How to prevent burnout during spring cleaning season

Kirsten Joyce
·2 min read

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — It may be spring cleaning season, but it is also important to make sure you focus on your daily routines. Here are some actionable steps to optimize your time, prevent burnout and create balance in your everyday life.

Laura Mae Martin is not only a mom of three but she also coaches Google’s top executives on the best ways to manage time and energy. She says these are tips everyone can use in daily life to get organized, and build smart routines.

“It’s really about being a more productive, holistic person,” she said.

First, she said to build your day for your strengths by prioritizing what needs to be done while keeping a certain time frame in mind.

“So let’s say you’re a morning person and you do your best work between 9 and 10:30 a.m. One, you’d want to schedule that block of time to focus instead of letting your time slot fill up with meetings. So in Google Calendar you can choose to to schedule what’s called a focus time block and it will auto decline other meetings,” Martin said.

Her second tip is to take breaks from work, or parent duties allowing yourself to be more productive. By scheduling that time in for to recharge, you just might find some inspiration.

“By having downtime, not only are you helping prevent burnout and promote your own well-being, but studies have shown that you’re actually more creative during downtime, so you’re more likely to think of a great idea when you’re on a walk or in a workout than you are in your seventh back-to-back meeting of your day, or knee deep in your email,” she said.

When your brain is in passive mode, ideas, and spontaneous things come together – allowing creativity to pop through.

Remember — it’s OK to say “no” to requests from a work colleague or a friend. She suggested identifying what’s important to you and acknowledging what’s not. Also, remind yourself when you’re saying no to a request, you are saying yes to something you value more.

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