Test smart: how to escape burnout?
Burnout is a trendy thing, yet we can avoid getting into trouble using a few simple tips
Burnout isn’t the easiest topic to discuss once you’ve been one step close to it. However, let’s be honest: it is a hot, trending topic among IT people. With fast-evolving technologies and rapid release cycles, cognitive load is enormous and may take its toll on our health if we don’t handle it well.
Summer is a perfect time to slow down, recharge our batteries, reflect on the past and plan for the future. It is smart to stop and check our inner “temperature”: are we OK, or burning out?
In this story, I share a few tips on preventing burnout, learnt on a bumpy road of personal experience and borrowed from the leading experts.
Disclaimer: This is not a recipe for overall happiness and work-life balance, yet these tips have been tested.
Tip #1: Set the boundaries
The first thing is to keep your boundaries. The boundaries we establish with family members, friends, colleagues or customers are essential. Once we forget about them, we lose our space within any relationships, personal or professional.
For instance, someone asks you to do a favour and perform a task last minute: “It is very urgent and we have a release in two hours”. It is almost 5 p.m., and you’d like to finish for today. Your boss might be surprised that you have a private life, though. Besides, this is not a two-hour task, for sure.
Does it sound familiar? In this case, it is your right to say no. Because it was not agreed in advance, and you appreciate your time and sanity. You can offer to do this task as a number one priority, but on the next working day.
Psychologists call this assertiveness. It is the art of keeping personal boundaries and confidently defending ourselves. The ability to be assertive allows someone to make overtures to other people and stand up for themselves or others in a non-aggressive way. It can also protect us from bullies and other social predators.
Assertiveness is a skill that helps us survive and stay resilient despite unavoidable external pressure that may arise from high expectations of people around us. Don’t be afraid to say no to some people who might manipulate your initial kindness. Let’s stay assertive; this will enhance the quality of our lives.
Tip #2: Maintain a healthy lifestyle
Life has taught me to prioritise things that truly matter. And believe me, those are not money or social recognition, but our health matters the most. You can’t expect yourself to be super productive if you don’t prioritise yourself. This is not selfish; this is strategic.
A healthy lifestyle sounds like another buzzword. What do I mean by that? Let’s break it into subpoints.
The first thing is, of course, healthy food.
As a first-hand example, I feel much better since I stopped eating fast food or heavily processed products. Also, healthy food is about avoiding those potato chips or other unhealthy snacks.
“Most of us have too much chaos going on in our lives to consciously focus on every bite we eat,” says psychologist and mindful-eating expert Brian Wansink and recommends keeping junk foods, such as cookies and potato chips, out of sight and putting healthy foods like fruit and vegetables at eye level. This way, we’ll give ourselves an option to eat healthier.
It is better to cook meals by yourself or eat somewhere where you are certain that the food was cooked according to the best standards (grandma’s cooking goes here!). I won’t go into detail, but you can check any professional nutritionist’s advice. And yes, don’t forget about fruit and vegetables.
The other thing is to keep your body active.
If your body is not in good shape, your mind won’t work well. In IT, we are sitting too much in front of screens. Logically, it impacts our physical condition. Consider any physical activity you enjoy to move your body and free yourself from sitting mode.
As Emily and Amelia Nagoski note in their book “Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle”:
“Well-being is not a state of rest, but a state of action.”
Even a one-hour walk or light yoga may help recharge your energy. We don’t need to exhaust ourselves with sports (the burnout might knock on the door if you overtrain). Recreate wisely, and you’ll activate sleepy muscles and get a boost of good mood.
And one more thing is to go offline whenever you want to rest.
In her book “Burnout”, psychotherapist Tina Bončina, states that the overuse of technology can contribute to burnout, especially for people who have a strong presence on social media and are strongly connected to their devices.
This part is particularly challenging if you are an IT worker. We might interact with our teams through Slack, Teams or similar tools. Going offline sounds like a mission impossible if our phones are constantly on.
However, try to learn how to rest without feeling drained: in your free time, set notifications off and put the devices away — you’ll feel the difference! Instead, think about offline activities that fill your batteries.
Tip #3: Take care of your emotional balance
We are social creatures. Our emotional state depends on the quality of relationships with people. And if you experience anything that you would like to share with someone, it is very healthy to do.
A long time ago, I experienced bullying at the workplace, and I still regret that I kept everything to myself at that time. Later, in another company, I’ve also learnt that mobbing might be a manageable issue if you are vocal about it and your company has a zero tolerance towards it. Being quiet and keeping a burden of frustration could be harmful.
The same applies to personal dilemmas you face in your private life. Share your emotions freely with people you trust — this is a key to your mental balance.
Psychotherapist Susi Ferrarello says:
“Sharing emotions is what makes us human. When we do not share emotions, and we keep what we truly feel for ourselves inside, we become somehow an enigma for the other person, because they cannot read us or feel our humanity… I think that giving up on emotional sharing means to give up on empathy, bonding, entertainment, feeling validated, legitimized, protected, cared for, understood, and so much else. Do we really want to give up on all of this?”
If you don’t feel comfortable with sharing your feelings, find a good psychotherapist. A true professional will help you open up and won’t gossip around.
In honest conversations, you’ll find a different perspective on an issue and get a solution. You’ll also learn a lot about yourself.
In recent years, burnout has become frequent among IT people: designers, developers, test engineers, product owners, etc. Even though it is still not officially recognised by WHO, psychologists say it takes between six months and five (!) years to recover after this challenging experience. If we value ourselves, we’ll do everything to prevent it.
To escape burnout, you’ll need to regain control over your well-being. It means setting boundaries with the people around you, maintaining a healthy lifestyle and nurturing your emotional balance. This is not a complete list, so feel free to add your tips. Anyhow, be kind to yourself. And now, it’s time to go for a walk.
You may check my LinkedIn page if you feel like connecting with me or are curious about my background. As a QA Engineer with over 7 years of commercial experience in the industry, I’m ready to communicate with teams looking for guidance and help in enhancing product quality and testing.
Illustrations and photo: by me (Apple Pencil, iPad, iPhone and no AI 🙂)
Resources:
- Moshe Ratson, What to Do When People Repeatedly Violate Your Boundaries: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-wisdom-of-anger/202412/what-to-do-when-people-repeatedly-violate-your-boundaries
- Conner Middelmann, How to Avoid the Junk Food Trap: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/nourish/201201/how-avoid-the-junk-food-trap
- Emily and Amelia Nagoski, Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle — Health Communications, 2019
- Tina Bončina, Izgorelost: Si upate živeti drugače? — Mladinska knjiga, 2019
- Susi Ferrarello, “I Don’t Want to Burden Others With My Own Emotions”: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/lying-on-the-philosophers-couch/202008/i-dont-want-to-burden-others-with-my-own-emotions
Test smart: how to escape burnout? was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.