So once you have determined that YOU are that rubber band in various stages of overstretching, what do you do to regain your elasticity, adaptability and ability to cope and engage?

There are some big picture questions that you must ask yourself and explore, perhaps even with the help of an executive coach.

• What are the stressors in your life?
• Are there aspects of your job that do not align with your personal goals and values?
• Are you not doing the type of work you enjoy?
• Are your own measures of success realistic?
• Are you really engaged in the work you’re doing, or are you just overloaded?

What are some specific things that you can do right now to address burnout in your professional life?

1. Attend to your own biological needs. Sounds obvious but you must eat healthier, sleep more, exercise, not come home and plunk down on the coach and suck down multiple beers to relax. You need to attend to your basic preventive health care needs such as getting your cholesterol checked, getting your mammograms and your colonoscopies. You may consider contacting your wellness center at work or even hiring a lifestyle coach if you are not certain where to begin.
2. You must make time for you. Reset your internal expectations of yourself. Why would you treat yourself worse than you would consider treating anyone else??? This means doing something YOU enjoy with someone YOU enjoy doing it with. If you have forgotten what those things are then you will need to do some serious reflection about what is play for you. What recharges your battery? What are your environmental supports? When did you last take a vacation.. a real vacation-minus email? These vacations need to be planned and scheduled in advance or they will always be pre-empted by other activities that appear on the calendar. You need to connect with those you care about. Talk to friends, family, a coach or wellness professional. This can be tough because one of the forces of burnout drives us to withdraw. We think we just “don’t have the energy to engage”.
3. You must change your work habits. There is not enough time in the week for you to work 80 hours a week and be tethered to your blackberry or computer AND attend to your own basic physical and emotional needs. It is not possible. You may need to take a sabbatical, take one day off a week or take a leave of absence to heal yourself. This is not just desirable. It may be a necessity- not a luxury. You will need to go though a process of setting internal expectations with yourself about the boundaries that you have established (or not) for your work and life.
4. You must contemplate whether or not your current role/job has evolved to a point where it represents a disconnect between your values and your day to day life. The solution may be as simple as to build more of what charges your internal battery into your daily work life. Focus on what you are good at- which is usually also what you enjoy. You may also wish to explore your “why it matters” with an executive coach who can help you understand the critical relationship of your core motivating factors to your super-powers as well as to your success and happiness limiting behaviors. Your coach can guide you in your quest to align your career with your values and your motivating factors.

The human mind and body are resilient objects-capable of recovery and renewal- if given half a chance. But the trick is to appreciate what is happening before your health has suffered irreparably and to make the changes necessary for a healthy work life.