Burnout can sneak up on professionals under normal circumstances, and when things are stressful, it can often feel more sudden. Though burnout might look like low energy and less interest in your work, these are just symptoms. In fact, highly ambitious professionals can find themselves experiencing burnout. We all want to do our best, achieve our goals, and excel in our work, but sometimes, we’re not aware of the toll these efforts take on us. So, what can mortgage professionals do to avoid burnout while still staying ambitious? Let’s take a look:

Set Realistic Expectations

Burnout is often a result of stress and fatigue. Professionals want to do their best to ensure that these things aren’t self imposed. Sure, there will be plenty of stressors we can avoid, but we can aim to reduce the ones we can control. One of the biggest sources of frustration for ambitious professionals is simply expecting too much of themselves. When you make plans or set goals that are consistently out of sync with your day-to-day reality, you may be setting yourself up for burnout. This isn’t to say don’t challenge yourself. But it’s important to find that sweet spot where those challenges are still realistic to overcome.

Value Time to Decompress

It’s not that ambitious professionals don’t want to take time for themselves, it’s just that it tends to get pushed to the bottom of the list and consistently put off. The reason this happens? It’s because we value other things more. Whether it’s getting ahead at work or keeping up with social plans, what might you be putting before taking care of yourself? There’s no doubt that the balance can be difficult to maintain, but it’s essential for professionals to carve out time for themselves and stick with it.

Strengthen Boundaries

Another common cause of burnout is a constant connection to work. With laptops and smartphones, this has become all too easy. We’re getting work calls at dinner, email alerts while spending time with our kids or out with friends. These interruptions can take a real toll because they blur the line between personal and work, meaning we’re never fully “off”. Creating the boundaries that make sense for you to maintain some space between these two aspects of your life may be challenging, but it’s well worth the investment to define and maintain some separation.

Design Strategies

When you start to notice signs of burnout, what do you do? Do you have a plan? Identifying some clear actions you can take to combat burnout is a great plan. Often, by the time we’re feeling burnt out, we aren’t in the best state of mind to bring ourselves out of it. This is why it can create such a rut for some professionals. The key is to realize the signs before it takes over and have some strategies at the ready. This requires tuning into the things that work for you. Maybe you need some time off, maybe you need more time with your family, maybe you need to learn something new to apply in the office. Getting a list together of a few things that you know can jumpstart your motivation is a great tool for preventing burnout.

There’s no shame in experiencing a period of burnout, but it’s not somewhere we want to get stuck. It can zap productivity and positivity and make our work significantly more difficult. How do you avoid burnout? Do you have any go-to strategies? I’d love to hear your thoughts!