Mostly people suffering from a burn-out or workstress have difficulty saying no. They are perfectionistic and want to be a good colleague. But how do you change this mentality? And why is it so important? We will tell you.

Lifestyle
You do not only get satisfaction by finishing your workday, you also need to feel well. Instead of focussing on the problem (being tired, too much stress, too much work, disruption of a colleague) you should focus on the thing that you DO want.

For example: people who are tired do not necessarily benefit from extra hours of sleep. Sometimes they miss a challenge in their work or a long walk during the lunchbreak will help already. People who experience a lot of workstress, do not benefit from having ‘less work’. Less work grounds less of a challenge and therefore less need for cooperation and creative thinking and not per se less stress. So what is needed to reduce workstress and prevent a burn-out?  A different task package? Developing new capacities? A different format of workplaces? Mostly you only know when you try it out … and if does not help, you try something new.

Build it up
Start easy and build it up slowly: choose one goal you want to work on today. Even if you think you do not have enough time or space. The alternative (doing nothing, go on like you would normally do) is not an option, because you will not feel better and your stress will not reduce. And if you burn out, you also can not be there for you colleagues anymore.

For example: to give yourself more space for relaxation and prevent a burn-out, you can start the day with working for two hours on projects. Accept that you need to take the rest from the day ‘off’ to work on your mail and with your colleagues. Do not check your mail in the first two hours, so that you get the important things done.  This gives you rest and makes it possible to relax during your workday.

So give yourself more time and space! It will give you time and rest back in return.