Three Simple Tips For Avoiding Burnout for Women Who Try to Do it All
The theme for International Women's Day on March 8, 2020 is inspired by the concept of “collective individualism,” or the idea that we are each as individuals part of a whole. Each individual's way of being and interacting in the world can have an impact on society overall. Avoiding burnout is key to having the energy to impact the status quo.
The goal of International Women's Day is to bring awareness to creating change so we can experience a gender-equal world. The #EachforEqual campaign doesn't end with International Women's Day, but rather runs all year long.
Women can absolutely change the world, but change starts at home! Avoiding burnout allows us to be the best we can be in our small world, thus affecting the whole world.
This post is sponsored by adidas, all opinions are my own.
Success at What Cost
Most women would agree that they'd love to portray being a woman who has it together or seems to “have it all,” yet does this woman even exist? And if so, does she REALLY have it all? Maybe this elusive unicorn of a true superwoman exists or maybe we're all just delusional! After years of stressed-out women bending my ear, I'm convinced it's the latter. We're delusional.
But even if we're delusional in our belief that we can be superwoman and do it all, we can still have an impact. We can all express #EachforEqual in our own way. We can still find a way of interacting with the world that supports our beliefs and contributes to the collective idea of gender equality.
This is something I've especially noticed lately on social media. Women are more successful than ever in so many ways, but what I hear them saying is they need to take a step back. They need deep rest and restorative practices. These are both hard to come by in our increasingly “always-on” world.
It's hard to reach your own goals when you're burnt out or on the edge of it, much less act as a role model for gender equality.
Why Women Burnout
Women are tired. And do you want to know why? In addition to a stressful full-time career or job, she usually takes on the majority of child care responsibilities and household chores. While the gender gap in pay has been slowly decreasing, the gap in household chores has been even slower to progress.[efn_note]https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol35/16/[/efn_note]
Women are naturally very nurturing and want to care for others. However, there are only so many minutes in a day to fit in all of the responsibilities of life, while still being able to care for others and more importantly, caring for oneself.
Self-care is critical in avoiding burnout. Women can be a truly powerful force in the world when they're rested and balanced.
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Avoiding Burnout
In honor of International Women's Day, here are a few tips on avoiding burnout and practicing self-care.
There are a few ways to avoid “superwoman” burnout including stress reduction, learning to say no and proper nutritional support. All of these things fall under the category of self-care, which has become quite the buzz word lately. Self-care doesn't necessarily mean a spa day or bath although those are certainly nice options.
Self-care really means prioritizing what you know is important to take care of yourself so that you have enough energy to take care of others. Here are a few relatively easy things you can add to your routine that support self-care and bash burnout.
Avoiding Burnout Tip One: Blue Blocking Glasses
You may have seen this trend on social media lately. Blue blocking glasses to help keep your circadian rhythm in good working order. I recently heard an interview with the founder of BluBlox and it's astounding just how much light in the blue range affects everything from sleep to energy and even weight loss. Putting on blue block glasses 4 hours before bed it such a simple thing to do and could offer great benefit. Being well-rested is a solid base for everything else you need to do to practice good self-care.
Be sure to check out our other five tips for getting the best sleep.
Burnout Tip Two: Meditation
Meditation has tons of research to verify its positive effect on mood and blood pressure. And the best part is the magic is not in some crazy result where you learn to control your monkey like brain, but rather the magic is in the everyday practice. Meditation works by simply doing it. Not by worrying whether you're “doing it right” or “getting focused.” We have some free beginner meditations here and on our videos page.
You can notice results with consistent practice in as little as five minutes a day. Five minutes a day is a short amount of time to invest for long term benefits.
Burnout Tip Three: Joyful Movement
Notice I said joyful movement, not exercise. Just slogging through exercise offers benefits to your health. But why not get the full package here? Find some kind of movement that actually brings you joy, not just something you do for exercise. Ideally, you want to do a bit of joyful movement each day even if it's just dancing around your kitchen or a quick yoga stretching session before bed.
The form of movement that gives me the most joy is simply walking in nature. I just throw on my adidas Edgebounce 1.5, and walk around the block when I find myself getting overly burnt out. I'm also particularly fond of my Marathon 20 shorts. They're so lightweight and comfortable, perfect for hikes, walks or sitting on my meditation cushion.
Bonus Tips for Avoiding Burnout
Nutrition is key for feeling your best. No matter what style of eating you choose, experts agree that reducing sugar and refined carbs is a good idea. You may not need to fully go keto to have at least some benefit from ditching processed food.
There are also science-backed supplements that allow you to feel the benefits of ketosis without having to change your diet at all. Everyone should feel their best and if a supplement can make it easier to make better food and exercise choices, I'm all for it!
The final bonus tip to avoid burnout is to learn to say no. Without explanation and without guilt. No is a sufficient answer on its own; you don't owe anyone an explanation. It has really helped me to think of saying no to one thing as saying yes to something else. Saying yes to something that moves you towards your goals.
Saying no to things that don't align with your goals is one of the best ways to avoid burnout. When you choose to participate in activities that align with your goals, you inevitably find time for self-care.