One of the most common problems plaguing female professionals today is burnout. According to Deloitte’s Women at Work study in 2022, more than 50% of women reported higher stress levels and nearly as many said that they experience burnout. In fact, nearly 40% of women looking for a new company cite burnout as a “top driving factor.” Due to work pressures, giving yourself your much-needed self-care can seem impossible. This is despite many experts, like those at the National Institute of Mental Health, noting that self-care is crucial for overall wellness and a good standard of life. As such, if you’re a busy career woman who feels overworked, we’ll look at some self-care tips you can work into your busy schedule:
Doing mindfulness exercises
Doing mindfulness exercises like meditation can help you stay empowered and avoid burnout. In a previous post discussing three nuggets of wisdom, we highlighted how aromatherapy could help unlock your mind and nurture your mental well-being. A lot of mindfulness exercises focus on a form of meditation. This may be difficult for beginners or people who aren’t used to it, so relying on external factors like aromatherapy or calming music and sounds to set the mood while you meditate can help. Aside from meditations, being more mindful can help you become more purpose-driven in your work or business. Working on your self-mastery can help you better control your emotional well-being, health, and intuition for growth and recovery.
Nourish and celebrate your body with food
Taking care of your physical health is as important as caring for your mental well-being. After all, the saying “you are what you eat” does hold some truth in that you need to fuel your body and mind with the right nutrients to function properly in and out of work. Contrary to popular belief, eating the right food to achieve this need not be boring or restrictive. Advice from professional weight loss programs will help to highlight how there are no “good” or “bad” foods — just nutritious and less nutritious ones. Getting overwhelmed by your workload can make unhealthy eating choices an easy escape, so it’s important to strike a balance. To do this, being more mindful and aware of what and how you eat can help you take care of your body without needing a deprivation diet. Some ways to do this are by tracking your food intake to boost consistency, savoring your meal times, and adding a few more nutritious foods to your typical fare.
Reaching out to support systems
Support systems vary depending on your situation. Some people’s support system comes in the form of friends and family, while others find comfort in a support system at work. Genuine friendships in the workplace can be a mutual support system that creates a sense of belonging. On top of preventing feelings of burnout, a solid support system can also boost your work satisfaction and relieve work stress. On the other hand, if you’re more comfortable with a support system outside of work, it’s important to practice honest and efficient communication with loved ones so that they know where you’re at and how your professional life may be coloring your personal life.
Setting boundaries at work
Lastly, setting boundaries can significantly reduce the risk of burnout. Insights from Quartz emphasize that setting better boundaries at work can also decrease absenteeism and, more importantly, prevent serious health risks. Extreme fatigue can lead to harmful health conditions if it goes unnoticed, so taking action to increase the mental distance from your job can be a great way to establish a healthy work-life balance. One of the things you can do to set better boundaries is to define the urgency of your tasks at work. Identifying which of your workload should be prioritized can help prevent stress over non-urgent tasks. This also means that when you’re not at work, it’s important to disengage — turn off notifications and skip unimportant meetings when possible. Work is important, but your mental and physical health should come first.
