More Clarity = Less Burnout

Burnt out? Getting clarity is your first step out.

I remember when I was at my worst, I was working 80 hour weeks, had a page long to-do list that only grew. I was chasing my tail, working hard but always felt like I was behind. I learned a really important lesson the hard way.

When you try to do everything, you accomplish nothing.

Not only is trying to do everything a losing battle, it also makes you feel like a failure. By reducing my focus to my most important items and doubling down there, I started stacking wins, quick.

When you don’t have a clear target, you can never hit a goal. This is an overlooked psychological burden where you set yourself up for failure.

Uncomfortable truth: There will never be enough time in the day.

Chances are, you could spend 168 hours a week working and still have more to do. This is a demoralizing feeling and a losing battle.

Not only does this result in you having to work longer hours, you feel worse too.

Treading water and always feeling behind puts you in a miserable state of mind. This saps your energy and motivation and leads to feeling helpless and burning out.

You need to make the shift from trying to do it all, to doing the right things.

The way to handle this is by manufacturing clarity.

When you have a clear direction, you build momentum. You get things done and feel like you’re heading in the right direction.

How to get clarity in your life:

This isn’t for the faint of heart, but it’s worth doing.

You may have never really sat down and thought of this before. It’s an eye opening exercise I recommend doing on a quarterly basis.

Grab a piece of paper and write your answers, be honest with yourself and take your time.

1. What do I want out of life?

2. What are the top things I do that make me feel the most alive?

3. How can I spend more time doing what I love and less time doing what I hate?

4. What are the biggest obstacles keeping me from the life I want?

5. If I could only have one goal in life, what would it be?

How to get clarity at work:

Part 1: Getting clarity on your impact.

Sit down and write out the answers to the following questions.

Part 2: Getting clarity from your leaders.

This is framework is a career accelerator.

Trust me, not many other people have these conversations. It shows that you are proactive and care about the bigger picture.

In your next one on one, show up and ask these 3 questions. Bonus points if you talk with other leaders at your company as well.

Once you have the answers to these clarity questions you make decisions easier. You focus on the important and push off the things that don't align.

Focus drives action, action builds momentum, momentum creates progress.

When something gets sent to you, put the task to the framework.

1. Does this help me get to my top goals?

2. Is this an actual priority?

3. Am I the best person to do this?

Here's a challenge you will 100% face and how to overcome it.

Priorities can shift quickly.

If you work somewhere or for someone who sucks at it, your life is going to be tough. Agreeing to it and changing course everyday might seem nice but it's bad for you and your company.

When you have the answers to your clarity questions you can respectfully push back in the following way.

"Hey Jim, I'm currently focused on [current activity] at the moment so I can [achieve big company goal or focus]. What should I de-prioritize to take this on?"

When you build clarity it helps you in a few ways.

1. You live more intentionally.

2. You realize what’s important to you.

3. Work feels more meaningful and enjoyable.

4. You aren't overwhelmed all the time.

TL;DR
You can't do it all. So you might as well just do the right things.

If you don't prioritize your life, someone else will.