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People ask me all the time how do I stay motivated and prevent burnout from working long hours and having multiple projects coming together for a period. And I have devised this system over the years that works for me and allows me to lead productive and successful lives at the same time. Here’s an inside look at how I solve the problem when it seems too easy.
I realise most people think 4:30 am is absurdly early, but it’s been life-changing for me. I used to get rushed when I woke up, behind on emails, and as though I was living in a tornado. My secret weapon is rising before daylight arrives. There’s silence in the home, no one around to be my interruptor and I am alone and I am fine being. I am typically alone for the first half hour or so, usually alone. This is my time. Planning my day. After performing that tiny routine, I feel at peace and clear.
By the time my partner wakes up, I feel like I’ve had some good “me time.” My partner and I share our dreams and thoughts — and just last night, dreams. We prepare coffee while planning to spend the day. This basic act transforms our entire relationship and how it will work. It helps us to reconnect and reunite emotionally to get through the day strong. They may sound small, but they have deepened our emotional connection. They provide us with the reassurance of being spotted, encouraged and totally attuned to one another. Sex is especially appropriate in the morning because of testosterone’s peak. It creates intimacy and connection before the stress of the day has rolled around. For large areas of my life, exercise was not, I felt, a necessity but an option. That mindset proved to be a fatal, expensive misstep.
For now, I play tennis two hours every morning without exception. To me, tennis is not just a physical workout or hobby. It’s a mental break, a time to cleanse my head and get back on track. You’re not worrying about emails while tracking the ball and your opponent. It seemed that once tennis was over, the endorphin rush is unlike anything else I’ve felt. I always feel more sharp and surer and calmer mentally when I’m finished. That is how I stay productive and feel like I can get some energy out of the day. Skipping tennis now takes unnatural feel because it’s so much a part of my life. If exercising has not clicked for you yet, try to keep going until something does.
If I didn’t have a specific day off every week to treat myself, I would absolutely crash and burn despite my morning routine and tennis schedule. I’m allowing myself to do the slow process of listening to what my body requires. Sometimes that means getting a massage, but other times it’s just getting a book and a podcast listen whilst gardening in the garage or tending the many plants at work or taking care of many plants at the office.
Doing this kind of ritual reminds me I’m not a machine. My mind and body need to rest and get some attention, in order to function best. It’s also a wonderful way to energize your creativity. When I enjoy myself and do not work to solve any problems, some of my best, most creative ideas come to me. Along with indulging myself, taking care of myself is absolutely essential to my overall productivity and well-being. I go to my parents every now and then, I reconnect with them deeply.
Just a short break for food or coffee goes a long way in ensuring there are those deep emotional connections. It’s very easy to find comfort and perspective in people that know me well. They don’t care about what I am supposed to do; they care about being a human being. So I also enjoy breakfast with friends before early morning when every day begins. We laugh, share updates and remember that there’s more with life than deadlines we can stick to. Those are the moments that remind me that in order to keep my head down emotionally connected to myself such time away to myself on a regular basis. They make me feel supported, valued and part of something besides work they do. They remind me that personal friendships are the key to staying true to my soul in a crisis. Every weekend is an opportunity to recharge that comes from breaks, it reminds me, we need an interval.
Sometimes speaking about this is merely planning some fun dinner, whether that involves setting up a casual event or finding someone new in which take it easy at a coffee shop. Still other times it’s about slowing down, watering gardens, turning around the plant and enjoying seeing what is going on inside it, for the love of God. This is indeed very therapeutic: working with plants. Nurturing something from earth to bloom is a discipline in patience and presence. It’s so gratifying to see growth take place gradually while you care for it.
It’s an actionable lesson that every single step we make in life — in our jobs and elsewhere — is a slow, methodical process. The process gets me into a zone where I can really slow down, stop losing center and feel confident if I put my time and effort I’ll get what little I’ve invested, even if it’s not instantaneous. A big change I’ve undergone is not so much a throw-away or standard to-do lists.
To-do lists provide a false sense that something is happening in productivity. Include tasks and they feel satisfying — it doesn’t guarantee they get done. They don’t capture how much time really is needed to be able to get things done. Long lists are so very productive but too easy to get overwhelmed. You’re busy, but not really focused or moving. I plan all important activities in my calendar instead. If it matters, it’s given a time slot. This forces me to prioritise and avoids overwhelm in my schedule. After the calendar gets full, I delegate or move things around. Not only do I manage time but I also plan for finances, downtime and personal commitments.
This proactive attitude helps minimise the stressors of daily life and prevents surprise pressure surges. By actively considering how and when to utilize my time, I stay in control. Central to this aspect is delegation. I work with an amazing team as we play to our strengths instead of trying to do everything! I rely on my team to do what they do best while doing what I do best — the work they do, that’s exactly what they are doing on their own. It makes the team faster and keeps the burnout away. If you do everything alone, you just become tired and inefficient. All leaders should know when to back off and delegate. Preventing burnout is not a magic trick, it’s creating a regimen where ambition is combined with self-care.
For me, that means:
waking up early for time to yourself.
Play tennis every morning.
Having coffee and meaningful discussions with my partner.
Schedule a day to take care of myself.
Keeping in touch with family and friends.
Working on gardening, audiobooks, and all fun weekend things.
Instead of to-do lists, use a calendar system.
Planning to have balance in all aspects of my life.
Transferred to my team so we are all shining.
At bottom, work is vital, but all the work is equally essential. If you’re feeling overwhelmed at one point or another, step back and ask yourself honestly whether you’re living at all — or just grinding away without stop — or whether you’re working with little or enough breaks left. The answer can never be one without the other because both are intensely valuable. A fulfilling life isn’t based primarily on work but also presence, connection, rest and joy.
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