Course 2: Becoming a 7 Cups Leader - (Discussion #11) Avoiding Burnout

@Heather225

Activity: Please read it through and in the replies, tell us what you learned, and what you will do to stay healthy and avoid burnout!

This sentence stuck out to me -

Look for a pattern in your symptoms- are they related to specific situations or tasks? Can you reduce or eliminate those stressors?

This is a simple thing to do by listing roles and tasks and then working through what you really enjoy, but also don't forget the 'why you are here'! Keeping site of that is sometimes very hard to do. I love listening and try my best to find enough time for my members but sometimes time is not available.

Listening - One Step At A Time!

@Heather225

The core values of 7cups stand for supporting others , giving our best , constant development at personal and community level and at the same time to have fun. All this is possble only we are in good frame of mind-calm, refreshed, encouraged, grateful. Burnout does the complete opposite . So its extremely important to take care of self andd avoid burnout .With those in leadership roles, it gets all the more important as they have additional responsinbilties, for some 7cups can be addictive . Having a clear understanding of our intentions to be here helps .

For me self care at 7cups include,

i always log in on 7cups after a small meditation , divide my time between different roles, take a day off when i feel , set boundaries with listening . And i dont stretch my session very long. Like they say better to have small frequent meals than to eat a lot at a single meal :)

@Heather225

I have learnt that self care is important and it is vital to take breaks when you feel yourself starting to burn out.

I learned that the first step here as in every other case is generally "Denial". We all start by saying "I can do this". Since childhood, we were told, "You can do this", so we do it. We start feeling tired, exhausted but we don't stop. We deny that we need to take some time out. So, I learned that before starting anything else, you have to get over the denial phase and "Accept" that you need to take a break. Once, you have done that you know the drill.

1. Stop feeling guilty about taking the time out.

2. Convince yourself that this is what you need. This is in your best interest.

3. Start by reducing the time if you can't stop doing everything at once. Take baby steps at first. Reduce the workload.

4. Now, that you are ready, take a full break for as long as you need without guilt.

5. Enjoy, have fun!

@Heather225

Something I hadn't really thought about that the slides brought into focus for me is the connection between burnout and performance.

• If I'm burned out, then not only am I suffering, but I might not be fulfilling my roles as well as I could be.
• And in the reverse direction, if I start feeling like I'm not doing my roles as well as I usually am, that can be a sign of burnout.

A few things I'm doing to try to avoid burnout:

• Avoiding applying for roles or taking on tasks that I know I'm probably not going to have the time/energy to be able to handle, even if they look helpful/interesting or like they are in urgent need of people.
• Be accepting/supportive when other people are on self-care breaks! So that when it's my turn I won't feel like my own judgmentality is turned against me.
• I've put a message in my listener bio saying what days/times I tend to be available and letting people know that I'll try to respond to PMs within 24 hours (for me that feels reasonable) just so it's understood that I might not always reply immediately to things and it's not me ignoring or disregarding messages. This allows me to schedule regular blocks of time where I'm on break from 7 Cups and avoid feeling like I'm "on call" or expected to suddenly interrupt what I'm doing in my personal life.
• I've set up some organizational systems (e.g. spreadsheets, notes, to-do lists, calendar reminders) for myself so that I feel like everything I need to know/do is written down somewhere and I'm free to forget absolutely everything when I'm not doing 7 Cups things. E.g. I have a spreadsheet for tracking anyone who contacts me for mentoring; screenshot with private info redacted:

We often don't realize when we feel burnout. Often relate it to our moodiness or having a bad day.

We should take care of our-self. I can't emphasize more on self-care

@Heather225

Activity: Please read it through and in the replies, tell us what you learned, and what you will do to stay healthy and avoid burnout!

Then, please reply to 3 of your peers in this thread with encouraging or supportive words!

I have learned a greater deal about the various signs of burnout, including cynicism and fatigue and that there are ways to combat it, such as through self-care. To stay healthy, I will pace myself and spend more time reflecting.

@Heather225 I learned about the physical signs of burn-out. I guess I'd never really noticed that before. I also really enjoyed the airplane analogy. I definitely have been working on placing boundaries on my conversations here to avoid burnout!

Activity: Please read it through and in the replies, tell us what you learned, and what you will do to stay healthy and avoid burnout!

This information was a good review of burnout. I basically already knew the information because of dealing with burnout already. I am still recovering from burnout and working to avoid it by monitoring my wellbeing closely, journalling daily, and taking time for myself regularly.

I learned that as a human being, we all have to go through a time like this, not only on 7 Cups. It is so important that we do self-care, and notice the symptoms on time so that a break would be wonderful and it makes us continue. Suffering from burnout will be very painful, and you'll lose your why of coming to 7 Cups, you'll finally forget it, that makes fewer lives saved.

What I will do is to make sure that I am ok each time I listen to people. When I first become a listener, I was so curious and nearly feel the symptom of burnout because I feel so low for the whole day. After that, I realized everything should be balanced, as I take care of myself, not overwhelm myself, more work can be done, and this is much more valuable.