Hey there!

Thought I’d share a real time update! 

While ‘burn out’ is a ‘real thing’, the remedy for when you find yourself burnt out isn’t a quick fix! Everything that I read would take time – make sure you’re getting enough sleep, make sure you’re eating healthy meals, limit caffeine and alcohol, exercise frequently. While all of those things help, it wasn’t the answer I was looking for. 

I was feeling burnt out, overwhelmed and the crazy part was that I didn’t feel the symptoms coming on. I did not feel any more fatigued than I typically did. I was getting enough sleep and exercising regularly. However, I started noticing that I was somewhat incapable of providing any ‘extra’. I was doing the bare minimum to get by (and I’m not the bare minimum type of person). Anything extra was hard for me to mentally wrap my head around. 

It felt like my cup was full of water and any little additional ask or something that I didn’t see coming, made my cup overflow. 

Then I started noticing that I was being short with my colleagues. 

Once that happened and upon reflection of my last 6 months, I realized I was truly burnt out. My ‘symptoms’ were manifesting in different ways than I had expected but it was burnout nonetheless.

I quickly scheduled time in one of the world’s most beautiful places.

Hawaii.

My 3 Rs to addressing burn out: Resetting, Remembering and Restructuring 

Typically when people refer to R&R they’re mean ‘rest and relaxation’. In my world, I focus on the 3 Rs: Resetting, remembering and restructuring.

1. Resetting: When I’m overwhelmed or feeling burnt out, I often need a hard ‘reset’. I need something so out of the ‘ordinary’ to happen that I address my current situation. As an example, I will reset with signing up for a marathon or going on a trip / taking time off from work. While it may seem like I’m taking a drastic shift, it’s because I am. Purposefully. Something in my current way of being isn’t working and in order to trigger everything inertia is pushing along, I need to reset. 
2. Remembering: This may seem counterintuitive. Why reflect on your memories? Here’s why. Remembering why you were on the path you were on can be enough to reground in your purpose. Let’s face it. The day to day can be fairly lackluster. It can suck the soul out of you at times especially when your focus can be pulled in so many ways. Taking time to remember what path you were on is a great start to determining where you went astray. 
3. Restructuring: you’re reading this post for a reason. Something about your current situation isn’t working for you. Is it the people you’re surrounded by? Is your life unnecessarily complex? Do you find yourself making all of the decisions or do you find yourself in an unhealthy spot?

Generally speaking, most of us don’t have the chance to hit pause and change our entire life (nor do we know what to change it to!). Big changes don’t happen overnight – but I always like to think about 1-2 things I can do today that can make a difference. Ideally, outsized upside. 

As an example, I can set my alarm for 1 hour earlier and ease into my day. This gives me more time to think, more time to savor my coffee. I started grocery shopping online so that I could pick up my groceries (or have them delivered) and save time, effort and energy. 

While these small things may not be life changing, they are different ways to strengthen how I’m feeling about my life more positively. Sometimes that’s all I need to get myself into a stronger place.

Hawaii is a beautiful place to resettle into Nature’s energy. A place where the ocean’s waves kiss the sand, the sunsets give way to a star pierced night sky and the sunrises breathe new life into us each day.

Think about it – mahalo,

M