10 Boring Things That Can Help You Overcome Burnout — That You Can Start Today
There are a few helpful (and easy) ways to climb out from rock bottom.
PeoplesImages.com Yuri A / Shutterstock There’s no reason to WedMD your symptoms — we’ve all experienced burnout. Excessive workloads, overwhelming stress, and a constant feeling of despair and desperation are key indicators.
Whether you’ve been overworked at your 9–5 or emotionally drained from a toxic relationship, sometimes curing burnout is simpler than the torturous situations that sparked it. Combat your most stressful times with a simple cure from TikToker Gabriela Flax, who uploaded a video on how "boring" things can assist you.
By removing variety from her life, Flax was able to save her energy to build resistance and recommends others do the same.
Here are 10 boring things that can help you overcome burnout — that you can start today.
1. Pick a few ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ outfits to simplify getting ready in the morning.
Simplifying your closet might seem boring (but, isn’t that the point?). However, think about the time that it takes you to pick out an outfit in the morning or how much an uncomfortable outfit affects your daily mood, stress and confidence.
Creators like Emma Chamberlain have sensationalized the idea of a “capsule wardrobe” — a set of classic and comfortable clothes that can simplify your daily routine. Flax takes it one step further — picking one ‘inside’ outfit and one ‘outside’ outfit and a few back-ups that can help cultivate a boring, and burnout-free, routine.
Photo: Ron Lach / Pexels
2. Buy disposable plates and cutlery to eat with.
While TikTok discourse tends to negatively discuss anything with the word “disposable” in it, this creator suggests it to help combat burnout. Whether it be stress, anxiety or depression, household chores like the dishes can make or break you.
"There were days when I avoided eating (bad when you already have low energy) just to avoid washing the dishes," Flax wrote in her video. "This helped me stay nourished." Other creators agree with Flax, and advise viewers struggling with depression to use disposable silverware and plates, adding, “you have to save yourself before saving the planet.”
Simplifying small areas of your life like chores can be an easy first step to prevent the build-up of unneeded stress (and dishes).
3. Downgrade your skincare routine to only the essentials.
With social media convincing everyone to buy all the best new products from Sephora — a million toners, moisturizers, and the new miracle serum that makes an intense dent in your savings — it is tempting to build a thousand-step routine.
But this creator suggests another easy way to combat burnout: focus on one or two holy grail products that keep your skin and hygiene well-kept without being too much of a burden. Whether that means you trade your fancy cleanser for a face wipe or toss the toners and serums, simplifying your skincare may be more beneficial than you expect.
4. Add another clothing hamper for clean clothes you aren’t ready to fold and put away.
Head to Target or the Dollar Store immediately! Even if you're not experiencing burnout, this sounds like a revolutionary trend for laundry moving forward.
Burnout can make it hard to do chores like laundry, but sometimes mess (like clothes littering the floor) can make you feel even worse. Instead of having laundry pile up in your dirty bin because you don’t want to empty the clean ones from your dryer, use a separate hamper to throw clean clothes in before you’re ready to hang, fold or put them away.
Photo: Sarah Chai / Pexels
5. Disable social media notifications — or, better yet, delete your socials entirely.
A study about social media from 2020 revealed a simple fact about the benefits of deleting social media. Ironically, removing these online social platforms boosts more meaningful connections.
With improved self-esteem, interpersonal communication and confidence, people who delete their social media clear up more room in their brains to dedicate to meaningful areas of their lives. Whether it be self-care or meeting new people, deleting social media and removing its chokehold on your daily habits can be a powerful tool for combating burnout.
"If something important happens that requires your attention, people will let you know," Flax reminds viewers.
6. Invest in a pre-cooked meal prep or delivery service once a week.
Instead of worrying about prepping your ingredients or even making it to the grocery store, think about signing up for a meal prep service. Even if it’s just weekly or monthly, it can be a nice way to ensure you’re eating and getting all the nutrients you need without the burden of deciding what to eat and cooking a whole meal yourself.
And, surprisingly, using a delivery service or meal-prepped service can save people more money in the long run than consistently grocery shopping for meals throughout the week.
7. Delete work apps from your phone, whether that be your email or Teams.
Cultivating a healthy work-life balance is easier to preach than to practice — even the biggest supporters of the ideal situation fall victim to blurring the lines between personal and professional. The "fear of missing out," otherwise known as FOMO, doesn't just apply to ex-friendship stalking and social media “doom-scrolling” — even missing an offline email at 9 p.m. can be anxiety-inducing.
The healthiest thing you can do to combat burnout is to remember one simple thing: your job will still be there in the morning. Regardless of what you might’ve convinced yourself, just because someone else is working late at night does not mean you’re required to.
Forget your preconceived notions about our “work hard, play hard” grind mentality, and just delete those work apps from your phone. While you're at it, leave your work laptop in your office or at least in a different room from your relaxing at-home space.
8. Set up automatic payments for your bills at the beginning of the month.
While it might not be feasible for everyone, taking away the stress of paying all your bills on the first of the month can help to combat that debilitating feeling of making payments. “This helped me to understand my spending,” the Flax wrote, “rather than stressing out about it.”
Studies show that people who utilize automatic payments are more likely to pay their bills on time and alleviate stress surrounding on-time payments and monthly bills.
9. Find a show with plenty of seasons to avoid ‘choosing anxiety’.
Relieving the burden of choosing a show to watch at the end of your day may seem simple, but can combat burnout in a quick manner. When you’ve finally wrapped up your long day at work, you’ll have no stress in finding a show to unwind with; instead, you’ll be looking forward to the next episode.
People with anxiety often rewatch the same TV shows to combat the anxiety of choosing or experiencing new situations. Surprisingly, this can be a healthy tactic for people feeling overwhelmed in other areas of their lives.
10. Automate a delivery service for essentials like toilet paper, dog food and toothpaste.
Not only can delivering groceries be more economically efficient, but it can also help to alleviate the anxiety and time it takes to physically go to the store. Especially when dealing with burnout, these seemingly quick trips for essentials become irritating. Instead, stay home, save money, and feel a little bit less stressed about needing to make your way to the grocery store for those essentials.
“Look for the opportunities to simplify and take decision-making out of the equation,” Flax noted at the end of her video, “the energy you save can be reinvested into restful activities and building resilience.”
Burnout can affect your physical, emotional and mental well-being — combat it with a simplified routine to ensure rest.
While stress and anxiety are normal parts of everyone’s daily routine, being debilitated by them in your personal time is absolutely not. Ensure that you at least adopt some self-care practices that make time for rest throughout your week to get ahead of any accumulated stress that could lead to burnout.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a news and entertainment writer at YourTango focusing on pop culture analysis and human interest stories.