Why is burnout so common?

We have lost sight of what prioritizing “self” actually looks like.

We wake up. And go. Make breakfast for the kids, take them to school, go to work, scroll on our phones during lunch, work some more, go pick up kids, make dinner. Rinse and repeat.

Prioritizing self has become a back burner activity. Yet we are our most important patient, we are our best doctor.

I got exposed to burnout myself a year ago. I was in a space where my days were constant energy expenditure with no return (mainly due to being injured and not being able to do the things I find joy in). Morale tanked, and since morale has a direct effect on performance, performance tanked.

My morale changed when I eliminated the victim mindset and did things daily for my physical and mental wellbeing. Morale became sustainable when I did things weekly that my 7 year old self enjoyed doing. The adult forms of course.

Easiest trick for burnout?

Ask yourself “What are Three Things my seven year old self likes to do?”

Then ask yourself “Do I do those things?”.

Majority of the time when I ask others this question, they cannot even remember the last time they did something they actually find joy in.

For myself, my 3 are 1) Views, 2) Watching Things Fly and 3) Star Wars. I enjoy hiking, sunsets, walks, lawn chair, grass etc. These are my “views ingredients” so my weekly view recipe is 3 views per week. Watching Things Fly relates to sports. I enjoy watching baseball/any sports, playing softball, playing golf, watching birds etc. My “things fly recipe” is 1-2 flights per week. Star Wars is my entire childhood. I watch roughly 1 thing related to Star Wars per week.

Your Fun Tank feeds into your Business tank. If you do not tend to your Fun Tank weekly, your Business Tank will have no choice but to drain over time.

Do what your 7 year old self likes to do. It has helped a lot of people.