Category Archives: Improving Yourself

Anyone who has been in a job for a few years may have experienced burnout, which can either be mental or physical exhaustion—or both. When burned out, problems seem insoluble, everything looks and feels dull and it’s difficult to muster up the energy to keep going.

Fortunately, you can do something to help alleviate the feeling of detachment and unhappiness, which can threaten your job, relationships and health. Here’s how you can overcome burnout and feel positive again at work.

1. Be Sociable at Work
Talking to a good listener is one of the best ways to calm down and relieve stress. The person you’re talking to does not have to be able to find solution to your problem; they just have to be able to listen to you attentively without judging you. Do not worry about being a burden to anyone. Your friends will be flattered to know that you trust them enough to share your feelings with them.

2. Find Value in What You Do
This one can be difficult during these times. But try your best to focus on how you make others feel by doing even the most mundane jobs. Focus on the aspects of the tasks that you enjoy doing. Changing your perception and attitude towards work can help regain your sense of purpose.

3. Set Boundaries
As much as possible, learn to decline requests. Do not overextend yourself and learn the art of saying “no.” If you think the job tasked on you is beyond your role, say no to it. Declining doesn’t mean you’re being a brat at work; it allows you to say “yes” to things that you really want to do.

4. Prioritize Exercise
This may be the last thing you want to do when you feel burned out, but exercise does a lot in kicking away mental stress. It also helps boost your mood. Other than regular exercise, try to eat more healthily. Minimize sugar and carbs and more on omega-3 fatty acids.

5. Take Some Time Off
If feeling burned out seems intolerable, take a break from work. Call in sick, go on vacation, ask your boss for a leave-of-absence—anything to keep you away from work for at least a day. Use this time to recharge and pursue something that will help you recover.

Above all, take care of yourself. Do what makes you happy. Because when you’re happy, it is easier to deal with life’s everyday stressors.

Saying “yes” most of the time entails some sort of commitment such as work opportunities, social invitations, expensive skin care, boss’ requests, marriage etc. basically everything! While one is expected to say yes to these things, learning to say the other way around—especially when your heart is not into it, can actually have sweet benefits.

Here are the justifiable reasons why it is OK to say NO:

1. It gives you freedom. Humans as we are, we don’t really mean all our “Yeses”, sometimes we’re just forced to say it because we are afraid to hurt or disappoint the people around us. But when you feel like saying no, it saves you energy from doing things you don’t want and you play fair not just to these people but to yourself most importantly. It would be such a relief if you can just say no. you just have to learn the right words to say and courage to do it.

2. You’ll have lesser regrets to look back to. Again, this can be a result of saying yes to things you never wanted. When you look back, one way or another, you will have your share of regrets why you wasted so much time about something or someone, or maybe why you haven’t spent your attention to what you really want!

3. You will not miss out on anything. At certain point, especially adults in the professional world experience this feeling. When saying no to a job opportunity for example, a feeling of missing out something sets in. But whether it’s about saying no to a night out or job opportunity, it does not mean that you already missed out half of your life—sometimes, you feel like saying no because it was not meant for you and you are smart to figure that out.

4. You will be respected for it. When you always say yes to everyone, you are giving them the opportunity and right to get whatever they need from you. If you want others to respect you (your time, decision etc.), you have to respect yourself first and saying no to things you don’t want is the first step. After all, some people would hate you for declining but if they truly care about you and would want to stay in your life, they will understand and respect you for saying NO.