As I work for myself, I am always giving 100% to my business! I rarely have a day where I am not working because I genuinely love my job, however I have definitely learnt a tonne over the past year, about what it means to give 100%, without burning out. I definitely have weeks (especially after a project has launched) where I feel physically and mentally exhausted, and it definitely takes its toll. And you know what people tell me? That I should learn to find balance.

Although I agree to some extent and work hard at prioritising my personal life too, I have learnt that there is no such thing as balance. Sure, we can prioritise different aspects of our lives over others when needed, but there is no such thing as giving 100% to all areas, at once. It’s impossible… trust me I have tried!

You know what I have come to realise? That in different periods of your life, you will place more importance on different areas of your life. For example, right now I am focusing heavily on getting my business off the ground because that is a priority for me. However I recognise when I need to step away and focus on family time too, and as a result, my business takes a back seat for a few days. And that is OK!

There is no decision that we can make that doesn’t come with balance or sacrifice

I chat about this a lot on my socials, but I wanted to jump on my blog to write a more detailed, how-to guide to giving 100%, without suffering from burnout! This can apply to literally ANYTHING, not just work! I find these tools helpful with my fitness routine, healthy eating habits, family, my relationship with my husband, and my relationship with myself.

I’ve put together 4 important steps for you GFs, on how to give 100% without burning out! My tip for you is to practice constant mindfulness around these 4 steps. I even suggest printing this out!

Here goes...

STEP 1: KNOW WHEN TO GO HARD, AND WHEN TO EASE UP ON YOURSELF

For most of us, we find it really bloody hard to know when to go hard at something, and when to give ourselves a break. Especially in today’s society where overworking is glorified, we are conditioned to believe that it’s BAD to go easy on ourselves when we need to. You should be working at a thousand miles an hour, and pushing yourself to extremes at all times, right?

WRONG.

It is incredibly important to learn to hone in on your intuition. Are you working on a tight deadline? Maybe go a little harder during office hours. Do you find yourself struggling to sleep or are feeling overwhelmed and anxious? That’s probably a time when you should recognise to ease up on yourself! After all, we are only human! This applies to fitness as well. Learn to recognise when you’re feeling up to pushing yourself harder to reach a new PB, or if your body is not feeling up to it and you should be taking it easy.

Learning to recognise when to go harder and when to slow down a little is CRUCIAL to preventing burn out.

STEP 2: TALK IT OUT

When you’re feeling overwhelmed, or stressed, or like it’s all a bit too much... the best thing to do is to TALK ABOUT IT. If something is work related, I suggest having an honest conversation with your boss about how you feel, or if something needs to be changed. If it’s a personal aspect, chat to a family member, close friend or a partner about what it is you’re going through. Not only can talking about it make you feel instantly less overwhelmed, but you will be surprised at the advice that you recieve! Often, we don’t recognise certain things in ourselves, that others close to you can recognise straight away!

By bottling up our stress and feelings, it becomes so much easier to burn out, and you will usually find yourself burning out much faster that if you had told someone about it. I know that when I’m feeling overwhelmed with work, I’ll chat to Tim and instantly feel a thousand times better having talked about my frustrations, rather than keeping them to myself. Not only does he listen, but he gives me practical advice and I see things in an entirely new perspective afterwards.

If you don’t feel comfortable talking to someone close to you, search for a therapist or counselor! It’s their JOB to listen to you and come up with proactive solutions and tools to help you deal with things in a conscious, helpful way.

STEP 3: SWITCH OFF

This is a BIGGY! I don’t mean finding time to switch off for a few hours, once a week. I am learning myself that it is imperative to switch off from whatever has you stressed, at least for a few hours every single day. Do you find it hard to sleep at night? It’s because your mind has not switched off!

Whatever it is that you are prioritising right now, find the time every day to completely switch off and be present. Do something you enjoy! I have a cut off period that I try to stick to in terms of answering work emails, and at the end of every day when Tim comes home from work, I leave my phone upstairs to make sure that I am present and enjoying my nights with him as a family. We cook dinner together, watch a movie or a Netflix series and chat until we fall asleep. One BIG rule I have is to try and limit “work talk” or any kind of talk that keeps you stressed about during the day.

STEP 4: RECHARGE

I honestly feel like every single one of my blog posts includes some sort of tip about practising self love and positivity… but GF’s, I say it over and over again because it’s SO IMPORTANT in everything that you do. It is one of the main things I do every single day because it reminds me of how amazing my life is, how lucky I am to be alive, and how awesome I am as a human!

I encourage you all to do one thing every single day, for yourself. Take a bath, pamper yourself with a face mask, read a book, indulge in your favourite healthy treat or curl up in bed with some tea and a great TV show… We so often forget to take care of ourselves on our mission to find “success” but the older I get, the more I realise that by looking after yourself first, everything around you flourishes! A happy girl = a happy relationship, a happy career, and a happy LIFE.

If you haven’t already, start introducing positive affirmations and gratitude into your daily routine. Stopping to think about how lucky you are and seeing the positive in every situation makes giving 100% so much easier, and it’s also far more enjoyable!

So there you have it GF! All of these things act as your very own power supply because when you do these steps, you are recharging your mind, your body and your heart!

Love always,

G x