Are you suffering from end of year exhaustion in your business, career and life?
Have you been able to breeze through fresh as a daisy or do you feel like you’ve been through twelve rounds with Mike Tyson?
Ok, so I admit that the past few years I’ve dragged myself over the ‘finish line’ exhausted and ragged. Many of my clients admit the same and the reoccurring theme this year is that people are worn out.
This year, I vowed that things would be different, and I am pleased to report that history has not repeated itself. So, what are the tips that I’ve found that have helped me to avoid the end of year burnout?
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- Implement boundaries – don’t be afraid to say NO. I typically find that I get a lot of last-minute requests at the end of the year when clients and prospective clients realise that they may not have a marketing plan or assistance to get off to the best start in the New Year. Stick with your availability and don’t be afraid to create a ‘wait-list’ for your sessions. If you’re feeling rushed and overwhelmed, you won’t deliver your best work anyway.
- Say “I’ll get back to you” before over committing to every single invitation and engagement that comes your way. This buys yourself time to access whether you can commit and prevents you from feeling like you’ve let someone down if you need to cancel. Quality over quantity is key. You can always arrange to meet with people in the New Year rather than trying to cram everything into the end of the year.
- Have a clear plan in your diary so that you can see how may social and work events and commitments that you have. Colour mark those that are essential in red and those with less importance, green so that you can quickly and easily decipher which you can say NO to if you’re starting to feel pushed for time or energy.
- Be quick to read the early warning signals – if you’re starting to feel tired, lack of patience, producing some errors in your work then you know that it’s time slow down and reassess where you are at.
- Delegate to others – What can you remove from your schedule, or give to others to help you? For me this means purchasing home-cooked meals a few times a week, hiring a cleaner and having support people to assist with my children before and after school.
- Don’t forget the pampering and self-care. One thing I’ve noticed that I’ve done in the past is to cancel my self-care rituals. Pre-book and hold yourself to appointments. For me this way my end of year hairdresser appointment, weekly kinesiology and chiro sessions and my daily walks.
- Eat regularly and balanced meals – I was determined to not start the festive diet of food and drinks on the 1st December because as much fun as it is, it eventually makes me tired, sluggish and the brain fog can set it.
- Keep mindful and present during this time with friends and family. Don’t get so caught up in work that it’s no play. These activities should be scheduled with the utmost priority as you certainly do not get the time or memories back with your loved ones.
- Go to the events that energise you – those that are fun, with spirited people and that full your cup. Disregard the events that you feel obligated to be there. All they do is just simply drain your finite resources and take the time to do something for yourself instead.
- Drink plenty of filtered water – with the drought and fires that have been affecting many states across Australia the air quality has been low, temperatures have been sky high is low and it’s easy to get dehydrated.
- Get used to the idea that there may be something left on your ‘to-do’ list. We all dream of having all our boxes ticked with a clean slate for when we go on leave however sometimes that is just not practicable. Learn to let things go and be OK to revisit them when you are back from leave. If it is a task that will hang over your head while you are on leave, then this should be classified as a priority and scheduled into your calendar to ensure that it’s a big green tick for complete.
- Prioritise sleep and rest time – I must admit this is something that I did NOT adhere to 100% having had midnight finishes for the past 2 weeks, yet I still powered on with great energy and clarity. I took time out to rest and have a few 10-minute power naps which are something I don’t generally do but I found them effective. I believe that because I was so strict with the above points that I was able to manage a high level of productivity.
I’d love to know how you’ve found managed the silly season.
Have you been able to breeze through fresh as a daisy or do you feel like you’ve been through twelve rounds with Mike Tyson?
Drop me a line with your thoughts!
With grit & grace,
