4 Steps to Relieve Burnout

Ok, now that we have a clear understanding of what burnout is and what causes it, let’s figure out how to effectively relieve burnout. 

Burnout can be tricky. There are so many causes, and with that comes a lot of different possible solutions. The first thing to know is nobody and nothing will get you out of burnout but you. I’m not saying that you caused your own burnout, but no matter who or what put you in this situation, you have to be your own savior. As with every problem, there are really only 3 options. You can change yourself, you can change your situation or you can change your relationship with the situation. All of them start with you.

You may be thinking, “they burned me out, why do I need to change anything?” I completely understand the question, but this thinking isn’t going to get you past burnout. Your company isn’t going to suddenly change their culture. That friend isn’t going to somehow take accountability for everything overnight. So, the quicker you accept that the ball’s in your court, the quicker you’ll put yourself in a position to overcome burnout. 

The good news is, we built a structure to give you 4 easy steps to relieve burnout, so you’re not completely on your own. Using the latest in burnout research and the science of Flow State as our inspiration, we built the 4 Cs of Burnout framework to help people with a 360º solution. Our approach accounts for the causes and the symptoms we discussed last week and introduces a practical system to get out of the burnout cycle for good.

The 4 Cs of Burnout Recovery are: Capacity, Confidence, Code, Community.

In the following weeks we’ll go in depth into each of these, but for now I will just introduce them.

Capacity - This C is mostly to address the Work Overload component of Burnout. This is about using strategic structure and active recovery to give you the space you need to accomplish the tasks at hand. One of the best ways to build capacity is through implementing holistic wellness solutions like meditation, sound treatments, and mindful movement, which rewire our brain to be able to handle more.

Confidence - This C is about helping us get out of the Cynicism and Negative Self-Response that defines burnout. Burnout can be a key cause of Imposter Syndrome. Once you have the space of Capacity, we'll then direct our attention to rebuild our confidence. To get your mojo back it’s really helpful to focus on consistency, competence, and corroboration. Consistency is about showing up,  competence is about learning and applying that knowledge, and corroboration is the feedback that you’re on the right track.  If you think about it, what you’re ultimately trying to do is trust yourself again. These will help, no doubt.

Code - This C primarily focuses on the Values Misalignment piece of burnout, but also has a tremendous effect on Autonomy, Unfairness and Reward as well. Now that you have the space to act, and the confidence to act with conviction, let’s make sure your energy is being used in a way that aligns with who you are and what you want.  Cracking your code is about establishing (or re-establishing) your purpose and values to give you a north star and framework for every decision. This limits the cognitive load of life in a major way. You don’t have to question if something is for you, you will know whether it aligns with your purpose, mission and goals or not. You won’t have to wonder if a certain company will make sense for you; you will have a rubric to clearly vet whether or not their values overlap with yours. 

Community - This one is clearly linked to Community Breakdown, but again this one can help you flip your ideas about Autonomy as well - which we’ll get into in the coming weeks. Community is about pouring into others and allowing them to pour into you. It is honing your ability to have clear communication that expresses and solicits expectations to create trust. This trust component will help earn you the right  to do the things you want to do (Autonomy), and also space for courageous conversations around Unfairness. Once you start showing up as yourself, confidently, and living up to your code, you will begin to attract your tribe and your community will grow naturally. This C helps cultivate the skills needed to build and maintain those relationships.

That’s it! The 4 steps that give you relief and help you Break Up With Burnout for good! Now that we’ve clearly defined our problem and our approach to the solution, over the next few weeks we’ll start to add more detail to each of these components and help you reframe your world.