Feeling Burned Out in Your Job? Prevention is the Key.

Feeling burned out?  Unappreciated?  Here are four things you can do to bring energy and enthusiasm back into your job:

• Leave the office at 5 pm as often as possible.  The work will never be done, especially if your job responsibilities are more than can be accomplished within a 40-hour week.  Your ‘to do list’ will still be waiting for you in the morning.  In order to hit the ground running tomorrow, spend five minutes before you leave identifying which tasks offer the most value and plan to start with those.
• Prioritize learning.  Block off time in your calendar each week, even if it’s only an hour, to learn something new.  Read (part of) a book, catch up on the blogs that have piled up in your inbox, attend a webinar.  When you are done taking in the new information, choose one or two new things that you can commit to implementing right away.
• Make sure you are practicing good self-care.  Get plenty of sleep, upgrade your food habits, take a walk before work or at lunch.  Add a daily meditation practice of five minutes or more.   These steps will help protect your mind and body and ward off illness.
• If you feel like the rest of the staff doesn’t understand what you do all day (besides schmoozing donors and going out to lunch), educate them.  Ask for a few minutes at a staff meeting to explain what is involved in fundraising and why it’s so important.  Give examples of ways your colleagues can participate in the process.

Fundraising is incredibly hard work.  Turnover is high for development staff, but the reality is the longer you stay in your job the more successful you can be.  It takes time to build relationships, and starting over every year or two isn’t good for you and isn’t good for the nonprofits you work for.  Take these steps now to prevent burnout before it starts.

What other strategies have you tried?