My co-worker who used to feel passion and excitement for her job is struggling to make it through the day. Something has changed. She is disconnected and flat in her conversations. She has all the signs of burnout and needs help. This could happen to any of us if we aren’t careful.

Here are 10 ways to prevent burnout:

1. Balance your workload. High achievers tend to be conscientious and put in long hours in order to keep up with multiple expectations and demands. Over time, this takes a toll. Consequently, balance your workload and life. Restrict your work hours and take needed breaks.
2. Say no to work overload or ask for additional help. Maybe you need extra staff, a contract stating reasonable expectations, study leave, vacation time or sabbaticals. Competent people often have difficulty saying NO. Taking on too much can lead to being overworked, less productive and exhausted.
3. Insist on keeping your days off and protect those days. Don’t look at work email or texts. Focus on other parts of your life apart from work. Engage in a hobby, interest, exercise or something new you would like to learn like cooking, hiking or a hobby.
4. Look for resources to make your work less time consuming. If you can delegate to others or streamline your processes, this will help prevent burn out and stress.
5. Be selective in giving out your cell number. Otherwise, people may not respect your boundaries. At one point, my husband had a boss who regularly called him at 11:30 p.m. and he was expected to take the call. His boss felt like he owned him 24/7. When you are available 24/7 as a regular expectation, it is a road to burn out. You need space. He no longer works for that organization!
6. Get clarity on expectations. If you have too much to do, it may be time to have a conversation as to workload and expectations. Perhaps tasks could be given priorities and appropriate time frames. If unable to negotiate a more reasonable load, you may consider changing jobs.
7. Stop micromanaging. Sometimes burn out comes because we don’t trust others to do what they were hired to do. Be better at delegating and sharing the load. You can’t, nor should you, do it all.
8. Build a sense of belonging and community. To fully function, feeling part of a community helps. Work to build a sense of belonging at work and away from work. Be value-based in all you do. Build a trusted team and have a few “safe” people with whom you can process stressful experiences. But also, surround yourself with those who will encourage you and value you as a person.
9. Know your personality type. If you are an introvert, you need time alone to recharge. Extroverts recharge by being around others. Know what keeps you going and is stress reducing.
10. Stay strong in your spiritual life. The more you stay centered spiritually by being in the Word, praying and participating in community with other believers, the more protected you will be from burn out. The life of faith involves calling. Do you feel called to do what you are doing? Or do you see this as just a job to get a paycheck? Evaluating your influence and how you can make a difference may help you in a work setting. Remember, we are called first to God. Out of that calling, everything else flows. This means we may need to reframe what we do in terms of calling and find deeper meaning in our work.

Whatever the case, if you feel your are headed to burnout, stop and consider this list. Which of these can you use to make a change? Build a support network. Take breaks and short walks to clear your head. Take back control where you can.