How to get out of burnout? - Healthy "Mind Platter" model.

Hey,

It’s Alex.

Living in a modern world means having an unbalanced lifestyle by default.

Since the internet has become a thing, being constantly available made us work 24/7. The boundaries between personal and business life don't exist anymore.

Burnout is becoming a casual, normal thing…

There is a lack of understanding of how the modern lifestyle affects our minds and mental health. All we hear is about inner child trauma and mindfulness meditation that is supposed to "save" us. When in reality, things are more complicated.

Imagine the situation...

You slept badly last night. You need to write a sales page for your project in the morning. So you are sitting in front of your laptop and pushing yourself to write. Your body is in pain as it wants to move and not to sit down.

You are trying to force your body to stay calm, but it's just not working. So you stand up and go to the kitchen. You aren't hungry, but you have a craving, and you can't understand for what exactly...

You may think that it's stress. But everyone is in stress... So what's the problem? “Let's work harder, and it will pass”, you may think...

In the kitchen, you meet a colleague who eats his salad. You had a short talk with him about a funny Netflix show that you saw last night. Both of you laughed and forgot that you are actually in a co-working and are supposed to work. You feel slightly better, and you come back to your desk.

You are trying to write, but nothing is coming to your mind.

Suddenly…

You remembered a funny joke your wife shared in the morning. And BOOM... You got an insight and wrote your best piece of content since the beginning of this month.

After this, you may not notice that all day, you struggled to focus... You were jumping from one activity to another because of the internal needs of your brain. And without any awareness of what exactly happened, you may think it was an unproductive day.

You may feel irritated by your spouse or friends and think that they don't get you. That everything and everyone is against you.

When in reality, you are mentally exhausted. 

Let me share with you why it's happening...

And how you can create a life system that will give you control over these typical situations. Without that, you can get to the point that you have the urge to escape your life for a few months because you just can't handle it anymore.

Dr. Rock and Dr. D. Siegel thought about that years ago...

In their work of "Healthy Mind Platter," they incorporate 7 activities that we should be doing daily for optimal mental health.

These activities are:

1. Focus time: Concentrating deeply on tasks that help you think and solve problems better.

2. Physical time: Doing exercises that make your body healthier, reduce stress, and make you feel better overall.

3. Playtime: Enjoying fun and creative activities that help you relax and forget about your problems.

4. Connecting time: Spending time with friends and family that helps you understand emotions and feel like you belong.

5. Downtime: Taking breaks to relax your mind and recover from daily tasks.

6. Time in: Thinking about your thoughts and experiences, like writing in a journal, to know yourself better and control your emotions.

7. Sleep time: Getting enough sleep to help you think, remember things, and keep your mind healthy.

So, where in our story can we see these activities?

• Focus time: Sitting in front of the laptop and trying to write a sale page. But it was tough to do because of the imbalance of sleep, lack of social connection, and physical activity.

• Physical time: Getting up and going to the kitchen. The brain was desperate for movement, pushing you to stand up and move.

• Playtime: The moment of light and fun conversation. When you talked about a funny Netflix show, you laughed a little bit. It gave a moment of playfulness to your brain.

• Connecting time: The interaction with the colleague. Even briefly, engaging in a friendly conversation gives a feeling of connection and social belonging.

• Downtime: Escape to the kitchen from writing. Going to the kitchen and talking with a colleague about other topics allows us to create a short mental break. This reduces the level of stress and brain overload.

• Time in: Remembering and reflecting on the funny joke shared by your wife in the morning puts you in a positive emotional state that your brain needs. This state contributes to the creation of new insights.

• Sleep Time: There was a lack of sleep in our story. This is one of the reasons why it was hard to write and be focused and mentally stable from the start.

Being irritated and emotionally burned is a consequence of our daily choices for a long period of time. The "Healthy Mind Platter" model helps to increase awareness of how our daily actions affect our internal state.

It isn't about being perfect and having a tight schedule for all the activities that our body and brain need. It's about having awareness and making choices from a place of knowledge.

Remember these 7 aspects:

1. Focus time

2. Physical time

3. Playtime

4. Connecting time

5. Downtime

6. Time in

7. Sleep time

And when you are stressed, anxious, and can't think clearly. Listen to your body and the signals of your brain. And try to understand which aspect gets out of balance and needs your attention.

If right now, you already feel exhausted and can’t handle your daily activities anymore. Check out my free "5 Senses Method" guide on how to immediately increase your sense of joy and get out of burnout.

You can download the guide »here«.

I recommend printing it out and writing the answers by hand. You will get deeper and stronger results from the guide.

Take care,

Alex