We all suffer from burnout at some point in our lives, in our work, in our family life, or both. How do you know if you are just tired, bored, or really burnt out? There are some signs that can tell you when you’ve hit that tipping point or beyond:

• You work longer than you should. 8-hour days turn into 9 or 10 hours, 5 days turns to 6
• You are unusually irritable. Your fuse is shorter than it used to be and you snap at little things
• Denial and avoidance. “I’m not burnt out, just sleep-deprived.” “This workload will ease up soon and then I’ll be fine.”
• Procrastination. You put off tasks that need doing today because you think you’ll have more time to do it tomorrow or you just can’t deal with it today.

Whether you have a business to run, a demanding job, or an incredibly busy family life, or all of the above, eventually, if you don’t take of yourself you are going to suffer from some level of burnout.

That’s where self-care comes in. You know how they say that to secure your financial future you should pay yourself first by taking 10% of your paycheque and put it in a savings bank? And just for your interest, women should put away 12% because they live longer and are usually paid less – but that’s another topic!

Well you should do the same to look after yourself physically, emotionally, and mentally. What is something you can do for your self-care to prevent or counter-act burnout? For me it was taking an hour first thing in the morning to do whatever I wanted; take the dog for a walk, read a few chapters of a good book, even cook my dinner for that night so I didn’t have to when I came home. I’m a morning person so that worked for me. I started the day doing something for me. And that made me feel that I had invested something good in myself before I handed myself over to the demands of others for the rest of the day.

Being SELFISH rather than SELFLESS is a good thing! We are so programmed to give, give, give to others that we forget that we deserve some of our own hard work and devotion. Differentiate between “Shoulds” and “Wants” during your selfish hour of the day. Do what you desire. Fulfill your need to be free to make choices and do things unfettered by others. Put some good stuff in your Bank of Id so that you can be the best you can be when it comes time to put forth for others.