How to DO MORE without burning out
Being busy is easy
The demands of business in the 2020’s mean that it is normal to be busy. In fact, most people are stretched and many regularly feel overwhelmed. In the post-covid lockdown period business is busy but ‘clunky’. Nothing happens easily. Our battles are with staff shortages, supply chain issues and ongoing sickness (flu and covid) that makes it very difficult to deliver on time. Inflationary pressures make keeping to budgets impossible. Many are working very hard often covering several positions. The economy is hitting some turbulence and it is becoming more challenging to make a profit.
Combined with the pressures in the workplace we have all the demands of our personal lives. For those with families, these demands have possibly increased during lockdowns. We enjoyed being there more often for our children while working from home. We want to better integrate our work with all that is precious in our lives. This is adding to an unsettledness that is quite pervasive across many industries.
How do we DO MORE without burning out?
The ELMO Employee Sentiment Index (April 2022) tells us that almost half (46%) of Australian employees are feeling burnt out. Increasing workloads and responsibility and a decreasing sense of security about their jobs, are seen as contributing causes. The same report indicates that 44% are actively planning to look for a new job this year.
Burnout is an issue for leaders as well with nearly 60% of leaders (Forbes) reporting they feel used up at the end of the workday.
DOING MORE is not the answer
As a survivor of burnout, after 24 years as CEO of a large organisation, I understand the devastating consequences such an experience can bring. I was continually DOING MORE in my busy role. During that period I lost perspective. I was continually restless and could not relax. I just kept on functioning because I did not know what else to do and the work kept needing to be done. Looking back, after I was healthy again, I realise that I had forgotten to keep working on me. I had stopped growing as a person. I started to become consumed by the role. I needed to BECOME MORE instead of continually trying to DO MORE.
BECOMING MORE takes courage
If you are depleted in any way, it is difficult to fight back against the overwhelm that can so easily consume. It takes a lot of courage to carve out the space to work on your self when you are living a demanding life. To become more you must face down challenges facing you. Those challenges can be huge pressures, people, insecurities, past failures, your need to be needed, imposter syndrome, etc.
Facing down those challenges is like conquering the ‘mountains of life’. If you have ever climbed a large mountain, you will know it takes courage and great stamina. However, as you do, you build (or re-build) healthy self-respect. This self-respect enables you to know what you want with clarity and say ‘Yes’ without obligation and ‘No’ without guilt. Self-respect enables you to set secure boundaries around your life and your work. Self-respect is the gift that ONLY you can give yourself. No-one else can give it to you.
Doing less of some things will lead to MORE of the right things
In many ways the key to becoming more is to do less. Less busyness. Less scattering of your focus and your energy. More focus and more effectiveness in those few things you truly know you MUST focus upon. The challenge is to invest the time in yourself and your business to be able to know what those key things are that MUST be done. Rather than just doing everything or the next thing, successful business owners are those who consistently do the right things.
In my keynote I speak about the key things you need to work on to lay a foundation for becoming MORE:
How to discover or rediscover healthy self-respect – as you face down the various types of MOUNTAINS that come up in your life
How to know what you really want from your business and life – so you can see OPPORTUNITIES coming towards you rather than flying past you
How to be on a personal growth pathway so you are always able to RE-ENVISION your life
How to set and implement effective self-care strategies so that you always have ENERGY for high impact times.
To enquire about booking me for an industry or franchise conference or a corporate offsite please go to: John Drury Speaker. To have a conversation about how I can help you in your personal situation go to: Book a Conversation with John