Doing what’s good enough for the situation and the audience tends to create the best overall result. Photo: File.
In her high-powered new job in a new country and desperate to make an impression, May Busch learnt the hard way that putting in an ever-increasing number of hours leads only to burnout.
How do you know if you’re working too hard and in danger of burning out? I remember the huge mistake I made that almost caused me to burn out.
As a newly promoted managing director, I had been transferred to the London office of my company charged with starting a new business line. So, I had a lot to prove.
Can you guess what I did? Believing more was better, I kept redoubling my efforts, working harder and harder.
I assumed this would get me twice the results. Instead, I almost burned out completely by driving myself too hard for too long. I made poor decisions and became less effective with people.
At the end of the day, I hardly had any time or energy for my family, much less myself.
It was a hard lesson, but working harder and harder for longer and longer isn’t the way to succeed.
Sure, putting in more time and effort gets more results at first, but if you keep pushing past the optimal point, like I did, you’ll end up in the land of diminishing returns.
This is where you get worse results from that extra hour of work. In fact, your results will improve by taking a break instead of trying even harder.
Maybe you’re working on a presentation and insisting on finishing it in one sitting. Or perhaps you’re spending hours on a problem and frustrated you’re getting nowhere.
How do you avoid diminishing returns and burning out? Here are five quick tips I later used to work smarter, not harder.
Take breaks: Whether you go for a walk or listen to music, stepping away is often what your brain needs to let new ideas rise to the surface.
Redefine ‘’good enough’’: You don’t have to go above and beyond for every task or project. Doing what’s good enough for the situation and the audience tends to create the best overall result.
Collaborate more: You don’t have to do everything by yourself. Think about who in your network you could leverage to get more done.
Let go of old strategies: The expectations of you will change as you become more experienced and senior, so you’ll need to change your way of working.
Don’t be afraid to let go of habits and methods that no longer work for you.
Develop a mantra: Write down something positive that will help keep you on track and remind yourself of it daily.
Here is one that works for me: “Hi, I’m May Busch. I’m very good at my job. I’m as good as any of them and better than most. I’m calm, cool and confident and I know what I’m talking about.”
I would say it out loud in front of the mirror every morning and remind myself of it throughout the day until I really started to believe it.
I hope these tips help you to work smarter, not harder. What’s your best tip for avoiding burnout?
May Busch’s mission is to help leaders and their organisations achieve their full potential. She works with smart entrepreneurs and top managements to build their businesses. She can be contacted at [email protected]. This article first appeared on May’s blogsite.
