I find it important to recognize when I’m feeling stressed and take action before things progress. I came across this excellent post on Chasing Rainbows: Job Burnout

The one point that resonated with me was this:

lack of boundaries between time on and off the job can all conspire to make even the most dedicated worker frazzled

It is easy to blur the lines between work and homelife when your work is at home! I’ve had days when I get caught up in a project and forget to eat lunch or work too late into the evening. Do this several times a week and it’s a formula for rapid burnout.

I make sure to take what I call a “real lunch” and leave the phone and laptop in my office while I sit down and eat with the kids. Once in a while, we even get in the car and go out for a bite. I also like to take a walk around the block and enjoy a time-out from work.

When the stress really creeps in, I schedule a day off. If that isn’t possible, I make the most of the weekend by doing something nice for myself and by “unplugging” from work. I cannot emphasize this enough…if you make just one call, or type just one e-mail, you may get sucked into working for a few hours and wonder why you feel stressed even on the weekends. The work will be there on Monday, trust me!

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