self-confidence and leading to anxious thoughts that distracted me from the task at hand rather than allowed me to focus and fully use the time available to me. If you’re feeling burned out, being realistic about your energy can help you conserve it and best allocate what is available to you. If you’re not certain you can realistically assess your energy on your own or need additional help coping with burnout, therapy helps too. Stay tuned for ways you can conserve energy in future blog posts.