Late last year, I made the decision to expand my services to include corporate speaking engagements. As a result, I've been doing a significant amount of reading about burnout as I research how to differentiate myself as a corporate speaker. What I've found most interesting is that many books and articles provide a comprehensive review of the tactics we should use to combat burnout; however, they often correlate burnout to work - specifically work in a corporate setting.

As someone who has worked with retirees, stay-at-home moms, non-corporate employees, and entrepreneurs I've learned that burnout doesn't discriminate. It isn't reserved for the corporate workhorse, it also happens to the perfectionist, please-pleaser, or achiever who carries these traits into their relationships, hobbies, and personal growth and development.

Keep reading to learn what I've found to be the true cause of burnout and the 4 culprits that can lead us to this stressful state.

By the end of this blog, you'll be able to identify exactly where to begin your journey to avoid or break free from burnout.

The connection between overwhelm and burnout.

Burnout is the result of an extended period of overwhelm.

Why is that people from all walks of life regardless of their occupation or work status experience burnout? Because we all experience overwhelm. Overwhelm isn't just reserved for our work, it can also come from other aspects of our lives. For this reason, if we want to solve the problem of burnout, we need to expand our focus.

There are two reasons we feel overwhelmed - we accept or create it.

When we lack clarity about boundaries, we accept overwhelm.
We accept tasks and projects we don't have the capacity for, we agree to outings we don't have the time or energy to participate in, we accept gifts we don't want or may not have room for in our homes.

When we lack clarity about our capacity, we create overwhelm.
We create new projects to work on or we start a business or secondary/tertiary degree even though we already have a plate that's full. We're also shopping, travelling, and eating out even though we don't have the budget or the time to give to it.

Basically, we're at capacity, but we continue to accept or add more until we're bursting at the seams. The longer this lasts, the more we feel overwhelmed. The longer we're overwhelmed, the closer we get to burnout.

Where we create and accept overwhelm: The Core 4

The Core 4 are the key environments where we accept or create overwhelm.

They include your home, your schedule, your expenses, and your work.
An honorable mention goes out to your relationships, however this is also deeply intertwined with your schedule. When you begin eliminating overwhelm in your schedule you will also shift the nature and dynamic of your relationships.

Let's walk through each environment.

Your Home

Overwhelm in your home is a sign of mental exhaustion.

It occurs when making decisions feels never-ending and every decision seems to fall on your shoulders. You'll start here if you've been stressed thinking about your goals and responsibilities, how to execute them, and what it takes to move towards them each day.

While your entire home can feel overwhelming, there are 5 rooms to prioritize. They are your kitchen, living room, office, closet, and bedroom (especially if this doubles as an office). These 5 rooms are a priority because this is where your spend the majority of your time at home.

Each of these rooms have their own underlaying cause for overwhelm as described below:

• kitchen - overwhelmed by decisions related to emotional and physical well-being.
• office - overwhelmed by decisions related to managing your time and money.
• living room - overwhelmed by decisions related to personal growth and relationships.
• closet - overwhelmed by decisions related to how you're perceived by others.
• bedroom - overwhelmed by decisions related to your future.

When you begin removing overwhelm from your home, you'll find that you have the mental capacity to execute tasks, activities, and routines that support the life you desire to create.

Get started by identifying what you don't need, love, or use.

Your Schedule & Expenses

Overwhelm in your schedule or expenses is a sign of emotional exhaustion.

It is the result of saying yes to everything because someone asked or because you feel that you're expected to. Start here if you feel like you're always doing for others and leaving no time to do for yourself.

While I recommend you focus on each of these separately, I've grouped them together because where your money goes, time flows and vice versa.

To eliminate overwhelm in your schedule and expenses, you'll review and reflect on:

⌛ how time is spent outside of work for two weeks
💵 how money is spent for one month

While there may be some variations week over week or month over month, focusing on these two metrics will help you identify where you commonly allocate your energy and attention.

When you begin removing overwhelm from your schedule and expenses, you'll finally have the energy sustain your ideal habits and routines.

Start by identifying what feels like an obligation.

Your Work

Overwhelm in your work is a sign of physical exhaustion.

If this is you, most likely you've been on a daily grind in hopes that one day the to-do list will get shorter, but that day still hasn't come. Start here if life feels like a repetition between work, sleep, and repeat.

To eliminate overwhelm in your work, you need to understand the projects and tasks that fill your time.

This will require tracking your time for at least one work week so that you can clearly see how you're committing your time and energy - not just how you think you're committing it.

When you begin to eliminate what overwhelms you at work, you'll have more productive work days, feel more accomplished, and have the energy to live your life when you finally slam your laptop shut.

Start here by identifying what feels like it should be on someone else's plate.

FAQ: What if all four environments feel overwhelming?

Start where you feel the most stress.

🥴 Is being at home so overwhelming that you'd rather do anything but be there? Start at home.

🫥 Are you dreading answering phone calls and texts or praying for rain so you don't have to maintain your commitments? Start with your time or expenses.

😫 Is work so draining that you can even begin to think about the rest of your life? Start with work.

The good news is you can't do this wrong.

Eliminating overwhelm in one environment will naturally impact the others.

For example, when you begin with eliminating overwhelm in your home you will have the capacity to make better decisions about how you want to spend your personal time and money. As you become more confident in managing your time you will carry that behavior into your work and become more diligent about setting boundaries around your work to maintain balance in your life.

Where will you begin?

Share in the comments below.