If you're feeling yourself wilt on the job and think that you might be falling into a bad situation, take a break. Don't let things get out of hand. Grace Bauer shows you how to work out a system that will actually make you want to go back to work.
Wilting isn't the word. Burned out is a lot closer. A few weeks ago I was ready to throw in the towel. I was too burned out. I felt like I wanted to strangle some of the people I worked with and just couldn't take it any more. So I decided to take a break and work things out — and I felt a lot better!
DON'T LET IT GO THAT FAR
See the signs ahead of time. I didn't realize how serious the signs were until I took a break. I, of course, didn't want to work. I wasn't patient with my clients. I couldn't even bear to talk to anyone. I dreaded each call. If this is you, do something before it's too late.
TAKE A BREAK
I don't care what you do, but take some sort of a break. I took a week off. I still met with my customers, but eliminated my proposal appointments and all other work. I worked each day, but had mainly the afternoons off. Unfortunately, I ended up getting a bad cold and had to rest a lot, which was probably a result of my being burned out. Also, I was in Seattle, where it rained almost every day and was pretty cold. It really wasn't such a great week off at all.
Believe it or not, even though I had a crummy week, I actually felt like getting back to work full time. I felt like a new person. I was totally shocked. I never thought that I could feel this good. Just taking a break made a tremendous change in my outlook. What a surprise!
WORK THINGS OUT
Before I even got back to work, I noticed myself starting to work things out. Yes, all those little irritations that were bothering me. I told myself, “I don't want to go back to work doing what I did before. I need to make a change.” I started creating solutions for those little irritations. For example, my suspense list was getting way out of hand. I'd just look at it every day and get a pit in the bottom of my stomach. The list went on forever. So I came up with a new procedure. At the end of the day, I now review my suspense and code those tasks that I absolutely have to do the next day. My list of more 100 went down to about 15 to 20.
A second example is that I have a habit of working at my desk from morning until late in the day. I don't take breaks and sometimes even skip lunch. I decided to start walking away from my desk at least once every hour or hour and a half. After I've finished a project or feel the sense of having enough, I do something entirely different and walk away from my desk.
My suspense system is the key to my day. I've separated my suspense activities by categories, creating a master daily checklist. The categories in my checklist include: 8:00 a.m. voicemail; morning phone calls; 11:00 a.m. voicemail; afternoon phone calls and e-mails, “other,” and “end of day.” At 8:00 a.m. I check my voicemail; in the mornings, I check and return all phone calls; at 11:00 a.m., I check my voicemail again. In the afternoon, I view and return all e-mails, complete any special projects under “other,” and then perform my “end of day.” This process begins by writing the time that I need to start work the next day, since I have phone call appointments 15 and 30 minutes apart. I then review all tasks under each master list category to identify which calls, e-mails, and projects absolutely must be done. This way, I'm always prepared for the next day.
Finding solutions to these little irritations made a huge difference in my outlook on work.
If you're feeling yourself wilt on the job and think that you might be falling into a similar situation, take a break. Don't let things get out of hand. Work out a system and you'll definitely be far better off — you'll actually want to go back to work.