4 Ways Working Moms Can Reduce Overwhelm and Avoid Burnout

Burnout among women juggling the responsibilities of a demanding career and home is at an all-time high. There are many reasons for this increase such as working lounger hours, having less time for family and social interactions and increased personal demands. Burnout doesn't happen overnight. A series of stressful events, and life changes happen over time that build up to a point where you feel like you can't escape. When we are facing overwhelm, stress and burnout, not only do our careers suffer but our physical, mental and spiritual health suffer as well. So how do we get to an state of well-being in our personal and professional lives? Below are 4 tips to help working moms reduce overwhelm and prevent burnout:

1. Self awareness

To manage burnout, we need to have a deep understanding of self. We have to be aware of our own strengths, beliefs, emotions, thoughts and behavior. A person who is self aware can then change the way they react to stress and learn techniques to combat it. Start by speaking the truth about your situation. Spend some time on internal reflection. Develop a quiet space where you can go and not be interrupted. Having this dedicated time will allow the noise in your head to disappear and solutions to emerge.

2. Work-life balance

It's important to develop work-life balance early on. Having a 24/7 connection to world can make it difficult to find balance between your personal and professional life. Balance is giving the right amount of attention to the things that matter. It doesn't mean that we can always divide this time equally among the different areas of our lives. We need to identify what is important to us in our personal and professional lives, and decide what takes priority when the struggle to be present for both arises. Being out of balance and dealing with burnout can cause you to miss life's most important moments. We can't be present for others if we are under constant stress and experiencing burnout.

3. Adapt to change

Our personal and professional lives go through different stages. Just like we have to adapt to the changing seasons, we also have to learn how to adapt to our own changes. There will be times when our personal lives may need more attention because of life events such as the birth of a child, the loss of a loved one or illness. Our professional lives may also need more attention during times of increased work demands like preparing for a presentation or working on a big project. Being aware of what's important and being willing to be flexible will allow you to be able to develop a framework to deal with these challenges. It will help to make these encounters easier to manage and keep you in balance.

4. Recharge

Learning to take the time to recoup in between challenging times is also important. Time is needed to recharge so that it's easier to be resilient and bounce back. Recharging allows your mind to develop a new set-point. You will become more focused, more productive, and better prepared to deal with the next challenge. Chronic stress develops because we allow negative situations to continue to build without allowing time to reset. It's difficult to sustain living with constant stress. Taking 10 minutes a day to sit quietly can have long lasting effects.

You have to create the life you want to live and believe it can happen. What would have to be true for that to happen? What would you have to let go of? What areas of you life do you want to improve?

Take time to reflect on the above questions and leave your comments below.

For more tips on taking time to recharge, download our free guide 5 Ways to Take Time For Yourself Without Feeling Guilty