7 Highly Effective Ways To Avoid Burnout [The Christian Way]
Every working professional, student or business entrepreneur all agree on one thing - avoid burnout. It’s like a red flag where a lot of things are at stake: health, relationships, overall wellbeing, and in most critical cases, life itself. It causes stress, depression, fatigue, unproductivity, and many more. If you’re on the edge of feeling burnout at work, in school, or at home, the following tips might help you out.
How to Avoid Burnout: 7 Ways Christians Do It
Go Back to the Source
The source is none other than God. He is the “Big Boss” of all the heavens and the Earth. He is the “well of life” and everything goes through and from Him. If you’re feeling burnout, God may be calling you out to assess your spiritual life. Are you reading your bible every day? Are devotion and prayer time included in your busy schedule? Did you set aside a particular time of the day where you cut off all the distractions and talk or listen to God?As this verse says:
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5
List Down Your Strengths and Weaknesses
It is possible that you are feeling burnout because you’ve been doing things more than what you’re capable of doing. Though it is good to improve your weaknesses and focus on your strengths, overdoing things make all the difference. If improving your weaknesses take so much toll on you, leave them be. If you want to focus on your strengths, on the one hand, you may do so.But the rule of thumb is to try to come up with your limitations and set some boundaries. If you still feel the burnout after attempting all these, pray to God how He wants you to use your strengths in whatever field He puts you.
Set A Schedule and Commit to It
Sometimes, multitasking and doing things more than you can allow in a day result to burnout. You end up committing to a lot of duties and responsibilities that when their demands pile up after the other, it can get overwhelming. One way to avoid it is by making a schedule and sticking to it. This means even if you have unfinished work but your schedule says it is already your bedtime, leave it.
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God would love us to use our strengths and gifts to serve others. But we can never do that when our minds and bodies fail us. If you are worried you won’t finish the job on time and your boss or your teacher will reprimand you for unfinished work, don’t be. If in the first place, you commit to God whatever task you are set to do, He will lead you all throughout the day and allow you to finish tasks according to His timeline. Lastly, include in your schedule a prayer time – pray when you wake up, pray before you sleep.Think about this verse:
“Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” – Proverbs 16:3
Allot a “Me” Time
Do not think of this as a selfish act. There are a lot of instances in the bible wherein even Jesus, Himself, set aside time to be alone. Having a “me” time is not just about getting away from all the chaos and noise around you. It is your opportunity to recharge and refresh your spirit. It will help you realign your thoughts, your goals, and your priorities. You might consider asking God at this point if you’re still on track with how He wishes you to do things.
Learn to Say “No”
Oftentimes, saying “no” is very difficult. We can trace this to our need to comply with certain rules and also when it comes to upholding a good reputation. Some people may even find it hard to say “no” because they thought coming up with a valid reason why they can’t is difficult enough.The truth about learning to say “no” can actually go beyond than just saying “no.” It will also help you to guard yourself against any kind of temptation. Once you have exercised this ability to say “no” to things that do not glorify God, it will be easier to decline when the situation calls for it. This is God’s way of teaching us how to discern and decide wisely according to what will glorify Him and what will not; what is healthy for you, and what is not.
Assess the Whole Situation
Can it be that you are doing things the wrong way? This might require you to look over your priorities once again. As a Christian, the hierarchy of priorities are as follows:
- God
- Spouse
- Children/Family
- Career
- Ministry
This might come a bit difficult to follow most especially if, let’s say, you’ve been used to placing your career as your top priority. But when this happens, go back to item 5. Say “no” to this temptation to value the world instead of what matters to God.
Look at the World from a Different Perspective
Speaking of the world, it is oftentimes the need to please it than our need to please God that is causing the burnout. We need to please our boss, our teachers, our families, our social media followers, and a whole lot more demands that mainly came from man and never from God. Pleasing other people is not part of the mission to serve others. We serve others because it’s mandated by God and we obey Him because of our love for Him. We only please one audience and that is God. Thus, it is only God who can say, “My Child, you have done enough. Rest, because tomorrow is another day.”As this verse says,
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” – Matthew 6:34
To avoid burnout, these are the key reminders to follow: pray, let God take control, and do all the things above. Oftentimes, when you allow Him to take over the wheel, He will give you a reason to avoid burnout in surprising ways. God is just waiting for you to call out His name so He can prove to you that He is good all the time and all the time He is good. “Let go, let God!”