Best self care strategies I learned from internship that prevent burnout and create a good work-life balance

By: Lizzy Davis, MT Intern

Image description: Large white paper that says “Say it with me, I’m proud to be me. I am enough, I can work through all my problems, I will do my best, I’ll be kind to others”

When becoming a new professional, it’s easy to get swept up by workday tasks and want to throw in the towel immediately after getting home. I have definitely been caught up in the “wake-up, eat, work, commute home, sit and scroll, then sleep” cycle. While there is no shame in needing to rest once the day is over, this cycle can often lead to burnout and can negatively affect mental health. Studies show that people who regularly engage in hobbies that they love decrease their chances of burnout within their professions. I previously found myself saying “I feel like I have no time to do the things I love,” but I discovered that finding even tiny pockets of time within your day (10-15 minutes) can have a large impact on work-life balance. Here are my best self-care strategies that have helped me find time for things I love and create a healthy work-life balance. 

    My first self-care strategy that I implemented was creating a morning routine that I love. There is a lot of information on the internet about what a “perfect” morning routine should look like, but I encourage people to analyze what routine makes them feel good and stick to that, rather than following what someone online says is good. That can look like sitting with a cup of tea or coffee in the morning, maybe walking your pet, doing your favorite form of exercise for 15 minutes, journaling, or meditating. Choose 1-2 activities that make you feel good, and try to carve out even 10-15 minutes for those things in the morning. For example, going on walks and journaling always make me feel good, so I try to go on a 15 minute walk in the mornings, and then sit down for 5 minutes and journal. It’s a small commitment that has made the largest difference in my mental health. I found that making time for myself in the morning positively affected my mood for the day, and decreased symptoms of fatigue or anxiety.

    My next self care strategy is to create a “never been there, never done that” list. I got this idea from the Mel Robbins podcast, where the task is to look at all the places that are nearby that you have never explored, make a list of them, and then set times to go explore them. For instance, maybe there is a walking trail you’ve never been on, or a coffee shop or store that you drive by every day that you have never walked into. The goal is to find those places that are nearby that you have never explored or experienced, and set times to go to those places. The nice thing about this list is that it doesn’t have to be expensive, and I have found that scheduling times to go explore new places gives me something to look forward to in the week, and helps me create a good work-life balance. 

    My last few tips for self-care and creating a healthy work-life balance are to make time for your hobbies and speak positively about yourself. In the weeks where I engage in hobbies that I love (singing, cooking, arts and crafts, etc.), I notice that my general mood is brighter, and I have more energy throughout the week for my tasks. I encourage the people reading this to engage in those hobbies that fill your cup. I can empathize with the feeling of not having enough time for those hobbies, so even finding 5-10 minutes a day to engage in those hobbies can have a positive impact on mental health. My last tip is to speak positively to yourself. In the past, I used to speak negatively about myself for making mistakes or my shortcomings. I never felt good about myself when I spoke negatively. When I started to reframe my mindset and speak positively about myself, I felt more confident and productive throughout the day. For instance, instead of saying “of course I messed up this task, I can never do this right,” I reframed it to say “I am human and it’s normal to make mistakes, I’ll just fix it and do better next time!” With this reframing, I still acknowledged that a mistake was made, but didn’t put myself down for it and instead used it as a learning opportunity. I try to apply this to all facets of my life, and it has made a huge impact on my mental health and helped to decrease burnout. 

    Overall, it’s important to keep engaging in the things you love and carve out even tiny portions of time to do them. It can help to break that “work, eat, sleep” loop that leads to burnout, and keeps your cup full so you can be fully present in all facets of your life. 

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