How to Deal with Burnout at Work: 10 Surprising Tactics

Work burnout is more than just feeling tired. It’s a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion. And it’s more than just feeling this way at work. It seeps into ALL aspects of your life. Your health. Your personal time. Your relationships. Your sleep.

And with over 75% of professionals reporting burnout at their jobs, you’re not alone in feeling this way.

But how do you handle the seemingly never-ending feeling? When the stress never seems to let up?

In this post, we’ll cover proven strategies to help you beat burnout, reclaim your well-being, and restore some tranquility in your life. Let’s dive in.

How To Deal With Burnout At Work: 10 Surprising Tactics

Table of Contents: 

• 1/ Set clear boundaries between work and personal life
• 2/ Say no (without feeling guilty)
• 3/ Reevaluate your workload and tasks
• 4/ Take regular breaks and plan time off
• 5/ Establish a "shutdown" ritual
• 6/ Take care of your body
• 7/ Know what you want – and don’t want
• 8/ Take up a creative or enjoyable hobby
• 9/ Take a sabbatical
• 10/ Build your escape plan

What is Work Burnout? Signs to Watch Out For

Work burnout is more than just feeling stressed or tired after a long week. It’s a state of chronic emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by continuous workplace stress. Stress can be helpful. It’ll certainly motivate you temporarily to meet deadlines or overcome challenges. But burnout will leave you feeling drained, unable to function well in your job, and emanating negative energy everywhere you go.

They can probably feel the same to you. But stress will typically dissolve once the stressor has been solved or handled. But burnout? That tends to linger even after the work pressure eases. And it tends to be more severe.

Common Symptoms of Burnout

Burnout can manifest in various ways. Most commonly it’ll show up as emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. Emotional exhaustion leaves you feeling mentally depleted. And makes it difficult to engage with your tasks or coworkers. Depersonalization is a sense of detachment from your work. Like viewing colleagues or tasks with a sense of emotional distance. Reduced personal accomplishment means you no longer feel effective. Or proud of your work. This can lead to feelings of failure and inadequacy.

Physical and Mental Signs to Recognize Burnout Early

Burnout isn’t just mental. It can have serious physical effects too. Some early signs include:

• Increased irritability or frustration with coworkers or tasks: Simple tasks you once handled with ease may now feel overwhelming. Or downright irritating. You may find yourself snapping at coworkers or becoming easily frustrated.
• Cynical or negative outlook towards work: You might catch yourself thinking negatively about your job. Even questioning its purpose. Feeling hopeless or disillusioned with work is a red flag that burnout may be creeping in.
• Emotional numbness or feeling “checked out”: If you're feeling emotionally detached from your work. Just going through the motions could be a sign of depersonalization, a key symptom of burnout.
• Feeling unappreciated or undervalued: Feeling like your efforts aren’t recognized or valued can lead to burnout. If you feel that no matter how hard you work, it’s never enough – it’s time to assess your mental health.

And just like any other illness, it’s important to catch it early. Before it crushes your well-being. And affects your productivity, happiness, and quality of life.

We have some strategies to help you combat burnout. We’ll break these strategies into 2 buckets:

1. Defense: the tactics meant to keep work contained and from seeping into your personal life
   Offense: the mindset shifts and actions to start moving towards a new potential, more fulfilling, career. And life.

Since defense wins ball games..

First, The Defensive Tactics

1/ Set clear boundaries between work and personal life

It’s important to keep work and personal life separate. When you don’t, it’s easy to feel stressed or overwhelmed. Creating space, both mentally and physically, helps you relax and recharge.

Tips for Setting Boundaries

• Turn Off Notifications: Don’t let work follow you after hours. Turn off your work emails and apps at the close of work. This helps you switch from work mode to personal time.
• Use a Separate Workspace: Try to keep your work in one place, like a desk or home office. Avoid working in places where you relax, like the couch or bed. This makes it easier to leave work behind when the day is over. (This was my personal favorite. I never brought my work home with me in my corporate days.)
• Stick to Work Hours: Set a time to start and stop work each day. When you're done work, don’t check emails or finish tasks. This helps protect your free time and keeps work from taking over.

Small Changes, Big Improvements

Even small steps can make a big difference. Time-blocking helps you focus by setting specific times for each task. Don’t forget to take breaks. A 10-minute walk can clear your mind and give you more energy.

Changing where you work can also help. Try working in a new room or a different place like a coffee shop. A simple change of scenery can boost your mood and help you focus better. And keep work from taking over your life, making you feel more balanced and clear-headed.

2/ Say no (without feeling guilty)

Taking on too much at work is one of the quickest paths to burnout. When you're always saying yes, your workload piles up (but pay remains the same!), and the stress begins to weigh you down. Learning to say no is a crucial skill that can help protect your time and energy.

