Anyone who doesn’t carve out time for their physical, spiritual, and personal time will burn out, bum out, and—eventually—act out. Is it possible to prevent burnout and acting out from happening? Thankfully, yes!
Prevent exhaustion by forming healthy habits such as getting enough sleep, learning to say no, spending time with the Lord every day, and not taking on too much. However, there are two must-haves for finding balance: boundaries and accountability.
One can only take care of themselves by setting boundaries with their time and energy. There must be enough time for priorities such as getting plenty of rest, checking in with an accountability partner or sponsor, and going to a Life Recovery Group weekly. It is important to decide that rest, self-care, spiritual health, and personal time are non-negotiable. So, if there is a crisis such as a death in the family, job loss, or divorce, self-care is still done daily.
Overeating, overworking, drinking, anger, depression, worry, and anxiety are all symptoms of burnout. It’s necessary to create good habits for exercise, nutrition, spiritual life, and personal time to prevent exhaustion.
Jesus urged His disciples to rest when He said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile” (Mark 6:31).
To prevent burnout, one must see where all their time goes. The place to start is to write down every hour throughout the day—this includes exercise, work, spiritual life, and personal time. Writing it down will show where any changes are needed. Make new habits by setting boundaries with oneself and others. Once someone determines what is required to balance their fitness, nutrition, spiritual and personal time every day, the next step is to do it!
If someone finds themselves unable to do it or doesn’t do it consistently, they need accountability. Finding a person who has the discipline and asking them to help is a great place to start. Not having the willpower doesn’t mean an individual is lazy or weak—it means they have arrived at adulthood without the tools to get the job done. Drawing help from another person’s presence and encouragement can provide the structure one needs until one can internalize it.
Establish a routine that will work for life! Find the tools, books, therapists, and accountability partners necessary to help establish daily habits. Having this concept as a framework will help set a workable pace and less apt to create burnout.
Make exercise, good nutrition, spiritual life, and personal time part of each day. But don’t forget to add boundaries and accountability—this is the perfect equation for a balanced life.
by Julie Davis