Beating Winter Burnout
Carole Pagan
February 04, 2007
Burnout is beyond tired. Everything is tired, your body, your mind, your spirit.
Burnout simply means that your life is out of balance. You’ve focused too much attention on one area, and let other areas get out of whack.
Fatigue, Lack of sunlight, Cold temperatures….combined with an extreme amount of hard work can bring you to the burnout stage.
You may have been working extra hours at your job. Maybe you have a big project you’ve been working on. You’ve been focused and hard working just like you are supposed to be to reach a goal.
Anything that pushes it to where you aren’t taking care of yourself or your relationships, and you’re a prime candidate for burnout.
Here’s 10 things you can do to Beat Winter Burnout.
1. Take a Nap
If you’re finding yourself nodding off at the computer, unmotivated, really having to push yourself- it’s time to take a break. Go ahead and take an Einstein nap. Einstein would sleep for 20 minutes at a time. It’s enough to recharge you. Sleep longer than that and you will feel even worse.
2. Get Some Exercise
Get up and get moving. In one of life’s little ironies, exercise actually gives you more energy. Dance. Take a walk. Walk the dog. Pop in an exercise video for 15 minutes. Get that blood pumping!
3. Take a day or two off.
Sometimes you just have to walk away for a couple of days. Recharge those batteries. You will be far more productive in the long run.
4. Have some fun.
Recreation is really an important part of your life. You can’t feel very successful if you have poured everything into reaching a goal and lost everything else.
5. Call a friend
that you haven’t talked to in a while, and just talk. It’s amazing how easy it is to put off making a phone call to a good friend because we’re too busy. But in the end, the break and the good conversation will actually leave you refreshed.
6. Drink enough water.
Dehydration can make you feel sluggish. It makes it hard to think. It leaves your skin feeling dry and tight. It can cause headaches. Your body doesn’t process things the way it should. How well does a dry sponge work? Give yourself a water break.
7. Get enough vitamin D.
It is the vitamin that your body produces when you are exposed to sunlight. But this time of year, sunlight is often hard to come by! New research has found a link between vitamin D deficiency and MS. MS is more common in the northern hemisphere where we don’t have as much sunlight as in other parts of the world.
8. Release that serotonin.
The “feel good” chemical that your body naturally produces. You can release this “feel good” chemical by exercise, laughing, and eating chocolate (in moderation please). Watch a funny movie. Walk to the store and buy some dark chocolate. Dark chocolate has other health benefits too. Plus the exercise you get walking to the store - Heck, get going!
9. Getting your fruits and vegetables-
This time of year, those of us in the Northern Hemisphere have a tendency to want to load up on carbs. The fruits and veggies that we would enjoy during the other seasons just aren’t very appealing right now. Here’s a few tips for getting those nutrients in without suffering through the dull picks of the season -
Drink a V8, cranberry, tomato, and other juices. Remember, juices count towards your fruits and veggies intake. Just don’t add too much in the sugared drinks department! Fortified orange juice is another great pick!
Add more veggies to your main dishes. Serve more dishes made with tomatoes, tomato paste, and tomato sauce. Throw in green or red peppers, carrots, mushrooms…
Frozen fruits and vegetables are nearly as nutritious as fresh- sometimes more so. Fruits and vegetables are frozen at the height of freshness. They haven't been transported thousands of miles and then sat at the store, and then sat in your fridge for a few days.
Every morning, plan how you will get your minimum 5- ½ cup servings of fruits and veggies for the day. Get in this habit and you will be healthier, have more energy, and lose weight too.
And while it’s technically not a fruit or vegetable, green tea is a wonderful addition to your daily routine. It’s filled with antioxidants, it’s good for your heart, helps you fight off colds, and improves your mood. And, if you let the tea bag cool off a little and pat it around your eye area, it removes bags, puffiness, and fine lines as well as any expensive eye cream. Seriously. I didn’t believe it either, but it works. Be sure to pick a better quality tea. In my personal experiments, on all counts, Bigelow worked, Lipton didn’t.
10. Get enough sleep
OK, I left he most obvious for last. Make sure you're getting enough sleep. Turn off the late night TV and the computer and get to bed!
Winter will be over before you know it. Use this time to take care of yourself, and get some indoor things done!
