Experiencing pandemic burnout? Make time for self-care.
Over a year now into the pandemic, many people in the workplace, whether that's in academia or tech are experiencing a state of exhaustion known as burnout.
It's been a very challenging year for everyone, going through the ups and downs of being in lockdown, the lack of ability to see family, friends and in general, just interact with others.
We know our researchers are especially affected by the pandemic with expectations in Academia staying the same or elevating while remote work keeps taking a toll on their productivity and mental health. After reading Nature's recent article on burnout in academia, we wanted to make sure we address the issue and try to help. We hear you and we're trying our best to support our researchers during these times.
It's easy to feel as though your whole life may revolve around your work given that there isn't really much else to do or people to see. This is a reminder to make sure you get a balance and invest time in self-care proactively.
First of all, what is self-care?
Self-care is any activity that we do deliberately to take care of ourselves. Although it may sound simple, we often overlook it.
Having good self-care is so important to improve our happiness, mood and anxiety levels. You need to actively plan time for yourself and make this a priority in your life, now more than ever.
Below are a few different areas around self-care and the things you can do.
1) Physical
This is around your physical health, the movement of the body, nutrition and sleep.
Things you can do:
- Go for a walk 🦮
- Take a bath 🛀
- Do some yoga 🧘♀️
- Prioritise sleep (7-9 hours per night) 💤
2) Psychological
Learning new things, being creative and practising mindfulness.
Things you can do:
- Practice being mindful🧠
- Read a book 📚
- Take time to reflect 📔
- Learning a new skill 🎨
3) Social
Having a supportive group of people around you.
Things you can do:
- Ask for help when you need it 🙏🏼
- Spend time with people that make you feel happy 😊
- Make time to see others ⏰
4) Professional
Create clear professional boundaries and have a good work-life balance.
Things you can do:
- Create a clear workspace at home and switch off when you finish 💻
- Don't look at emails when you finish work 📧
- Learn to say no ⛔️
At Prolific, we know how challenging and difficult this year has been. We are a big advocate of putting your well-being first. We've recently revamped our wellness and creative time to a full day. This means that anyone at Prolific every 2 weeks can have a day away from work for self-care, whatever helps them feel energised and be creative. Whether that's spending the day watching Netflix (me 😆), going for a run or doing some gardening. It's totally up to each person to do what brings them joy.
It has never been so important to put your well-being first. Take time to do things that make you happy!
How are you taking care of yourself lately? Let us know if you have any tips for avoiding burnout in the comments here or join the conversation on our Community forum for researchers!
