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The First Step towards Recovering from Burnout
Taking time away from your work is an essential step in burnout recovery — here’s how to make it happen, even if you think you can’t.
As part of the research for my book about burnout, I’m interviewing people who have been through burnout and come out the other side. My list of questions is long: even though writing about how horrible burnout is sometimes makes me wonder if I’m burning out again (oh, the irony), I find this topic ridiculously fascinating.
When I ask what advice they would give to a friend who was on the brink of burning out, one of the recurring answers is take time away from work. Now.
And I totally agree — this is absolutely essential to burnout recovery. Why?
Time and space away from work gives us the physical, mental and emotional break we need to restore our bodies, minds and hearts to a point where we can see clearly and make wise decisions.
So, what if taking time off just doesn’t feel like an option?
The Monday after I collapsed at Nantes airport, I marched into the HR department of the Amsterdam law…
