09: What to do About Burnout

03/04/17 • 15 min

Steps and Tools for Emotional Intelligence

Learn four steps for dealing with burnout in your life after weeks and months of prolonged stress. In the previous episode, Dr. Greg Hamlin outlined the key characteristics of burnout and it's causes. In this episode, the focus is on what to do about it. Using emotional intelligence to recover from burnout means (1) recognizing it; (2) facing it; (3) taming it; and (4) growing beyond it. It also means learning to use one or two simple tools to get started in taking your life back from burnout.

Previous Episode

What is Burnout?

People who experience burnout don't necessarily work harder than those who avoid it. But people who have the emotional intelligence to recognize burnout in it's early stages are able to pace themselves more effectively. Most importantly, people who understand burnout are in a position to be significantly happier, despite being in a demanding job. In this episode, Dr. Hamlin explains how to be savvy about your well-being by avoiding the quicksand of emotional burnout.

Next Episode

How to Calm Your Nerves Before a Meeting

Various forms of social anxiety are common in the workplace. Even highly successful people can suddenly find a particular work situation becomes a trigger for high anxiety or even panic. One such situation is the conference call or business meeting. Many people find themselves with sweaty palms and crawling skin when they are about to give a status update or give a presentation in a conference call. Even more common are the rattled nerves before a presentation.

Being overly nervous can hinder your performance and leave you with a feeling that you did poorly, even your presentation went reasonably well. If you have to white-knuckle through the experience, then your are setting yourself up for unpleasantness the next time you have to give a presentation.

One solution involves a two step process. First, you practice specific relaxation skills over time so that you don't have to learn them on the day of the call or the meeting. Second, you have some simple notes in front of you that are your cheat sheet for how to calm yourself. This results in increased emotional intelligence so that you can outsmart your rattled nerves and be at your best. In this episode, Dr. Greg Hamlin presents a quick-and-dirty audio cheat sheet for how to calm your nerves before a meeting.