Don’t Let Yourself Burn Out

Being overworked is really common, and when that’s happening to you it can totally destroy your life and wreck havoc on your mental health. That’s why it’s important to be able to communicate your needs to your boss in a professional way before things go south personally and/or professionally.

Pick The Right Moment To Talk

When we’re overworked and at the end of our professional rope everything balloons out of proportion. Burnout leaves people feeling exhausted, empty and unable to cope with life’s demands. If you’re facing burnout it’s important to talk to your boss before you snap and either need to take time off or decide to leave the job altogether. Although you do need to talk to your boss, you have to choose your moment carefully. Make sure they’re not too busy, otherwise engaged, or having a day where they are too overwhelmed or distracted to give your concerns the attention they deserve.

Prepare for the meeting

You can’t expect to simply walk into the boss’s office, tell them you feel overworked and near burnout and expect them to suddenly take half your responsibilities off your plate. Come in with solutions prepared. How the work can be redistributed or how timelines can be adjusted or how new systems could alleviate the problem.

When you go in to talk about how much work you have, you don’t want to seem like you’re complaining, or talking about some ideal world where you suddenly have less work. Explain your situation. Why there is a problem and ideas you have to fix it to everyone’s satisfaction.

The moment may never be perfect

It’s important not to wait too long to have this conversation. Waiting for the right moment is very important, but if you wait too long and your resentment has a chance to fester and grow, by the time you’re able to make changes you may not want to stick with the job or company at all anymore. Be sure to have this conversation relatively soon after you realize you are experiencing a problem that can be fixed.

Strong managers are concerned about the well being of their people

A good manager should be concerned with your needs both on a personal level and from the perspective of what would be conducive to quality work. So don’t be intimidated about speaking up for yourself. If you’re going to do your best job you need to be in peak form, mentally and physically. Your boss will appreciate being kept in your loop.

Don’t Forget to Highlight Skills on Your Resume

Your resume is an at-a-glace document that highlights your work history and accomplishments. As you detail those accomplishments it’s important to remember to also highlight the skills you’ve acquired along the way.

There are certain skills specific to each job or industry and there are other skills that can be applied across the board. To make yourself irresistible to employers you want your resume to highlight both. Here are some of the skills employers consider beneficial regardless of the specific job.

Planning and organization

Whether you work on your own doing administrative tasks, are out in the field talking to a variety of people, or are in charge of a group of people, planning skills are essential. Employers want to know that you have the ability to prioritize your undertakings and budget your time appropriately. An organized person who is adept at managing their time will invariably do what they say they are going to do, during the time frame they specified. They’ve figured out how to break long term goals into achievable short term accomplishements.

Communication

Communication skills are the bedrock of just about any position. It’s imperative that you understand what is being asked of you and in turn, have the ability to make yourself understood easily and fluidly. Your resume should highlight the ways you excel at communication at all three levels, listening, verbal and written.

Problem solving

Once you’re hired an employer will want to feel confident that you have your job thoroughly under control. Your resume should demonstrate your ability to take initiative to come up with creative solutions to problems as they occur. Demonstrate some you were able to make a difference in your previous position. How you improved systems or work flow or how your efforts saved the organization time or money.

Cultivate Your Confidence

Are you one of those people who enjoys the full flower of confidence in yourself and your capabilities? If so then you will probably want to move on to another article. However, if you are someone who’s never quite managed to make their small seeds of confidence take root, then read on. We’ve got some tips that will nurture your confidence into bloom.

Make a list of great things that have happened recently

Reminding yourself of good or great things that have happened lately is a great way to awaken small buds of confidence in yourself. Those things don’t have to be huge. Anything that made you smile will do. Go over the past week. Write them all down. Focusing on the positives in your life will improve your mood overall, and make you feel happier and more confidant.

Tell a friend all the things you like about them

First off, it feels good to be nice. Second off, telling someone what you like about them will boost their confidence. Third off, while you’re busy looking for good in other people in your life,

you’ll be better able to see the good within yourself. You will improve your own confidence by proxy!  

Do something you’ve been putting off

All of us have things we’ve been putting off. Small things like replying to that email that’s been sitting in our in-box for a week. Calling our mom. Cleaning our apartment. Bigger things like starting the project waiting on the back burner. Continuing work on that project or finishing it off!

Things that need to be done are like a big mountain in the middle of your life. They prevent you from seeing around them to what’s on the other side. Not only that they are like a drought in our confidence field.

As you tackle each one you feel better about yourself and how you’re spending your time. You defy the voice in your head goading you to let things ride. You actually become a watering can for your seeds of confidence.

Noticing the good in your life and creating more by getting things done will sprout the buds of confidence. Keep nurturing them and you will cultivate the bloom you are after.

Choose Success Over Rejection

Rejection is hard. It can make you feel unworthy, sad, angry, frustrated. It’s not just hard emotionally it’s also hard physically. A rejection can feel like a punch in the stomach or an ache in your heart. Emotionally and/or physically so draining and negative it’s a wonder anyone would choose to wallow in the pool of rejection, but that’s just want so many of us do.

After a rejection it’s normal to be wary of trying again so we hold back, licking our wounds for a while. The problem is, all the negative emotions surrounding the rejection stick around because there’s no reason for them to move on. That’s why it’s so important to bounce back.

Ask for feedback

You cannot always get feedback after a rejection, but if you can, ask for it. You may not like what you hear. But finding out specifically why you were not successful can be immensely helpful. Use what you hear to improve for next time. With the right attitude you can use the feedback to inspire you in your next attempt. 

Give yourself a timeline

You may not want to get up and start running again immediately after your fall, but don’t let yourself stay down for too long. Go ahead and feel bad about the rejection but give yourself a timeline for that then get back on the move. Recognize that it was just a temporary setback and with some determination and revisions you can make a success of your goals.

Make a pledge not to give up

If you decide the rejection is the end of the road for you, then it will be. However, if you make a pledge with yourself to try and try again, then that’s what you’ll do. Remember, there’s a lesson to be learned in every rejection. Figure out what that is. Build on your strengths, improve on your weaknesses. Choose to chase success until you catch it!