Do you smell smoke?
Life in these United States recently posted a top ten list to check yourself to see if you are suffering from "Job-related BURN OUT."
Here are a few... 
5. Visions of the upcoming weekend help you make it through Monday.
3. You leave for a party and instinctively bring your ID badge.
2. Your DayTimer/Work Planner exploded a week ago.
The list made me laugh and cringe... all at the same time. Can you relate?
I wouldn't be surprised. More than half of the workers surveyed in a recent study claim to be working under a great deal of stress…while 77% say they are burned out!!
Can you smell smoke around your office? Is black soot from burn out a badge of honor in your company's hallways?
Or... maybe you work from home and you thought burn out would be a thing of the past... only to realize that checking e-mail at 10:30 pm is more the norm now than it was when you had a cubicle or a corner office!
Geeeesch. What's a person to do?
Well... one of the most important things you can do is acknowledge that it's an issue. It sounds so simple but this is key. Let's just say that it's the first step... and maybe the most important step.
Are you wondering if this is you? Here's a simple test I give my clients.
First step: Rank the following items from 1 to 10 (1 being least important and 10 being most important.)
_____ Spiritual Life
_____ Relationships/Family
_____ Relationships/friends
_____ Health and exercise
_____ Income
_____ Upkeep of home
_____ Continued learning and personal development
_____ Career
_____ Volunteering… church/community involvement
_____ Other: ________________________________
The Second Step:
Now think about how you spent your last 24 hours... your last week... even your last month. Does your schedule reflect your ranked priorities? (Note: This is tough. For most of us, it doesn’t. This is one of the reasons why we tend to feel a lack of balance in our lives and why we burn out.)
How did you do?
If your ranked priorities and your schedule didn't align... you might be seeing the orangeish hue of the burn-out flame. Because... when our lives and our priorities don't match up and/or when we are not in our sweet spot... burn-out tends to be around the corner.
If this is you, check out some of these on-line resources:
The main thing is... acknowledge it and do something. Work with a friend suffering from the same thing and get out of it together. Talk to a friend who has dealt with it... and see how they did it. Or... dare I say it... work with a coach to address it before the flame engulfs you.
It's critical and if it's not dealt with, it can have lasting impact on your commitment, your focus and your calling... let alone your health and your relationships.
So... sniff sniff... see if you smell smoke. If you do... take some action because where there's smoke... there might be burn out!
Join in the convo... if you've had some success with dealing with work-related burn out... click comments below and let the world know!
Photo credit and kudos to: superlocal
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