Burnout Unraveled Part 3: Prevention and Reduction

Practical Strategies and Personal Insights to Find Balance and Prevent or Reduce Burnout in Your Life

Terry Duke

Apr 19, 2025

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//This is an entry in the "War to Writing" series. Join me as I explore my Air Force service, retirement, and transition to the beginning of my storytelling journey on Substack in November 2024.//

Struggling with burnout comes from strength, and is not a sign of weakness.

Last week we talked about identifying burnout. This week we’ll cover how to Prevent and Reduce the impacts of it.

To prepare today’s article, I got to do a bit more research than usual and had fun picking which threads to weave together for you.

In hindsight, many of these techniques would have been helpful earlier in my personal burnout journey. Several of these only required a slight realignment of my priorities, and a more educated and focused effort on prevention could have gone a long way toward reducing the impacts of burnout.

I hope you find this article useful in your journey and perhaps avoid some of the missteps I made. :)

Today we break down our info in three sections:

Quick list - A list of 8 links and 15 topics so you can dig deeper if you find something particularly useful. I include 5 additional ideas for employers, organizational leaders, managers and supervisors.
The Big 3 - I’ll dig a little deeper on the three techniques I find most valuable.
Common Threads - I’ll wrap this up by identifying common threads in these techniques and weaving them into a pattern you can recognize and apply as needed.

Series Recap: There is no quick fix for burnout. It is easier to focus on Prevention and Reduction when you can identify early signs of burnout.

Today’s Bottom Line: Deliberate, targeted action can be effective to reduce burnout. There are many tools to add to your toolbox - pick ones that seem the best fit for you and use them well. :)

Outline:

20 Quick Tips - Links, 15 ‘Quick’ Tips, Ideas for Employers, Supervisors and Managers
The Big 3 - Work/Life Balance, Boundaries, Perfectionism
Common Threads - We’re all human, Finding Balance, Reclaiming the Wheel

20 Quick Tips

A list of 8 links and 15 topics so you can dig deeper if you find something particularly useful. I include 5 additional ideas for employers, organizational leaders, managers and supervisors.

15 Tips to Lower Stress and Prevent or Reduce Burnout

Recognize red flags (me) - It is easier to prevent and reduce burnout when you can identify signs of burnout. Basically, if you’re frequently stressed out beyond your typical capacity, take a brief moment to consider why.

Review Part 2 of this series if needed. :)

Have creative outlets (PT) - When we are stressed and busy, our creative endeavors tend to fade away first… but that’s when they’re most important. If you’re constantly stressed with too much to do, your brain and nervous system could probably benefit from a quick break for a different pace and different type of thinking.

Creative outlets are great for that. :)

Take care of yourself (PT) - When we approach burnout, we’re often doing many things for others, and we can easily forget to take care of ourselves. We aren’t machines. Consider things like taking lunch breaks away from your work, going for an evening walk, or having that piece of cake. (This is for your sanity not your waistline.)

Get support where you can find it (PT) - The article suggests:

supportive people are the best inoculation against burnout.

That sounds legit to me. The catch is, as we approach burnout, and certainly if we reach it, we become more difficult to support. (you catch more flies with honey than vinegar) As I said in my first missive here on Substack, I’ve put my family through a LOT in the last couple years on my burnout journey. As I figure it out and get better, they are more able to provide empathy and support, but I made it very difficult for them to do so for quite a while.

Get real and go there (PT) - It is important to stay grounded and be honest with yourself. Similar to the author in the article, I had to “dig deep to uncover why I was a people pleasing, perfectionist, achieve-aholic.”

I’m still figuring that out, but it took a bit of work to even “get real” and recognize I needed to “go there.”

Increase positive thought ratio (3:1) (PT) - For example: “I will finish this article on time” vs. “wtf did I get myself into?” or “why did I say I would do this?”

Studies show that increasing your diet of positive emotion builds your resilience, creativity (see [creative outlets] above), and ability to be solution-focused, things that are in short supply if you feel like you’re burning out. I made it a point to start noticing when people did things well (and told them so), and I tried to stop being so hard on myself.

Self-deprecation or negative self-talk can be very easy. I’m guilty.

When my empathy tank runs dry, giving others praise is tough.

Bottom Line: However you frame the 3:1 ratio, make sure that’s more like 1:3. :)

Check alignment in professional roles (MWB)

“First, make sure that you're experiencing alignment in your professional roles. This means that your values and actions are working in accordance with one another and you're mindful of how you're relating to your work, relationships and stress.”