Strategies for Saying No

• Recognize Your Limits: First, understand what you can handle. When you’re clear on your capacity, it’s easier to know when to decline extra tasks.
• Be Direct but Polite: When you say no, be honest but respectful. You can explain, “I’d love to help, but I’m at capacity right now and won’t be able to give this the attention it deserves.” Being clear and straightforward ensures you don’t overcommit.
• Offer Alternatives: If you want to be helpful but can’t take on more, suggest an alternative solution. Point the person to a resource or another colleague who may have more availability.

Communicating Boundaries

It’s important to communicate your boundaries with colleagues and managers. Let them know your limits ahead of time to avoid last-minute requests. For example, if your workload is full, explain this in advance and set expectations. This helps prevent misunderstandings and keeps your work manageable.

Learning to say no isn’t selfish. It’s a way to protect your well-being and do your best work without feeling overwhelmed. Plus, when you communicate your boundaries, you build respect and trust with your team.

And remember: If it costs you your mental health, it’s not worth it.

Not sure you can eliminate burnout while staying at your current role? But have NO idea what else you can do?

Sign up for The Solo Business Blueprint to help you identify a skill you already have – and how to turn it into a business you can start in 5 simple steps.

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3/ Reevaluate your workload and tasks

Overcommitting or facing unrealistic expectations at work can quickly lead to burnout. When you take on more than you can handle, the pressure builds, and it becomes harder to stay productive and motivated. That’s why it’s important to regularly reassess your workload.

Tips to Reduce Pressure

• Organize and Prioritize: Start by making a clear list of your tasks. Rank them by importance and deadline. Focus on the most critical tasks first. This helps you tackle what matters most without feeling overwhelmed.
• Delegate: Don’t be afraid to ask for help. If a task doesn’t need your specific skills, pass it on to someone else. Delegating frees up your time for more important work and reduces unnecessary stress.
• Set Realistic Expectations: Be honest with yourself and others about what you can do. Saying yes to every task may make you seem helpful, but it can hurt your performance in the long run.

Tools to Help Manage Your Workload

There are many apps and tools designed to help better manage tasks. Apps like Trello or Asana let you organize your tasks, set priorities, and track deadlines. Time-tracking apps like Toggl can help you see where your time goes and make adjustments if needed. These tools can help streamline your workflow and avoid feeling overwhelmed by your to-do list.

4/ Take regular breaks and plan time off

Taking regular breaks isn’t just a luxury. It’s essential. Pushing through long hours without rest leads to exhaustion. And lower quality work. Breaks give you time to recharge.

The Benefits of Time Off

Taking vacations or even short breaks from work greatly improves mental health. Time away from work allows you to reset, reduce stress, and return with a clearer mind. Studies show that people who take regular vacations are less likely to experience burnout and tend to be more productive.

How to Schedule Breaks Without Guilt

It’s easy to feel guilty about stepping away, but remember that breaks help you perform better in the long run. Schedule short breaks throughout your day, such as a 10-minute walk or time to relax away from your desk. I’ve found that something like the Pomodoro Technique works well (although I prefer to do 50-minute work sessions and 10-minute breaks – vs. the 25/5 split the technique suggests).

When it comes to weekends or after-hours, unplug completely. Turn off work notifications and communicate to your team that you’re offline. Setting these boundaries ensures you get the rest you need without distractions. It’s vital to respect your own time so you can recharge and return to work refreshed and ready to tackle new challenges.

5/ Establish a "shutdown" ritual

A "shutdown" ritual helps you end your workday with intention and ease. By creating a routine that signals your brain it’s time to switch off from work, you can better transition into personal time.

How to End Your Workday

• Close Your Laptop and Write Tomorrow’s To-Do List: Closing your work tools, like your laptop, creates a clear end to the day. Writing down your tasks for tomorrow helps clear your mind and reduces the urge to think about work after hours.
• Try a Quick Breathing Exercise: A few minutes of deep breathing can help shift your focus from work to relaxation. Inhale deeply, hold for a few seconds, and exhale slowly. This small practice can ease tension and start your personal time on a calm note. Just 2 minutes can make a huge difference.
• Use a Playlist for Transition: Music can be a powerful tool to signal the end of the workday. Have a playlist ready to play as soon as you finish work. It helps set a fun, relaxing mood and marks the start of your personal time.

These seem small and insignificant. But they create a clear mental boundary between work life and personal life. Be sure to pick songs a few songs that instantly improve your mood (mine includes a couple fast-paced EDM songs!).

Now it’s time to go…

On The Offensive

6/ Take care of your body

Want to know the biggest return on investment on time spent?

It’s exercise. Full stop.

Your physical well-being is the foundation for mental strength. When you take care of your body, it’s much easier to stay focused, handle stress, and bounce back from challenges. Healthy body → healthy mind.

