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Avoid burnout! Learn how to cope with work & life challenges

Let’s face it – work is stressful. It can push us to the limits and yet also sometimes be the best thing about our day. It’s a huge defining point of who we are and how we structure our lives.

So when work hits the point of ‘crisis’, as The Crisis Book authors Rick Hughes, Andrew Kinder & Cary Cooper write, it is imperative that you have a set of exercises or actions to help you deal with ‘crisis mode’.

With so many projects, people, meetings, emails, and tasks pulling us in so many different directions, it’s no wonder that some of us reach burnout.

To help with this, here are a few tips from The Crisis Book:

From Part One, Work Stressors

Workload

Schedule

Prioritize the difficult tasks first; these can be better managed when you have your peak energy.

Perfectionist.

No one is expected to be perfect. Appreciate when it’s better to complete all tasks well, against completing only some tasks brilliantly, and vice versa.

Communicate.

Explain to your boss the pressures you face. Sometimes talking about it to colleagues can help identify solutions.

From Part Two, Work-Life Skills

Resilience

Purpose

Having a firm sense of personal beliefs, value and intent gives you the power to progress through tough times with conviction and resolve.

People

Forge positive relationships with family and friends. Reach out to bolster your wider community through networking meetings, social media and family events. Having a rich pool of contacts and connections offers leverage and sources of help in a range of situations.

Acceptance

Appreciate that bad things do happen and plans can change. Seek out a new reality and focus on the new opportunities and options that invite a better way forward.

From Part Five, Personal Life Management

Stress

Demands

Do you have an excessive workload or too much to deal with? Home, relationship and family demands apply here too. Match what is required of you to what you can cope with, delegate or share the load, change work patterns to suit you and maintain a realistic pace.

Control

Do you have sufficient control or power over what you do? Are others diverting your time? Find ways to assert your rights and needs.

Support

Is there enough support around you to achieve what’s required of you? Identify the resources you need to achieve your task. Seek out the motivation, inspiration and encouragement you need. Be open to asking for (and offering) help and identify and communicate your needs.

For further tips, buy your very own copy of The Crisis Book here.