Set aside a time to check your messages, then block your apps

In 1974, the average person was completing about 20 tasks a day; now, that has risen to 33. Instead of getting into a race with yourself to do as much as you can in a minimal amount of time, write down a to-do list, accept that you are unlikely to complete the least important, then take the rest one by one with a break in between. Keep your concentration high with an app like Pomodoro and allow yourself a half-hour break at lunch to look at social media the rest of the time, use an app blocker, says Tang. At work, try not to start the day by answering emails but by doing your biggest task of the day; then set aside an hour later to plough through your inbox (and try to break the habit of checking your email while working on something else as it ruins any chance of getting into what youre doing properly).

Just as having a tan once denoted status as it meant you could afford foreign holidays, now being overwhelmed is a badge of honour for middle-class professionals. But ask yourself whether you enjoy living in a debilitating whirlwind of activity. If you dont, then say no to the extra task youve been asked to do at work, to the neighbourhood drinks that mean youll be out three nights in a row and the exercise class you dont really need. As for housework, research seems to say that doing just enough makes us happier and more content than having a spotless house.

Treadwell says that after spending months researching this paper, she realised that the solution to feeling happier and healthier was quite simple: dont carry your phone with you all the time. The key difference between the 1970s and now is that mobile phones didnt exist they have massively changed things and put so much pressure on us, she says. While its all but impossible to live a smartphone-free life, on weekends go for a walk or run or to the shops without any technology and try, where possible, to leave your phone in another room when youre not using it at home.

I honestly believe that a huge factor in why people have burnout is that they bring work into the bedroom the most intimate place in the house, says Tang. I work with a lot of very stressed students and I know part of the problem is that they work in their rooms and associate their bed with high stress and adrenaline. The Onward study also highlighted how using a phone in the hour before bed leads to disrupted sleep, which in turn leaves us feeling more frazzled the next day. Its such an easy fix but it makes such a big difference, says Tang.

Follow this link:
Why you're constantly burnt out and what to do about it - The Telegraph