⚡ Have you ever had to take time off work because of stress, overwhelm or even burnout?

First up let me say you’re not alone. Incidents of stress, overwhelm and burnout have been increasing and actually spiked drastically during lockdown. This is due to a variety of reasons, least of which that working from home can lead to a decrease of work/life boundaries which can increase the amount of time we work without even being aware of it.

Setting strict boundaries for yourself becomes vital if you want to avoid the above issues. This includes the topic I talked about on Friday, i.e. taking your breaks.

Don’t just grab something from the fridge and sit back down to work, actually have a proper break. Spend your breaktime in a different room and if that’s not an option, get out of your house altogether. Go for a walk, even if it’s just for a few minutes around the block, meditate if that’s for you or do a bit of exercise.

These small actions will give your mind a break and you will be better equipped to deal with the next block of work, your productivity will improve and your stress levels will decrease.

If you’re working in an office there are natural breaks such as a colleague popping over for a chat or those “water cooler moments” or “tea kitchen encounters”. This doesn’t happen at home, so we have to be more conscious of how we break up our day so it doesn’t just become one endless slog.

Your mental health will thank you for it.