Overcoming Business Fatigue: 5 Essential Steps

©The MBT Blog – Mindfulness in Business Coaching | Journaling & Growth | MBT More Business Today

Do you find yourself doodling during business meetings lately? Or taking a call via Zoom with the camera off? Do you feel that the things you used to do, the skills you rely on to be productive and successful, no longer work? You are not alone. My clients exhibit these traits of fatigue in growing numbers this year. They look for ways to unstick themselves from the rut they believe dominates them.

The truth is simple: things change constantly. As Pema Chodron, the American Bhuddist nun who wrote “When Things Fall Apart,” said, “Things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together and fall apart again.”

A simple truth: Things constantly change.

As soon as you feel comfortable with your strategy, your team, and yourself, a change creates an effect that makes you scramble. Now what? New learning, new methods, new approaches: all the things you balanced so beautifully last week suddenly tip and topple as if toward disaster.

When you embrace the fact that everything will change, do you feel better? It can leave you with defeat, excitement, or numbness. Maybe all of those emotions show up along with a few more. Go ahead and feel all of those things. And realize the realization itself, that everything will change, gives you a chance to prepare.

How can you prepare for unexpected things? Remember, the only variable you can control is yourself and your reaction to something. Self-awareness and self-management offer you the core of knowledge you need to prepare yourself.

“Things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together and fall apart again.”
Pema Chodron, author of “When Things Fall Apart.”

Consider my client “Jane.” Jane came to me in a panic over her lack of engagement in her job. As a top performer and director, she excelled. She experienced large bonuses, promotions, and accolades. The projects Jane led scored huge results for her company. Now, after several changes in the C-suite, she felt her usually boundless energy wane.

Jane knew she needed help and had experienced great growth from working with me in the past. She came to me looking for answers. “I went back to the discoveries we made before. But nothing seems to work now,” she said. How could she pull herself out of this situation and resume her Super Star status at work? What was missing from her process?

Another simple truth:
During times of change, you must also change.

New management brought new management styles. Jane needed to look inward again and ask herself new questions. How does her current communication and leadership style relate to those of her new executive team? How does a big change in management impact the culture of the organization? And, while the changes begin to affect her, how does the dynamic with her team change? Most importantly, what does she need to do to adapt to the forces swirling around her?

So many questions. The volume of the questions alone provoke exhaustion in some. This is just a new challenge to explore. The method of exploration remains the same. It arrives with a welcome familiarity. The answers begin with self-awareness and continue to move forward.

“You’re right,” Jane said. “I have done this before. The situation is new, but I know how to learn, adapt, and grow.” This revelation brought back some of the old energy, the old Jane. She was still there, ready to activate. The fog began to dissipate.

So, what do you do when you feel stuck? When all the things you know should be effective no longer achieve the desired results? When you cannot seem to find your motivation and energy?

Here are five steps to wiggle yourself out of the brain fog and back to self-awareness.

Step 1: Take a breath. Pause.
Before you delve into the questions, pause and breathe. Pause for as long as you feel you need the space. Look for the quiet both in your mind and your environment. This step highlights your self-awareness. Tune in to yourself. What might be triggering you to feel nauseous or lethargic?

Step 2: Take inventory.
Pull out a pad of paper or a pretty journal. What does your body have to say? Where are you feeling the impact? Are you having a hard time sleeping? What hurts? Your throat, shoulders, stomach? Thinking about the past when your body felt stress, where did you notice it? Is it the same this time? Write down everything that comes to mind. How are you reacting at work? What are you communicating with your words, your body language, and your reactions?

Step 3: Reflect and Learn.
How have you approached troubled times in the past? Can you use those methods now? What is different now? What do you need to learn? If it is a new skill, do some research. Spend some time observing. Seek the knowledge that evades you.

Step 4: Pause again.
The second pause creates an opportunity to evaluate what you learned a second time. Taking the time to listen to your gut, check with your values, and look for alignment strengthens your core, the center of who you are as a person and a leader.

Step 5: Identify your plan.
Trust in yourself and honor your process. One plan may be to wait and see. What are you waiting for? A new path or remnants of an old one will bring revelation when the time is right. Many of the answers to your questions will come to you in time. Continue to observe and look for the right time. Once you are feeling like yourself and in control of your reactions, you will notice the best path forward for you. Your self-management skills will return. You will open yourself to reality and to opportunity.

That is how you prepare. Find yourself again. Delve into these five steps as many times as you need to – and evolve. Reach out for help when you need it. Join one of our guided journaling classes or schedule a consultation with me.