Burnt Out

It’s been one of those weeks.

I’m exhausted.

My average sleep at night has been 2 hours less than ideal.

My workout schedule is greatly decreased.

(Okay, I’ll admit… it is nonexistent this week.)

My eyes burn and droop many times throughout the day and I constantly feel like I’m not going to make it

… And yet when I get home, I drag myself through the seemingly endless random tasks I’ve laid out for myself.

When will it end???

Eventually, I come to terms with the fact that I’m failing more and more quickly as each day passes,

and it is TIME to catch up.

So what do I do when I get totally burnt out?

I have several methods of dealing with this.

I tell myself it’s okay to not work out every day. Sometimes I get in a rut and start thinking “no, I can’t go home early to get the laundry done. I’ve worked out every day since Monday and I’m not going to break the cycle.”

It comes to a point where a good habit suddenly becomes an issue when it comes to the other necessities, so I have to take a day or two to step back.

I make sure that if I don’t work out, I still get in a short walk or a quick cardio or body weight “session” (I put that in quotations because “session” might mean only 5-10 minutes) at home so that I have been active at least a little bit.

I tell myself I’ll do at least one productive thing before I rest, whether it’s tackling the laundry, washing the dishes, making our meals for the next day, paying the bills, or even just making the bed if it didn’t get done that morning. The thought of only having one task gets me going, and usually that leads to working for several hours without noticing how productive I’m being (which is good – this kind of work calms my mind and gives me time to relax).

I prep a full supper, giving me an opportunity to have a chill evening the next day.

I make it a rule not to drink caffeine after 6:00 PM for optimal sleep (even if it doesn’t keep me up, I’m restless throughout the night and wake up with puffy eyes and a stayed-up-til-3 feeling in my brain).

I make my lunch and find my outfit (part of my nightly routine) earlier, so that getting ready for bed is quicker.

I take an extra-long shower.

I do a face mask to feel just a little bit pampered (plus nice and moisturized). 

I put my diffuser going. My favorite calming and refreshing nighttime blend is

lavender, frankincense, eucalyptus, and peppermint.

I put the humidifier going (during the winter, if it’s too dry, my nose burns inside and it’s too painful to fall asleep).

I turn my sound machine app on.

I stay off of my phone once I’m in bed.

I go to bed early. Sometimes I ask my husband to come to bed early too; it’s easier to fall asleep if he’s there.

If I have to cry, I let it happen.

I’m one of those people who lets my stress build up over time and eventually I’m so tense and touchy that anything can tip me over the edge.

A good cry relieves an unbelievable amount of that.

Sometimes I sit down, rest my head on my hands, close my eyes, and take three deep breaths because it’s all I really have time to do.

And that’s okay.

The most important thing to me is that I’ve found simple and small things that I can do to manage my stress when I’m wearing thin.

I love to do all of these things, and I know that the more of them I get done in one day, the easier it is for me to recover when I’m feeling this way. However, I don’t stress if I don’t get all of them done.

I prioritize them – ie, I think “what do I need to do to make sure getting ready for work tomorrow will be as painless as possible?” and I save the laundry for tomorrow because I still need to shower today.

You may already apply some of these habits in your life, and maybe you already know all of them.

In that case, I hope you found this post at least relatable! 🙂

Until next time,

CHARA

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