You may not be able to make everything in your professional life fall into alignment. A moment to pause and consider what you can or should realign probably wouldn’t hurt. :)

Perhaps you have some control over something you felt was unchangeable or unimportant but now see in a new light. If you have opportunities to innovate or improve processes, incremental nudges toward alignment can add up.

Prioritize self-care / Establish self-care routines (MWB) - A more specific idea of “take care of yourself,” it is easy to let our needs fall to the wayside when we approach burnout. Establishing routines that include specific ‘self-care’ stuff can provide many benefits.

Scheduling time to do things we enjoy can provide a sense of control and satisfaction.

Taking regular breaks to change your environment, even for a few moments, can help reduce stress and provide a fresh perspective to tackle the task at hand.

Morning routines, if they are healthy, enjoyable, and repeatable, can be an excellent way to prioritize self-care before the daily demands of the world take over.

Set healthy boundaries / Learn to say “No” (MWB / PF)

This quote from Mariah Parker touches on boundaries from several important angles:

“Wellness is about being honest with yourself and openly sharing your needs with others. Overextending yourself at work is often not sustainable, and can absolutely lead to feelings of burnout. Think about why you continue to spread yourself so thin… are you a people-pleaser, a perfectionist, a procrastinator? Your motivation for making these stressful decisions is the answer to changing for the better. A perfectionist has to give themselves permission to make mistakes. Someone who is a people-pleaser needs to learn how to say ‘no’. I’ve found that saying ‘no’ with a gentle smile and offering an alternative solution can soften feelings of rejection and help people feel less defensive while setting healthy boundaries for yourself.

Develop strong coping skills (MWB)

“Perhaps you work in a high-stress field that has no room for setting healthy boundaries. Realistically, not everyone has the freedom to decline a task or avoid working on projects outside of their job description. What do you do then?”

The article continues and suggests alcohol is a common, yet less-than-ideal technique. ;p

We all know the long-term effects of alcohol do not help build resiliency, so I’m not going to harp on that here.

The point is that we should examine our coping skills and try to improve them. The tips on this list may be a place to start. :)

Don't strive for perfection (Time) - There are many great tips in the Time Magazine article. My take on perfectionism is one of the “Big 3” in the next section below.

This quote captures the depth the article explores:

Both perfectionism and burnout are never likely to go away completely—not as long stressors on the job and in the home endure, and they will. But it is possible to decouple the two, making life easier—and healthier—both for perfectionists and the people around them.

Know when to move on (PF)

If your job role continuously overwhelms you and causes stress, then it may be time to think about moving on to something else. Whether it’s a complete switch of industry or a change in organisation, it’s important to put your health first and find a role with less stress.
If you want to achieve long-term success and be happier in your career, then you need to prioritise reducing your stress levels and creating a good work-life balance.

The pushfar.com article (British (mis)spellings kept) addresses this from a career perspective, but I would add a personal touch.

Sometimes we need to “let go” of things that we dwell on. Maybe it’s a mistake we made, something stupid we said, or a task we keep putting off that might actually not need doing.

Exercise your body and mind (MNT)

We have all heard exercise is important. What matters most here is that we understand our options and best practices.

Exercise does not have to mean high intensity workouts. A 2019 systematic review found that yoga may help manage stress and burnout in healthcare workers.
Meditation and mindfulness techniques may help lower blood pressure, reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms, and combat insomnia.

One of my Dutch colleagues loved to say: “Sitting is the new smoking.” In many ways, he’s right.

Most of us sit too much. We stare at screens and doom-scroll or binge-watch too much. We know this, but do it anyway.

(BTW, Substack = ‘bloom-scroll’ 😉 )

With this as our “normal,” even a little effort to stretch our legs and exercise our minds is helpful.

Identify what you need from your work (HBR) - This article from Harvard Business Review takes and interesting approach and explores the concept of an ideal company. This company is a unicorn and does not exist, so I’m not suggesting you find a job here. :)

These ideas may help you determine what aspects of your work are most important to you.

In a nutshell, it’s a company where individual differences are nurtured; information is not suppressed or spun; the company adds value to employees, rather than merely extracting it from them; the organization stands for something meaningful; the work itself is intrinsically rewarding; and there are no stupid rules.