If you could use some help bringing your life into balance, enroll now. It could be the best move you’ve ever made. Next session starts Monday! Click here to enroll >>>
Burnout simply means that your life is out of balance. You’ve focused too much attention on one area, and let other areas get out of whack.
Fatigue, Lack of sunlight, Cold temperatures….combined with an extreme amount of hard work can bring you to the burnout stage.
You may have been working extra hours at your job. Maybe you have a big project you’ve been working on. You’ve been focused and hard working just like you are supposed to be to reach a goal.
Anything that pushes it to where you aren’t taking care of yourself or your relationships, and you’re a prime candidate for burnout.
Here’s 10 things you can do to Beat Winter Burnout.
1. Take a Nap
If you’re finding yourself nodding off at the computer, unmotivated, really having to push yourself- it’s time to take a break. Go ahead and take an Einstein nap. Einstein would sleep for 20 minutes at a time. It’s enough to recharge you. Sleep longer than that and you will feel even worse.
2. Get Some Exercise
Get up and get moving. In one of life’s little ironies, exercise actually gives you more energy. Dance. Take a walk. Walk the dog. Pop in an exercise video for 15 minutes. Get that blood pumping!
3. Take a day or two off.
Sometimes you just have to walk away for a couple of days. Recharge those batteries. You will be far more productive in the long run.
4. Have some fun.
Recreation is really an important part of your life. You can’t feel very successful if you have poured everything into reaching a goal and lost everything else.
5. Call a friend
that you haven’t talked to in a while, and just talk. It’s amazing how easy it is to put off making a phone call to a good friend because we’re too busy. But in the end, the break and the good conversation will actually leave you refreshed.
6. Drink enough water.
Dehydration can make you feel sluggish. It makes it hard to think. It leaves your skin feeling dry and tight. It can cause headaches. Your body doesn’t process things the way it should. How well does a dry sponge work? Give yourself a water break.
7. Get enough vitamin D.
It is the vitamin that your body produces when you are exposed to sunlight. But this time of year, sunlight is often hard to come by! New research has found a link between vitamin D deficiency and MS. MS is more common in the northern hemisphere where we don’t have as much sunlight as in other parts of the world.
8. Release that serotonin.
The “feel good” chemical that your body naturally produces. You can release this “feel good” chemical by exercise, laughing, and eating chocolate (in moderation please). Watch a funny movie. Walk to the store and buy some dark chocolate. Dark chocolate has other health benefits too. Plus the exercise you get walking to the store - Heck, get going!
9. Getting your fruits and vegetables-
This time of year, those of us in the Northern Hemisphere have a tendency to want to load up on carbs. The fruits and veggies that we would enjoy during the other seasons just aren’t very appealing right now. Here’s a few tips for getting those nutrients in without suffering through the dull picks of the season -
Drink a V8, cranberry, tomato, and other juices. Remember, juices count towards your fruits and veggies intake. Just don’t add too much in the sugared drinks department! Fortified orange juice is another great pick!
Add more veggies to your main dishes. Serve more dishes made with tomatoes, tomato paste, and tomato sauce. Throw in green or red peppers, carrots, mushrooms…
Frozen fruits and vegetables are nearly as nutritious as fresh- sometimes more so. Fruits and vegetables are frozen at the height of freshness. They haven't been transported thousands of miles and then sat at the store, and then sat in your fridge for a few days.
Every morning, plan how you will get your minimum 5- ½ cup servings of fruits and veggies for the day. Get in this habit and you will be healthier, have more energy, and lose weight too.
And while it’s technically not a fruit or vegetable, green tea is a wonderful addition to your daily routine. It’s filled with antioxidants, it’s good for your heart, helps you fight off colds, and improves your mood. And, if you let the tea bag cool off a little and pat it around your eye area, it removes bags, puffiness, and fine lines as well as any expensive eye cream. Seriously. I didn’t believe it either, but it works. Be sure to pick a better quality tea. In my personal experiments, on all counts, Bigelow worked, Lipton didn’t.
10. Get enough sleep
OK, I left he most obvious for last. Make sure you're getting enough sleep. Turn off the late night TV and the computer and get to bed!
Winter will be over before you know it. Use this time to take care of yourself, and get some indoor things done!
If you could use some help bringing your life into balance, enroll now. It could be the best move you’ve ever made. Next session starts Monday! Click here to enroll >>>
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