Up until recently, whenever I heard someone say they were "burned out" I assumed it solely had to do with work and never considered that people could be burned out from, well, life in general.
Burnout can show up in numerous ways and varies from person to person. While it's a normal feeling, sometimes one of the most challenging parts of burnout is figuring out how to combat it. Luckily people like content creator and burnout coach Gabriela Flax (@gabriela_flax) are trying to end the stigma around burnout and help people overcome the anxiousness, stress, and overwhelm by implementing small things into their everyday routine.
One of Gabriela's most viral videos on her page is her explaining her "10 boring tips" that helped her overcome burnout. One of the first slides in the TikTok reads, "At the height of my burnout, deciding my outfit or what I would have for lunch felt like climbing a mountain."
Gabriela explained to BuzzFeed that in her twenties, she lived what an outsider looking in would call a "full life". "I had a job I was passionate about, was fortunate to travel for work, and enjoyed a fulfilling life with a great support network and a loving dog. Yet, despite the outward 'success,' I found myself struggling to do the simplest of tasks," she said.
Gabriela gave BuzzFeed more insight into how burnout happens. "Burnout can occur whenever there's an imbalance between the demands on us and the resources we have available," she said.
"While work-related burnout is commonly acknowledged, it can also surface when we feel overwhelmed, stressed, or depleted in various aspects of life, such as personal relationships, family responsibilities, and self-care," Gabriela explained.
In her video, Gabriela shared that removing variety from her life (aka getting boring) allowed her to save the energy needed to build resilience. Her tips are simple ones that most people could apply to different aspects of their life.
One of Gabriela's tips includes picking one "outside" outfit and one "inside outfit" that you feel comfortable in. "Have three sets of each to make getting dressed simple and decision-free," she wrote in her video.
Another simple tip Gabriela shared that resonated with me was to buy and use paper plates and throw away cutlery to eliminate having to wash dishes after cooking or eating — an everyday task that can sometimes feel like a huge chore when you're burned out.
Another tip having to do with spending time in the kitchen is to order a ready-cooked meal delivery service to come once a week — if you can afford to. "This takes the decision-making process out of what to eat, saves you energy on having to food shop and cook, and keeps you nourished," Gabriela shared in her video.
If your skincare routine currently consists of a ton of products and steps, Garbriela recommends downgrading to a simpler routine — because doing anything too lengthy, like a multi-step skincare routine, can feel unrealistic when burned out.
Since decisions seem difficult to make when burned out, Gabriela suggests looking for ways to make your life easier by taking the decision-making out of it such as automating your bills and setting up automatic shipments (from sites like Amazon) of necessities such as toilet paper, paper towels, and toothpaste so you don't have to decide when to go to the store to repurchase these items.
Other steps include disabling social media notifications on your phone and deleting email apps from your phone — since none of these things need your attention until you're ready to give them your attention.
And lastly, Gabriela suggests having a clean clothes bin and a dirty clothes bin. The clean clothes bin is meant for clothes that are freshly washed but you're not up to putting them away at that moment. "This helped keep my space tidy (mess can make us feel worse!) without feeling like I always needed to hang things up," she wrote in her TikTok.
"I was inspired to make my video to remind individuals that they are not broken, just perhaps burned out — by clarifying that in burnout, even simple decisions become challenging. Offering seemingly 'boring tips' to ease that frustration, I aim to help people internalize the message that they are not defective. These 'boring tips' help reduce surface-level overwhelm, freeing up time and energy for deeper healing," Gabriela said.
Since being posted last month, Gabriela's video has received over three million views and has garnered more than 3,000 comments from people sharing how much they resonate with the feeling of burnout.
And how helpful and relatable Gabriela's tips are.
"I’m grateful that these tips have helped provide relief for those struggling with burnout. Burnout can feel incredibly isolating and knowing the tips helped people feel supported and seen makes me hopeful that people can recover," Gabriela told BuzzFeed.
People experience burnout for a slew of reasons and it shows up in different ways. Always remember to show yourself some grace and be kind to yourself. If you try any of Gabriela's tips or have your own tips for dealing with burnout, share them with me in the comments below.