Easy Ways To Do It:

• Eat Healthy: Your diet fuels your body. Focus on eating single-ingredient whole foods like lean protein, fruit, and vegetables. If you eat crappy food, you crave more crappy food. Stop the cycle by eating nutrient-dense foods 80% of the time. Crappy food gums the tank and you’ll notice how your energy drops when you eat more of it. But also, eat the pizza or ice cream every so often :)
• Commit to Exercise: You don’t need a complicated workout plan. Even a 30-minute walk can make a big difference. Exercise boosts your mood, reduces stress, and keeps your energy levels up. You don’t need to belong to a gym either. Here’s a book of workouts I created that you can do at home, in your underwear, with no equipment.
• Get Proper Sleep: Sleep is essential. Without enough rest, your mind and body can’t function at their best. Aim for 7-8 hours of sleep each night to recharge and refresh.
• Drink 2-3L of Water: The first thing I do when I’m feeling tired – drink half a liter of water. Many times when we’re feeling tired, we’re often dehydrated. Drink water throughout the day to fend off this source of tiredness.

Schedule "Me Time"

Making time for yourself is just as important as your work. Block off time each day or week to do something you enjoy. It could be reading, taking a bath, going for a walk. Or my new one: padel! These moments of "me time" give your mind a break and help you recharge.

7/ Know what you want – and don’t want

To live a life that truly makes you happy, you need to know what you want—and what you don’t want. Creating a clear picture of what your ideal day looks like helps guide you towards that life. Think about how you want your workday to feel. What kind of tasks energize you? What kind of environment makes you feel at your best? Write it all down so you can keep that vision in mind.

But don’t stop there—also list the things you no longer want in your life. Endless meetings or tasks that drain your energy. Or the stress of working late and missing out on time with family. By knowing what you don’t want, you can steer clear of things that lead to frustration and burnout.

When you clarify your goals, it gives your subconscious mind the directions it needs to help make your vision a reality. Your brain will immediately get to work looking for ways to make those changes happen. The clearer you are, the easier it becomes to spot opportunities that align with your ideal life. So, don’t be afraid to get specific—this is your life to shape!

8/ Take up a creative or enjoyable hobby

Engaging in a hobby you enjoy is a fantastic way to relax and recharge. Whether it’s painting, writing, or gardening, doing something creative helps rejuvenate your mind. It helps to break away from work-related stress. Hobbies provide a sense of fulfillment. They can boost your mood and give you a much needed mental refresh.

Hobbies Can Lead to New Opportunities

A fun activity can also spark your next big idea. When you’re doing something you love, your mind is more open to new possibilities. For example, I started sharing fitness content as a hobby. Over time, it gained attention, and turned into my next business. You never know where your passion can lead!

Making time for things you enjoy, not only gives you a mental break. It can also help you discover a potential new venture. So, pick up that brush, book, or plant—whatever brings you joy—and let your creativity flow.

9/ Take a sabbatical

Taking a month off may seem like a lot, but in the grand scheme of your career, it’s a drop in the bucket. Think about it: the traditional work system has us working from age 22 to 65—that’s 43 years, or 516 months. Taking 1 month out of 516 to recharge and reset? That’s nothing!

Why a Sabbatical Is Worth It

If you’ve saved enough vacation time and your financial house is in order, I recommend taking a sabbatical. It’s a chance to step away from the grind, gain new perspectives, and come back more focused and refreshed.

In Europe, where vacation policies are more generous, taking extended time off is more common. But even without paid leave, it's worth considering. A month of unpaid time is a small investment for your mental health and career longevity.

Taking time for yourself to travel, reflect, or relax—can help you return to work with a fresh mindset. You'll be ready to tackle your next challenge with renewed energy.

10/ Build your escape plan

Nothing like plotting your next move to re-energize you. If you’re sure your current career is just not for you – why not start thinking about what’s next?

Here’s a super simple way to check if you’re on the right path:

Identify 2-3 people at work that are 5-10 years ahead of you on your current career path. Does their role, responsibilities, or lifestyle excite you? Would you be happy to be in their position in a few years?

If your gut instinct is no – you have your answer.

Tips For Plotting Your Next Move

• Examine your skills and interests: You’ve had lots of jobs since you started working. With some targeted introspection, you can find a skill you’ve honed from an old job that overlaps with something you’re genuinely interested in or curious about.
• Identify Where You’re The Go-To For Your Friends: The best place to start looking? Where your network already sees you as the expert. If they ask for your help for free, couldn’t you help strangers with the same problem? (Answer? You can.)
  • Bonus: get a testimonial or two from the people you’ve helped and you have the marketing material to get your first stranger client.
• List Out The Problems You Can Solve: And they ‘why’ behind why they’d want this solved. For example, a person doesn’t want to lose weight for the sake of losing weight. They want to lose it so they can play with their kids. Run that 5k with their friends. Or take their shirt off at the beach without feeling embarrassed.

Do this – and you have the foundation for starting any business.

I cover this and more in The Solo Business Blueprint – 5 simple steps to finding your business idea, clarifying the problem you solve, the people you solve it for – on the way to building your own 1-person business.

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Conclusion

Burnout doesn’t have to take over your life. By recognizing the signs early and using these offensive and defensive strategies, you can start managing stress before it overwhelms you. Remember, taking care of your mental and physical health isn’t just good for you. It’s essential for your long-term productivity and success.

Start implementing these tips today, and take back some control over your time.

And your life.