We all experience burnout from time to time. We find ourselves feeling overwhelmed when our obligations converge upon us all at once. The trick is to recognize what is happening and reset and reframe.
Kimberly Kelly Fahey, senior vice president, global client delivery at Randstad Sourceright, is no stranger to burnout. She tells a story about working with a client in a different time zone who habitually waited until Friday evening to call her about upcoming project needs for the next week. Fahey could never fully relax, waiting on edge for this client to get in touch.
In sharing this conundrum, Fahey got some great advice. “A friend and former colleague told me that ‘you need to train people how to treat you,’” she writes. “My friend stressed that I needed to ‘train’ the customer to treat me differently. I took her words to heart, and I became determined to change the behavior and ‘retrain’ both the customer, and myself, so that I could put my work away for the weekend.”
Once Fahey became her “own proactive agent of change,” she was able to move toward a healthier work-life balance. She is also more attuned to the signs of burnout and the need to step back. “For me,” she says, “that involves being proactive about training and retraining myself – and others – to respect my boundaries and treat me how I want to be treated. It works for me, and I think it can work for you too.”
Read the rest of Fahey’s tips in Thrive Global to learn more about taking care of yourself and avoiding burnout. You can also check out this article, “4 tips to help you incorporate exercise into your day,” for tips on how to stay active and improve your well-being.
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