Yes, it is possible to accomplish your dreams and care for yourself.
Let me guess — you’re someone who is on a mission, so you have A LOT to do. You know what it feels like to have seemingly endless responsibilities and competing priorities, and be ON all the time. Given all the things you’re trying to accomplish each day, you might find you sometimes feel scattered, irritable or exhausted.
You are not alone. This is a very common experience these days, and it’s time we all pay a little more attention — so that we can continue to show up with clarity and energy.
So take stock of your life.
Are you skipping your self care practices like exercise, sleep or nourishment?
Are you neglecting important relationships in your life?
Are you noticing that your creativity, the quality of your work, or your enthusiasm is declining?
Are you getting pesky skin stuff like rashes, eczema or breakouts?
These are all key indicators that you might be on the path to burnout. Avoiding burnout is vital because when it hits, it takes you away from your purpose, passion and people — and it’s really hard to bounce back.
If you feel you might be on the path to burnout, it’s time to make some changes. Luckily, you can start with a few simple, but effective, burnout prevention action steps. Here’s an added benefit: Implementing these shifts in your life will likely lead to more income and more impact as well. Why? Because these practices will increase your clarity, creativity, and productivity*, while protecting your precious health.
Turn off notifications on your phone: Constant distraction from your device overwhelms your brain, which is already working hard. Maintain your focus and enhance your productivity by staying in the zone rather than being pulled out every few minutes. Use the “Focus” setting on your phone to program in your work and self care hours, only allowing in notifications from vital contacts. Do it now. :)
Do grounding practices: When you start to feel overwhelmed, grounding exercises can help anchor you in the present moment and soothe stress. Try activities like walking barefoot on grass, feeling the texture of objects around you, or laying on the floor and relaxing all of your muscles for just a few minutes.
Nourish yourself quickly and easily: Eating healthy, home-cooked meals is key to optimizing energy and mental clarity, but who has time? You do! By preparing simple batch-cooked meals such as nourishing stews, like lentil soup, black bean chili, curried vegetables or vegetable risotto. Pro tip: all of these can be prepared in an InstantPot in under 30 minutes, and they last several days!
Narrow your focus: Ok, bigger picture. Ask yourself how you could simplify what you’re currently doing? Narrow it down to a specific, niche offering that you can do better than anyone else. Get really, really good at doing ONE THING. Working towards this goal, what can you remove from your plate right now?
Workout in the morning: Get your physical movement in first thing in the morning, as this will set your entire day up for success, and it is also the best time to build muscle. Even a simple 30 minute at-home workout will do wonders for your physical comfort and mental health. Jumping out of bed to move your body rather than scrolling on your phone will result in more joy and focus for the rest of the day, I promise. (PRO TIP: I love the at-home workouts offered by AloMoves)
Do your most focused work mid-day: The hours between 10 am and 2 pm, when the sun is highest in the sky, should be sacred to us as mission-driven people. These are the hours in which we have the most laser focus for organization, discernment, problem solving and taking action. Don’t let these precious hours slip away by procrastinating.
Make soothing sounds: Take a quick afternoon break to soothe your nervous system by taking a few deep belly breaths, or try making some soothing sounds. Did you know that the sound “shhhh” actually helps calm a racing mind or an anxious system? You can also express a soft “haaaa” to release the sensation of grief and overwhelm. Be sure to take a nice big inhale, filling your lungs completely, in between each sound.
Save your evenings for relationships: Spending time with your important people is vital to living a fulfilling life. Evening hours are vital for connecting with the people you love, including family, friends and lovers. Get your tasks out of the way early so that during evening hours you can invest in nourishing key relationships.
Go to bed by 10 pm: Start winding down from the day by turning off screens and beginning your bedtime routine nice and early. Take about 10 minutes to lay on your back and prop your legs straight up against a wall to ground your nervous system and prepare for sleep. Turning out the lights by 10 pm will ensure your deepest rest so that your body can heal and repair, and you wake up feeling refreshed.
Create a Daily Routine Checklist: When I say checklist, I mean it! Make an actual list that you can check things off every day — because I know we’re a bunch of ladies who love to get things done! Be sure to include your meal breaks, self care practices, and time with loved ones in addition to your focused work times. Put everything in its respective time slot and challenge yourself to stick to it each day. If you’d like a pre-made checklist, go get ours here.
It’s really important that you take burnout seriously. Not to scare you, but not taking the time to design a life of balance prioritize self care can result in health issues, isolation, loss of passion, and low quality work. Designing your life to optimize for your wellness as well as your work will ensure that you’re able to continue on…and ultimately, see the results you’re seeking, or enjoy the fruits of your labor.
*We don’t always love to use the word “productivity” because we don’t view humans as instruments of production inside of capitalism. We want to avoid the idea that production equals value. Often, we use the word “generativity” instead because this speaks to our innate capacity to generate creative new ideas and important contributions.
Ok so, hello! I’m Sierra Brashear, MA. I am a Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner, serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Cultivate Balance. I support people on a mission who are feeling tired, scattered or overwhelmed to design simple systems that save time, optimize energy, and enhance productivity. The folks I work with often report greater impact, abundance, freedom and joy as a result of their improved routines.
I am currently expanding my network by conducting FREE 1:1 Burnout Interviews, in which I invite you to share with me where you are on your time/energy management journey. If you’re looking for a place to express your fears, frustrations and challenges around balancing it all, please find a time that works for you on my calendar below.
My goal is to listen and gather experiences so that I can put together the most impactful resources for burnout prevention and recovery — creating a program that will support all of us to continue to THRIVE!