Restated:

1. You can be yourself
2. You’re told what’s really going on
3. Your strengths are magnified
4. The company stands for something meaningful
5. Your daily work is rewarding
6. Stupid rules don’t exist

5 Thoughts for employers, organizational leaders, managers and supervisors:

If you are in a position to shape culture, assign tasks, or improve efficiency and Quality of Life, the following tips may be of particular note.

Increase Psychological Safety (PP) - This take from Positive Psychology speaks for itself:

Staff must see work as nonthreatening, allowing them to work and collaborate effectively. We can help perceptions of psychological safety by:
- Giving staff clear goals
- Making sure they feel heard by management
- Making work challenging yet non-threatening
Create a culture where it is okay to fail. Recognize and encourage people who think outside the box.

Maintain temporal boundaries (PP) - This is big for those who Work From Home or have similar challenges compartmentalizing time for important tasks. Crafting boundaries for your time that fit your life is just as important as understanding and respecting those boundaries of others.

Create a work schedule that fits your needs and your organization’s, such as taking the children to school and stopping for lunch. Respect your own time and that of your colleagues. They may have different schedules for their commitments.

Assess alignment between skillset and job tasks (AHA) - In today’s rapidly changing environment, opportunities to assess and re-align skillsets with tasks may be abundant. Even in the rigid military structure there are constant processes churning to ensure personnel are properly trained and equipped for their mission. (I’m not going to say it always works well… but they try.)

Regularly assess workloads (AHA) - ‘Doing more with less’ doesn’t mean piling more tasks on your best workers. Regularly assessing (and properly adjusting) workloads may be an effective tool to explore. Besides reducing burnout, maintaining workload balance should improve overall morale and may ultimately improve your bottom line.

Establish clear roles and responsibilities (AHA) - This is one thing the military typically gets right, and perhaps to a fault.

When you consider roles and responsibilities within your organization, planning or defining them is just the start. Clearly explaining them (perhaps more accurately: ensuring they are understood) is vital to reduce confusion and get everyone on the same page.

If you take that one step further with a solid feedback loop and flexibility (when appropriate) you can create increasingly clear alignment with your vision and bolster the effectiveness and cohesion of your team.

Do you know someone who might like this? This post is public so feel free to share it. :)

The Big 3

The following three areas are the ones I feel have been most important for me to consider and address. All of them can (and likely will) be missives of their own at some point. These topics deserve their own deep dives.

Work/Life Balance

In my retirement ceremony I noted that our international colleagues generally seemed to keep their work/life balance in better order than us silly Americans.

At the time, I didn’t realize how particularly out-of-whack mine was, even compared to where I wanted to be.

If, at the time, I had a more objective view of how off-kilter my balance had been, I likely would have adjusted course. My family was always my highest priority… but the longer my career went on, the further they fell behind my mission.

“20 years from now, the only people who will remember you worked late are your kids.”⁷

That quote hit me hard, and I think it’s because I know my work/life balance is out-of-whack.

As Americans in general, certainly in our military, we tend to get so focused on our jobs and careers we often fail to give our time attention to our families. I’ve told my family on more than one occasion that it seems what they get from me is the leftovers after I’ve given the best of me to my job. Our international colleagues generally seem to do a much better job at this than we do, and it has been good for me to watch and learn.

- jofty, “My USAF Retirement Ceremony: Thanks, Wisdom, Promises,” 30 Nov 24

The survival techniques our family developed over years of military requirements stacked up layer upon layer so thick we lost sight of our foundation: taking care of our family first.

Boundaries

I have a feeling we’ll be talking more about boundaries as we go forward here. When I’ve spoken about “agency” I’ve missed many opportunities to define what boundaries I set to limit my agency and how that helped me survive the service.

Perhaps another way to approach the concept would be: “Boundaries and Balance.” It seems I have concrete barriers and air-gaps, or, no-filter and warm embraces. Many healthy barriers lie somewhere between those extremes.

Regardless of how you approach it, Balance is always something to seek.

Think of boundaries as “your own personal rules of engagement for how others will interact with you,” says Terri Cole, a New York-based therapist and author of Boundary Boss. If you don’t set any, you’ll likely become stressed and burned out, and as resentment simmers, your relationships might become strained. With boundaries in place, on the other hand, your confidence and self-esteem will leap upwards, you’ll have a greater sense of control, and you’ll feel both physically and emotionally safe.

