Stress or Burnout?
Burnout may be the result of merciless stress, but it is not the same as "too much" stress. Broadly, stress involves too many pressures that demand too much of a person physically and psychologically at a given time. Stressed people can still imagine, though, that if they can just get everything under control, they’ll feel better.
Burnout on the other hand, is signified by "not enough." Depletion of energy, motivation, will power and hope for positive change are all characteristic. If stress is like drowning in responsibilities, burnout is being too depleted to give any more. While a therapist may be well aware of operating under stressful conditions, they can usually see an end in sight. Once burnout enters, though, that end is no longer perceived as a realistic possibility.
Out of Balance
In this timetable, where purple indicates all of the time spent working, you can clearly see there is not enough balance. Only three hours of this busy person’s schedule is dedicated to relaxation, not enough to truly give her time to unwind and replenish her energy. Being busy can make people feel productive, but taking time for rest can actually help us get more done and sustain our energy levels.
If, when you do your own timetable, you find you have a great deal of blue and purple filling your chart, evaluate why you’re spending so much time working, either at your own business or as an employee. What are you currently doing that might be handled by another employee? Are there day-to-day activities that you could delegate?
When you don’t give yourself enough time to relax, you might find your energy levels plummeting, making getting everything you’ve committed to doing more difficult. Also, if you aren’t careful, a schedule that isn’t balanced may lead to burnout, which can be hard to recover from if not discovered in a timely manner.
Strike a Balance
A timetable that is balanced encompasses both work and other activities that give you the opportunity to rest or enhance yourself in ways not directly connected to your job. Here you can see the purple indicating time spent on work-related activities doesn’t overpower the chart. Spending time on personal relationships, your own health, self-development and relaxation are important aspects of keeping yourself balanced. When you take time out from work to let yourself unwind and replenish your reserves, the time you spend practicing massage therapy will be more productive, for you and your clients.
<1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9> Continue
|
American Massage Therapy Association®
