How to Recover from Burnout While Still Working
Let’s talk a little about how to recover from burnout while still working. Is it even possible?
Back in 2020, I was working long hours as an executive director in a financial consulting firm when my body started to push back. I developed chronic migraines and horrific back pain—some days, I could barely get out of bed, let alone make it into the office.
I eventually realized I couldn’t keep ignoring what my body and mind were trying to tell me. I was experiencing chronic burnout, and something would have to change.
Burnout is a systemic issue. A 30-country study conducted by the McKinsey Health Institute found that 22% of employees are experiencing burnout at work (get the full report here) with high workplace demands as the main cause.
If your job is truly misaligned with your well-being, looking for something else might still be the best path. It’s important to trust yourself to know the difference! But - if you’re looking for ways to recover from burnout while still working, sometimes a slower, more intentional approach to work can bring relief without an abrupt change. Things really started to shift for me when I gave myself permission to move at a different pace.
Let’s explore how to tune into your body, set boundaries, and make small adjustments in your work environment to bring more ease into your work life.
What is burnout and what are the symptoms of burnout?
Burnout is more than just being stressed out. Not everyone who is stressed out at work will experience burnout, and not everyone with burnout may have a work environment that looks stressful.
So how do you know if you’re burned out?
Burnout is best identified by a set of symptoms. These may be emotional, physical, or behavioral. Some emotional cues are feeling helpless, cynical, self-doubting, dissatisfied, or detached. Physically, you may notice headaches, an upset stomach, fatigue, getting sick often, or changes to your sleep or eating. If you find yourself procrastinating, withdrawing, having emotional outbursts, or struggling with performance, these can all be behavioral indicators that you’re burned out.
If you're not sure, a medical or mental health professional can help rule out other medical conditions.
How to Recover from Burnout While Still Working
In an ideal world, we’d all have the time and resources to take a real break when we’re burned out. With an understanding that’s not always possible, I’d like to explore some ways to recover from burnout while still working.
Recognize that you’re experiencing burnout.
Like any recovery process, the most important first step is acknowledging that you’re burned out. By the time we reach burnout, we may have spent years distancing ourselves from the cues our bodies have been sending. Acknowledging burnout often means first accepting that what you’re experiencing is too much and that something needs to change.
As soon as you suspect you might be experiencing burnout, consider how you’ve been feeling and notice changes to your symptoms over time. The good news is that naming the problem means you can start taking steps to feel better. Burnout is a temporary state with plenty of recovery options.
One of the tools that I found most helpful at this stage was Somatic Internal Family Systems coaching. Learn more about IFS here.
Take a look at what you can change.
The focus of this post is how to recover from burnout while still working, but before going into how to continue in your current role, you might consider whether there’s any possibility of shifting your circumstances.
Do you see the potential for change within your current job? Perhaps there are options — like reducing hours, changing departments, shifting responsibilities, or working from home — that your employer would consider. This can be especially helpful if it’s something specific (a challenging manager, a long commute, etc.) that’s contributing to your sense of burnout.
If you can’t see a path forward at your current company, can you imagine changing jobs? I want to recognize that a job search—especially in an uncertain economy — can take energy that you might not have. If that’s the case, that’s totally ok too. This is about lightening your load rather than adding to it.
Make time for rest (and sleep)
Once you’ve acknowledged your burnout and made some adjustments to your circumstances, perhaps the most important next step is to make time for rest and sleep.
Sleep is a major factor in our resilience — just ask any new parent! When I was burned out, one of my symptoms was insomnia (more on that here) which made every other aspect of life a lot harder. If it’s simply a matter of making time for sleep, identifying burnout as an issue can be a good time to experiment with earlier bedtimes, wind-down rituals, etc. If your sleep issues are ongoing, you might also consider working towards insomnia relief as a good starting point.
As for rest, this is the time to schedule less. If you have the opportunity to take time off or cancel a commitment, this can be a good time to do it.
Make time for self-care
The term “self-care” makes many high achievers wince. At best, it can sound like a superficial practice that won’t make much difference in your burnout. At worst, it might sound like one more thing to make time for.
Let me try to change your mind.
Real self-care is about increasing your capacity by learning what works for your system and being more deliberate about where you put your time and energy.
If your goal is to recover from burnout while still working, building more self-care into your daily life can make all the difference. Start with small changes like taking a 15-minute walk during lunch or deleting social media apps for a week. Balance in your body can do a lot to bring stability back into your work life. Self-care will help.
Don’t know where to start? Take a look at my self-paced Self-Care for Professionals course.
Simplify, simplify, simplify
With some rest and focus on the foundations of self-care, you can shift your attention back to what you can change in your external environment.
Feeling overwhelmed with the never-ending list of to-dos? You might try ranking them into high, medium, and low priority based on importance. The “low priority” tasks can go on the back burner until you’re feeling more resourced to address them.
Electronic boundaries like removing certain notifications from your phone or using calendar blockers can also have a big impact on giving you your time back.
Practice Setting Boundaries
Burnout is often caused, in part, because we are missing healthy boundaries. We say “yes” at our own expense, and that can take its toll over time. This is especially true for high-achievers and people-pleasers!
Boundaries take time to learn and a lot of practice to set. So where can we start?
Start by noticing moments where you are feeling frustrated, anxious, resentful, or otherwise stretched beyond what is comfortable (more on how to notice that here).
Reflect on what protections you can put in place for yourself to manage that. Remember - it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. “Small” boundaries can really add up.
A boundary can be communicated or kept private but ultimately is something you maintain. Once you’ve clearly defined what it is, the practice is in enforcing it.
For example: A coworker often schedules last-minute meetings. You say yes because your calendar is open, but at the end of the day, you feel overwhelmed and annoyed that you didn’t get to the tasks you were meant to accomplish for the day. An effective boundary might be telling that coworker that you’re only free for meetings with some advance notice. Next time they ask, you can politely decline or suggest something the next day.
Setting and maintaining boundaries can be truly challenging work. This is especially true in a professional environment when complex dynamics come into play! My best advice is to start with something small and clear and practice. You can also practice at home and/or with friends to see how this evolves or gets easier over time. If it’s feeling especially difficult, embodied leadership coaching might help you understand why.
Reconnect
One of the most challenging symptoms of burnout is the sense of isolation that can come along with it.
It might be that you’re carrying too much on your own and need some outside help. Or it might just be an opportunity to bring more connection, perspective, and emotional balance into your life. The effort to reconnect with people in your life, coworkers, or a supportive professional will do a lot to counteract the effects of burnout while still working!
Remember how this story began? IFS made such a huge difference by teaching me to listen to what my body and subconscious already knew. My daily migraines went down to once or twice a month, my other chronic health issues are gone, and I am now able to work in ways that give me energy.
However, how you recover from burnout while still working will be a personal journey. There’s no quick fix (it took me years). My hope is that you remember you are worth the effort - and even the smallest step toward yourself is a powerful one.
Wishing you lots of compassion for yourself in the process.