I was originally going to send out an email about more from my trip to Singapore but today, I'm really just not feeling it.

I'm also a little under the weather which makes doing anything feel 10x harder than it normally would.

To add to that, I'm still coming off a stressful Q2 which really stretched me and where I've not had time to pull back.

In a nutshell, I'm burnt out.

To be honest, I'm probably burnt out like this on most days, but I cope well, and I've also worked long hours ever since I was 19 juggling a personal training career while finishing medical school, so my ceiling for what I can tolerate is pretty high.

Do I like feeling like this? Hell no.

Can I cope without needing to quit my job or skip today's email? Yes.

Perhaps that's my superpower, though I totally understand if you're not wired the same way and are in a tougher circumstance than I am.

Most burnout advice is a little too philosophical for me, and we know burnout is usually caused by the misalignment of how you're living your live vs your values, so I can't just tell you to "quit your job and pursue your passions" when the job that's making you burnt out is also paying your bills.

Instead, here's a practical list of things that you can try if you're feeling burnt out. I do most of these, sometimes all, when I'm feeling this way and I'll do them throughout today:

1. Get out in the sun. I'm writing this email on my balcony with a slightly cloudy sky and the sun and fresh air is starting to help. It's not life changing but there's something really human about being outdoors. I'm better than how I was an hour ago when I was still cooped up inside.
2. Focus on the gain and not the gap. There's probably one tiny thing you can improve on today (the gain) which I want you to pat yourself on the back for. Even if it means only doing #1, by getting out in the sun you would have gained something for yourself today. Forget whatever else it is that you could accomplish, that's irrelevant when you're feeling burnt out.
3. Do some sort of sport/exercise. I'm going to play some football later (it's a weekly thing), so this is checked. If you don't do sports regularly, find some reason or excuse to take a walk. Walk somewhere outside, go run some errands or buy groceries. Get yourself moving.
4. Reduce how much you use social media today. No amount of catching up on how your friends are doing in their stories or getting caught up in news/drama is going to make you feel better about your life.
5. Catch up with someone for real. I just texted my mum to check in on her and her cats. Don't complicate this. Just send a "Hey, how you doing" text to someone or a few people you're comfortable with. This distracts your mind away from your negative thoughts temporarily while giving you the chance to engage with a real person.
6. Do something you can be proud of today. I'm sending out this email and I'll look back feeling proud that I did. Find your one little thing that you can do, be it wash the dishes, fold some clothes, finish your work etc. Just do it, and be proud of it. If you can only muster up doing #1 by getting out in the sun, be proud of that too.
7. Improve one little thing in your life by 1%. We can't possibly change the big drags of our lives in an instant (like if you're in a miserable job), but there are often little things you might be neglecting that's worth fixing up right now which will make things better. My Google Calendar widget wasn't working for a few days which meant I had to annoyingly get open the app manually to check in on my reminders. I've just updated the app and the widget is working fine now.
8. Have the courage to let something small go wrong today. You're burnt out because you're not where you want to be, and I totally get that. Sometimes, it's worthwhile letting things go out of hand (so as long as there are no irreversible consequences) just to see how things will pan out. Often times, things aren't quite bad as they seem, and you would have given yourself the grace to relax a little in the process.

My favourite from the above is #7, you can see how easy I implemented it here.

Try them, or all, or one, and let me know. Wishing you better days ahead.