Break Out of Your Routine: Get Uncomfortable to Avoid Burnout
When trying to finish the Harry Potter series, JK Rowling realized she was burned out.
She hit a writer’s block that was preventing her from finishing up ‘The Deathly Hallows’. But she wasn’t overworking or overly stressed. She was experiencing a different kind of burnout.
The day-to-day monotony of working from home became too much for her.
“So I came to [the Balmoral Hotel] because it’s a beautiful hotel, but I didn’t intend to stay here. The first day’s writing went well so I kept coming back… and I ended up finishing the last of the Harry Potter books here.”
JK Rowling spent nearly $1,000 a day just to break out of her normalcy and overcome burnout.
The Balmoral Hotel- Photo by Adam Wilson on Unsplash
She’s not the first to relate day-to-day monotony to burnout. In 1957, McGill University psychology professor Donald Hebb paid college students to lie on a bed in a room the size of a cubicle day and night. The students were supposed to spend a few weeks studying in this environment. But despite being paid, no student lasted longer than a week.
McGill determined that boredom is bad for us. But more than that: monotony is bad for us. The students had a task, they weren’t sitting there doing nothing. It was the mundane scenery and monotony that led them to burnout and give up on the study.
The Benefits of Switching Things Up:
Switching things up and changing our stimulus can work wonders in avoiding burnout. But how? What’s so freeing about breaking out of mundane routines?
Fresh Perspective 👓
Doing the same things in the same place day after day can tighten our perspectives and close us off to the good things around us. Gaining some perspective can increase our gratitude, mood, and overall mental health.
New Ideas 💡
Monotonous routines can often lead to monotonous and routine thoughts. And sometimes, all we need to break out of a slump is a great idea. Breaking the routine can rejuvenate the life of our mind.
Renewed Energy 🔋
Monotony and boredom can be draining - physically and mentally. Breaking out of our routines can often energize and fuel us.
Get Uncomfortable…
The problem for most of us is that breaking out of our normal pattern is uncomfortable. We love good, predictable routines – even when we know the alternative can benefit us. We have to be okay getting uncomfortable. Here’s what you can do:
Make a Plan 🗺
Perhaps JK Rowling’s hotel visit might be a little expensive for your taste. Here are some smaller ways you can break out of normalcy and refuel:
If you’re not working from home, try taking a different route to work. Don’t think about your work as you head in. Instead, take in the new views and terrain.
Take a weekend getaway to a city you’ve never been. Try local restaurants and take a tour.
Take a locally taught class on something you’ve never done before (pottery, painting, sailing, etc…).
Spend the day at a museum or gallery for some quiet solitude if life is loud and busy.
Go to the zoo or aquarium for some lively inspiration.
Go to the park with a pen and your favorite journal or the Journify app (for iOS or Android). Get some things out of your head.
Do your work in a different way. If you do a lot of the same thing for work, try switching up the approach (if allowed).
Don’t just make a plan in your head. Put it on your calendar or write it down – whether it’s a one time adventure or a daily switch-up.
Get Some Accountability 💃🕺
As mentioned, breaking the status quo can be uncomfortable. Telling someone your plan will ensure you actually do what you’ve planned to.
Tell a friend, spouse, family member and follow through.
Make it a Habit 🌅
Finally, make getting uncomfortable a habit. Regularly breaking out of your day-to-day routine is a guard against burnout.
It will be the best habit you’ve ever built…
Now more than ever, it’s important we embrace this. Get out of the monotony. It’s worth it.
About The Author:
Brooks Manley is a marketer and thinker who believes creativity has the potential to make everyone more effective in work and life. Read more of his writing at Creative Primer.
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