What you crave most might be taking a vacation that completely unplugs. It is a matter of course. According to Harvard Business Review, A sabbatical is the best way to recover from burnout. In fact, I love the idea of a sabbatical for a few months and even offer a professional coaching program at a burnout relief consulting firm to help clients prepare. hooky wellness. But as much as I love them, such long vacations from work are not always practical or possible for logistical and financial reasons. So it’s not the only way to get rid of burnout.
Needless to say, even if you that is Even if you can take well-deserved sabbaticals, vacations, career naps, and other vacations, you’ll need a period of time before retiring if you have to deal with impending burnout. During this time before charging, it is recommended to enter “low power mode”.
What are low power modes related to burnout?
“Low power mode” is the phrase most commonly associated with smartphones and refers to settings that allow the phone to use less power in order to extend battery life. (If you’re like me and forget to charge your phone while you’re sitting at home, you probably know better.) Usually at 10 o’clock my phone notifies me to turn this setting on. increase. – When the battery level drops below the percentage, you will be prompted to throttle the battery usage and start saving energy until it can be recharged.
To operate in “low power mode”, it should do what it needs to do while conserving what little energy it has left.
The setting is an apt metaphor for what goes on when you’re dealing with burnout, and how you act when you need to keep overcoming it. Burnout is physically, emotionally and mentally exhausting, resulting in low energy levels, low capacity and low bandwidth. This is the same as when your phone runs out of battery. On the other hand, operating in “low power mode” allows you to do what you want while maintaining what little energy you have left.
Like the phone’s low power mode, this is a temporary state of functionality. It can continue to stream for a limited amount of time while handling limited energy until it needs to be plugged in and recharged. But for that interim period, learning how to operate in low-power mode can help you maintain your mental health and basic productivity levels even when a real break is not (yet) possible. helps.
How does it work in low power mode?
1. Use less battery
Just as putting your phone into low power mode stops certain programs from running or non-essential background tasks (e.g. iPhone pauses uploading photos to iCloud, stops 5G usage). stop), you should also lower your own power consumption. If you have to deal with burnout, reduce battery usage by focusing only on the necessary items on your to-do list.
Prioritize your most important tasks and postpone the rest until you feel better. It’s important to give yourself permission to step back and see the big picture, identify your most important tasks, and be realistic about the amount of time and energy you need to effectively tackle them.
It’s also important to let go of any guilt about putting off or delegating things. If even your daily work feels like too much, enlist the help of colleagues, friends and family to free up your limited energy.
2. Stop swiping blindly
If your own battery is in the yellow zone, one of the first things to cut is mindless swipes. Sorry, repeated updates to Instagram, Threads, and Twitter can wait until we are back at full capacity. Not only does this drain your battery, but it also consumes a lot of (mostly unnecessary) content that can clog up the mental space needed for positive reconfirmation information.
Instead, intentionally check social media when you need (or want to) and set clear limits on your usage to avoid unintentionally draining your remaining battery life.
3. Take Small Actions to Extend Battery Life
If you’re already nearing burnout, making major changes to your routines and lifestyle can be very daunting. Instead, focus on embracing small changes that can have a big impact.
To return to the phone analogy, the iPhone looks like this: 54% less battery when the screen brightness is lowered. Disabling GPS and auto-updates, and closing unused apps are also small actions that help keep your phone functioning.
The same applies to real life and self-care. Small but effective actions like setting aside time to express gratitude, meditate for five minutes, go for a short walk, speak an affirmation in front of a mirror, or set a clear work life. As boundaries stack up, you’ll have more energy, improved mood, and increased intrinsic motivation.
4. Plan to charge as soon as possible
There is no way outside Low power mode other than actually charging. Let’s be clear, charging is a necessity, not a luxury, especially when it comes to burnout. Once you notice the signs of burnout creeping up, it’s important to plan a time to fully recharge (as soon as you feel it’s possible). That way you can see the light at the end of the low power tunnel.
When the time comes, make plans to tap into your own power sources with activities from what I call ‘energy’. The four pillars of mental health: grow, rest, play and community. The first includes any activity that stimulates or stretches the mind, such as attending a workshop on a topic of interest or setting aside time to use a language learning app. The second is probably about calming the senses. Listen to calming playlists and guided meditations, or get a massage. On the other hand, the “play” pillar refers to things that are just for fun (such as singing karaoke or playing board games), while the “community” pillar refers to people you love, friends, and others who make you happy. Including anything you might do with people.
Whichever you choose, the sooner you charge, the sooner you can get back into full power mode and do more fun things. Naturally, taking a break may seem impossible when you have so much to do, but the truth is that not prioritizing time to recharge at the end can actually exacerbate your symptoms of burnout. It turns out that only
How to recognize low power mode
Unlike smartphones, there is no automatic notification or adjustment, so the functions that need to know when they are in low power mode and act accordingly are based on personal perception. Take time each month to consider whether you’re starting to show burnout red flags. You can also add this reflection to your journaling routine, burnout syndrome quiz Measure yourself with Hooky Wellness.
Burnout can make it feel like your energy levels will never recover. But again, this situation is temporary, just like your phone is in low power mode. Through intentionality and the behavioral changes outlined above, we can retain enough energy to reach the metaphorical charger and avoid being stranded with a dead battery.
