Four tips for avoiding burnout

Stress is a fact of life but there are ways tech can help you overcome it

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In association with Mobile Pixels

Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and psychological fatigue that is caused by prolonged periods of stress and tension. Essentially, it is a form of exhaustion that happens when you’re feeling constantly overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and burdened by the incessant and endless demands of life that are relentlessly piling upon you.

Typically, burnout happens when you’re feeling swamped with work and education, but its consequences can affect everything from your professional and academic career to your personal life and social relationships. The problem with burnout is that it can gradually build up within you without you noticing until it is seriously affecting your quality of life.

There are a number of ways to address burnout, here are some tips and tricks that can be used either as a preventative measure or a remedial course of action if you are struggling.

Reclaim control

At the end of the day, stress is an unfortunate and inevitable fact of life. When stress becomes extended and unrelenting, however, it results in the debilitating condition known as burnout. Its symptoms extend far beyond your career prospects and interpersonal relationships, and research has linked it to various health problems such as sleep disturbances, irritability, hypertension and depression.

One of the root causes of burnout is feeling as if you have lost or are losing control over the most important aspects of your life, leading to feelings such as helplessness and frustration. Resolving burnout requires serious changes at the organizational level of wherever you are working or studying, but there are personal steps you can take towards recovery and prevention.

A critical step to reducing burnout is reclaiming control. This can include prioritising your health by setting clear boundaries, reducing your exposure to whatever or whoever is troubling you, seeking out meaningful and constructive interpersonal connections, and creating a space that inspires, comforts and motivates you.

Declutter your space

Following the last point, decluttering your space is an excellent way to take control then progress on to more significant changes. The truth is that people often underestimate how a mismanaged and cluttered space can slow you down while you’re working, studying or gaming.

When you’re struggling with burnout, it can make a stressful and exasperating situation more difficult than it needs to be – especially when you can’t find what you need when you need it. It has been proven that there is a correlation between your physical environment and your psychological state, and when either one of these is overwhelmed and chaotic, it is bound to affect the other.

Reclaiming control of your life can seem like a daunting prospect and decluttering your space is a simple solution for you to take that first step in the right direction. There are several ways you can do this, including buying filing cabinets and binders, stationery holders and cable organisers, and by reducing the amount of electronics on your desk.

Manage your electronics

We’re living in a digital era, and practically anyone who is studying or working is using several devices simultaneously. On your desk, for example, you likely have a laptop or desktop PC, a monitor or two, a keyboard, a pair of headphones, and a mouse. If you are a gaming enthusiast or you are working from home, then you’re probably going to have at least two monitors to accommodate your needs.

These can all contribute to a cluttered space, and before you realise you are drowning in all sorts of trailing cables, blinking lights, and glowing screens. This is why portable second monitors such as the Mobile Pixels Duex Lite are such an ingenious and pioneering solution. They essentially function as a second screen that can be magnetically attached to your PC or your laptop, conserving precious real estate on your desk and enabling effortless organisation.

What’s more, you’ll be offered the convenience of multiple devices without the hassle of managing them all. With this surprisingly simple and yet effective resolution, your space can become a sanctuary and a source of inspiration and reflection rather than a cause for stress.

Prioritise yourself

In the midst of your hectic and unpredictable routine, you may neglect to prioritise yourself. Rather than pursuing personal growth and development, individuals become consumed with ticking activities from their checklist at the expense of their well-being. In order to continue fulfilling your usual responsibilities and duties while also avoiding burnout, you must regularly replenish your physical and emotional energy.

It isn’t hard to do this, and can be as simple as cultivating good sleeping habits, eating healthily, exercising, connecting with those you love and creating firm boundaries. If something or someone is causing you unreasonable trouble, then you should be able to step away or, at the very least, take some time to make an informed decision.

Ultimately, you want to reduce your exposure to people, activities, and situations which are contributing to your burnout, and instead invest in whatever reenergises and reinvigorates you. It’s important to reserve some space and time for rest, leisure and entertainment.

In conclusion

When you’re experiencing it, burnout can often seem like it is an insurmountable and impossible problem. Nothing could be further from the truth. When you are feeling overwhelmed and exhausted like this, it is a response to a problem you are facing – not an indication of a problem within yourself. There are solutions out there and it is just a matter of you applying them.

Recognising that you have burnout is an incredible first step in the right direction. After this, it is just about reclaiming control and prioritising yourself. Whether it is setting boundaries, creating time and space exclusively for yourself, or seeking out positive environments, activities and people. Addressing the visual clutter on your desk is the perfect way to satisfy your brain’s natural desire for efficiency and clarity, so that you can begin pursuing a happier, healthier and more enjoyable life.

For information on Mobile Pixels’ range of dual screen monitors and portable screens visit https://www.mobilepixels.us/