Burnout: 4 Tips For When You Are Experiencing It

It would be nice if we never experienced burnout.

Especially as a mother. Burnout has a way of dragging us down.

But that is unrealistic.

Burnout is a real thing and happens to many people.

We can experience emotional burnout, mental burnout, spiritual burnout, or even physical burnout.

When we experience burnout, we must recharge and renew ourselves.

Then we can function in a way that allows us to enjoy our beautiful lives. I have discovered a few practices that help me refresh my mind and body when I feel burned out by life. These practices have always seemed to help.

If, for whatever reason, you start to feel like you can’t face what it is you are facing anymore, whether it is your job, your relationships, or whatever it may be,

I hope you stop and try one or all of these things to help refresh yourself. We can do things in our everyday life that can help prevent burnout, but I will talk about those later. Right now, I want to talk about what to do when you have already passed that point and now you can’t just function.

4 Tips For When You Are Experiencing Burnout

Take a Vacation

There was a time in my life when I thought I shouldn’t take a break or a vacation. How selfish of me. But recently, I have figured out that to recharge myself when I have reached my breaking point, I HAVE to take a vacation.

I mean, it is vital to my health and my family’s health that I give myself breaks.

When I say vacation, it could mean a variety of different things. There is the most obvious vacation from your job. My job is childcare. I absolutely love children, and I love the children I work with. However, if I didn’t allow myself to take a vacation, whether a week or two off a year or a vacation day here or there, I would burn out faster than you can say words.

We have all been there in our jobs. I don’t think I have ever met someone who can tell me they never wanted to quit their job because of burnout. If you are that person, I want to meet you!

Regardless of how much you love your job, don’t feel selfish for taking a break from it.

Taking a break from your family and/or children is also important. I know we all want to be super moms. We want to be the mom who says, “me? I never need a break from my kids.” But that’s a lie, and we all know it.

I love my kids, but I can’t be with them 24/7. It’s for my own mental health that I need to get away and get some me time.

I am a Stay at Home Mom/Work From Home Mom who homeschools her children. This means I am with them ALOT. And I absolutely LOVE it. But I need a break too.

When I feel burned out from being a mom or a wife, I need to step back and say, “I am going out for a while. See you in a few hours.”

I can come back refreshed and ready to face the tasks ahead of me as a mom and wife.

Another area I sometimes feel burned out in is housework. Some women love housework. Some women hate it. But if you feel overwhelmed by it, I suggest you allow someone else to take the reigns for a while.

This can also apply to daily tasks like paying bills, getting kids ready for the day, etc. Sometimes I need to say to my husband, “baby, I am feeling really tired and overwhelmed by my daily tasks lately. Can you please take over for me?”

Not everyone is blessed with a spouse like mine who will step right in and help me out. But if you have been or if there is someone else in your life willing to help, don’t be afraid to ask. You will thank yourself later.

2. PRAYER

My alone time with Christ is very important to me. I spend time alone with him every morning before my day starts, and when I make it a priority, I feel as though my day always goes so smoothly.

However, sometimes amidst the business of living, my daily devotional life and time in prayer get shorter or neglected altogether. During those times, I realize my life is starting to feel a lot more hectic and harder than normal.

I start feeling wearier and more like throwing in the towel. Then, I need to get back into my prayer closet and make my time with God a priority. God can and will uplift our spirits if we just ask. Time with him can do wonders for a burdened and crushed spirit under the weight of this life.

Time in prayer does not have to be long and elaborate. It can be short and simple if that is what you can do.

Five minutes is better than no minutes. God just wants us to spend time with him. He doesn’t demand a certain amount of time. If you feel overwhelmed and burdened, go into your prayer closet and cry out to God. It can and will help lift you up.

3. REMEMBER WHY

I have always found it helpful amid burnout to remember why it is that you are doing what you are doing.

For example, those dishes you are washing? You and your children have just eaten a filling meal. Laundry piling up? You and your family have warm clothes to wear. Is your job becoming burdensome? Think about the family you are providing for.

There are so many things to be thankful for.

Counting your blessings brings a new perspective to your current circumstances. Keeping the WHY to the forefront of our minds helps ward off weariness. It allows us to remember the reasons that our lives are so blessed.

4. EVALUATE

Above I wrote about remembering why we do things. I also think it is important to evaluate.

If something in your life is causing burnout and can be changed, it may be a good option to change it.

For example, Do you completely hate your job and wonder why you are doing it? Is there a different option for you and your family that will still allow you to meet your needs?

If something in your life can be changed for the better, then do it. Do you need to switch jobs? Stay home and be a stay-at-home parent? Work on your marriage? Create a new routine for your family? Maybe moving to a different house or state is on your radar and is a needed change. Whatever it is, evaluating your life and what is causing you burnout is very important.

These are just a few things that I have done in my life when I experienced burnout that helped me.

If you are overwhelmed and burdened, please try one or all of these to help yourself and your family. Use these tips to help you get back to where you need to be to enjoy life and the season you are in. Are there some things you do when you feel burned out to help renew yourself? Please leave a comment below and share!

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