Posts Tagged ‘burnout’

Self-Care Routine When Working on Long Projects

Posted: April 28, 2024 in Uncategorized
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From a LinkedIn insight I recently posted.

The topic:

Self-care Routine

Incorporate self-care into your routine to maintain your physical and emotional well-being. This could include regular exercise, meditation, or hobbies that take your mind off work. Establish a work-life balance by setting clear work hours and sticking to them. Taking breaks throughout the day can also improve focus and productivity when you are working, making it easier to maintain the quality of your web applications.

My answer (link):

Accept your part of the blame if you’re burning out. You should have a good feel for how long certain tasks will take. If you sense timeline issues, bring that up to the project team, and adjust timelines as necessary. Say nothing and you end up working overtime finishing tasks that shouldn’t have been high pressure in the first place. Everyone on the team is responsible for scope and sanity checks – that includes you.

I once called out a coworker friend for working 60+ hour weeks. He said he was doing it for his bonus. I worked the normal 45-ish work week. I explained how the bonus worked – mainly billable hours, and it was capped. The extra hours didn’t matter. He revisited his approach, stopped burning out, and still got the same bonus.

Preventing Overload When Tasks Come In

Posted: April 5, 2024 in Uncategorized
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From a recent LinkedIn post that asked how to prevent running out of time, all the time, and never getting your tasks done. You need, in a word, margin. Here was my response as to how I ensure I have margin during the day:

Before I tackle any task, I add it to my Microsoft To Do app list. From there I can prioritize it for “Today”, “Tomorrow” or some other time. That forces me to give myself “margin” during the day. If you take everything as it comes in, you’ll always run out of time. Put a “prioritization buffer” in front of any request. I use the To Do app because it’s in sync everywhere, and on my phone and PC. It’s changed my life, because it surfaces “today’s” tasks under “My Day” and suggests things I may have forgotten.

I also strongly recommend reading the book “Margin” by Richard A. Swenson, MD – it teaches you about making sure you don’t overload yourself. It’s easy to overload. Stop doing that. 😜