Menu
Show Notes:
Welcome to the Cozy Minimalism podcast, a bite-sized podcast that helps guide you along the path towards minimalism and creating a beautiful home that supports and nurtures you.
I advocate intentional home styling using what you already own and love; I help you create a truly unique space that becomes your place to relax, unwind and recharge. Your home becomes a source of blessings rather than burdens.
Each episode will be under 5 minutes and will include a mini-mission for you to do within your own home.
Hey, hey, hey, It’s Angie Kikstra of Cozy Minimalism. Today, we are going to talk about burnout and how to avoid it. I’ll tell you why we get burnt out and I’ll give you the number one solution to protect yourself from burn out. In your mission this week, I’ll give you simple tips that you can apply if you’re already burnt out and your looking to recharge.
We’ve all been there… you tackle a minimizing project, you spend hours (and sometimes days) going through your stuff (emotionally and physically) sorting through all the things. And then it happens… you have to stop for whatever reason and you step away. You imagine it’s only for a minute, but you land on the couch and you sink into it. You don’t want to move (let alone, complete or even acknowledge the mess that you made while decluttering).
You don’t even want to think about where to take the donations, how to get the trash to the garbage and how to tidy the space you just spent – however many hours – messing up with your decluttering .
Burning out while you declutter is a very common thing . The number one reason for burnout? Trying to do too much, too quickly. You do longer sessions because “you’re on a roll”…. and you don’t pace yourself. Slow and steady is the pace you want.
You need to minimize in smaller, timed sessions. If you think you need a 6 hour decluttering session in your storage room, then break that into 20 minute sessions and spread it out over several weeks. If you feel good after a 20 minute timed session, do another round… but don’t overextend yourself. Again, slow and steady.
But what should you do if you are ALREADY burnt out?
Recovering from burnout will seem counterproductive to some. The trick is to take some time off. This is about nurturing yourself not pushing yourself. Accept that you have done a good job and take a set amount of time off. That could be a day, a night or even a whole weekend. This is your time to reset. It’s a scheduled hiatus. Once you’re done, you can get back to your regular scheduled decluttering.
The point of a reset not only stops you from feeling overwhelmed, it also gives you a break. So when you do return to minimizing, you feel so much more invigorated and energized to continue with your journey.
Your mission this week, if you are suffering from burnout, is to try one of the following things to try to re-energize yourself:
Clear your mind for at least 20 minutes before bed
Declare a PJ day.
Go do something you enjoy with people you love, this is the whole reason we are on the path to minimalism, right? So enjoy some of that while you’re in the midst of decluttering.
Spend some time outside and get some sunlight and fresh air
Go someplace near water or in nature (experience the location with all of your senses)
Go for a walk
You’ve emotionally and physically exhausted yourself, so look for ways to relax that you enjoy. Bubble bath with candles, a relaxation massage, or a dip in the hot tub.
Choose just one of those or create your own ideal reset activity (and be sure to tell me about it)!
If you’re not burnt out – GOOD! Let’s keep it that way, your mission will be to break down your decluttering into smaller sessions of 20 minutes maximum. Make sure you are setting a timer, so you don’t go over!
Stop by facebook and let me know what you did! You might just inspire someone else.
Do you have intsa? I’m there too!
Thanks for joining me… I look forward to next week. And if you have a pressing question, email me and I just might feature your question on this podcast!