- Article By Angela Haupt - December 31, 2024

Perfectionism

The Time article I referenced above is an insightful read about the interesting relationship between Perfectionism and Burnout. It might be worth a look if you’re curious about how these particular threads intertwine.

The researchers identified nine other symptoms of burnout in addition to the established ones: anxiety; depression; irritability or anger; sleep disturbances; lack of motivation or passion; memory problems or brain fog; withdrawal from others; physical symptoms like headaches, nausea or low libido; and mood swings.

“We’re challenging the definition of burnout,” Parker says. “We’re coming up with a much broader set of symptoms.” And perfectionists seem to embody many of these.

- Article by Jeffrey Kluger published on January 6, 2023.

It took me a while to admit I was a perfectionist and start the ‘recovery’ process. I thought it sounded rather pretentious… until I heard it’s really about “finding fault easily” - that’s when I knew I could admit it and get to work on recovery. :)

Common Threads

I’ll wrap this up by identifying common threads in these techniques and weaving them into a pattern you can recognize and apply as needed or desired.

We need to remember: We're all human and have limits.

It’s hard to believe we so easily lose sight of this. I did. For years.

If you live or work in a bubble of hustle, a den of chaos, or simply a high-achievement/no-fail culture, key threads of our humanity may get frayed… or ignored.

In the military I felt everyone generally had my back “when it mattered” or “for the mission.” I took so much comfort in that I frequently forgot to remember my fellow Airmen had their own struggles and limits as well.

Regardless of the culture we find ourselves in, we need to remember real people have human limits.

Finding Balance - When to Push, or when to push Pause

Burnout loves extremes. As someone who likes to go all-in (“all afterburner and no rudder”) I developed a habit of saying “yes” way too often. That got me way off balance.

I used to think I had to keep pushing to achieve and that trying to find balance meant I was slacking off.

Now I know that finding balance means knowing when to push, and when to push pause.

There may be a time and a place for a “Go, Go, Go!” mentality, but that when becomes your default mode, trying to maintain balance will be like trying to run across a tightrope.

Reclaiming the Wheel - "Quality of Life" matters, and is a luxury we can afford

It may seem like there’s not much you can do to affect ‘Quality of Life’ change around you, but small, intentional moves give you more control than you think.

Maybe it starts with saying ‘no’ instead of the rehearsed, automatic ‘yes.’ Perhaps you find peace in carving out 10 minutes alone to breathe and let your mind wander. Who knows, dive right off the edge and go for real sugar in your coffee tomorrow. #YOLO.

Feeling like a passenger in your own life - like the world is zooming by and you can’t steer - means you need to take back the wheel.

The biggest thing we can control in life is how we respond to things that happen to us.

Maybe you can’t tell your boss what to do (I mean, whatever your career can handle) but if you can find a quiet spot to breathe before clicking “send” on that email, you take back a little bit of control, and improve your own quality of life.

Whatever it is, pick one thing that actually matters to you each day, that you can control, and try to tackle that. Give yourself a little grace if you don’t always succeed, but also pause to appreciate those small victories as you achieve them.

You may find yourself back behind the wheel sooner or more often than you think. 8^)

Perhaps the best way to close is to answer the question: “What do I wish I had done differently?”

My best answer is: Prioritize human connections with more people around me.

Connection with others may be the lifeline I almost missed. There were times I haven’t written about, yet, that I didn’t realize I had been blown overboard. My family was trying to reel me in, but I was just bobbing along not reaching for their help.

Though I didn’t realize it at the time, I pushed my family away when I was sinking and thought I could swim on my own. For a while, I didn’t even know how to tell them I was struggling.

Learning to reconnect with my family was how I grabbed their lifeline and got out of the water.

I found it important to remember that while I felt overburdened, it wasn’t about “unloading everything,” it was about remembering I had people around me who cared about me and wanted to help.

That’s what prevention looks like to me.

If “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” Preventing, or Reducing impacts of Burnout can be less painful than trying to recover from it.

We’re all human, we need to find some balance, and we can reclaim the wheel on our journey.

Thank you for joining me on this Substack journey. I hope my words provide some insight or comfort. If you would like me to dig deeper on a topic or have questions or comments, I invite you to add your thoughts below or send me a DM. :)

Join us next Saturday for Part 4 - Burnout Unraveled: Recovery.

I hope you have a pleasant week! I’ll see you next Saturday.

Take care,

- jofty 8^)

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