Helgi Maki

76 percent of people report feeling burnt out at some point each year. Burnout is not just about hours worked but also about what you do in those hours. Here is the definitive 5-part toolkit to prevent burnout: Prioritize the big 3 psychological needs: Autonomy: a sense of control over how you spend your time and energy. Mastery: the ability to make progress that you can trace back to yourself. Belonging: a sense of connection and meaning beyond oneself. Make sufficient time for rest. We focus too much on the quantity of work and not enough the quality. • Quality goes up with rest: • Short breaks during the day • 7-9 hours of sleep • Protected weekly time to disconnect, ideally in nature Move your body regularly. We are mind-body systems. The vitality of the latter impacts the former. It need not be heroic. Simply aim for 30-45 minutes of daily exercise. You can run or go to the gym or do yoga. But you can also do a regular brisk walk or early evening gardening. Do not tie your self-worth to your work achievements. It's great to care about your work—but you've got to have self-worth and a sense of identity beyond it. Otherwise, you get on an emotional roller coaster and become fragile when things don't go well, which is inevitable at some point. Center around growth and meaning over momentary happiness. Happiness is great but it's also fleeting. Growth and meaning often result from periods of hard but good work. So long as the prior elements are in place, hard and meaningful work is better than easy and shallow work. In summary, the definitive 5-part toolkit to prevent burnout: 1. Prioritize autonomy, mastery, and belonging. 2. Make time for the basics of rest. 3. Move your body, even if most of your work involves your mind. 4. Do not tie your self-worth to work achievements. 5. Focus on growth and meaning. It is true that nobody can work endless hours, even in the best of conditions. But it is also true that if the prior elements are in place, you can work long and hard and derive great joy and satisfaction from your efforts.