Every now and again we all hit a wall. For me it happens fairly regularly and I’m usually able to recover fairly quickly. But it’s not always been like that. I’ve had to train myself to recover from burnout. Unfortunately it’s a largely intuitive process and even recognizing burnout can be tricky.

I’m a fairly creative person and I go through regular creative highs and lows. It can be difficult for me to tell the difference between a down day, or creative low, and something a bit more than that. Sometimes it’s easier when it hits like a ton of bricks.

Either way, burnout, creative or otherwise, is a common problem, especially for those who work hard and function at a high level. You simply can’t keep working without resting. Burnout happens for a reason. It’s your mind and body telling you to take a break and as a first step towards getting back on track, that is exactly what I think you should do if your dealing with burnout.

Learning how to say no can be hard, but it’s something that I feel can really help you be more productive, reduce stress and do a better job with the things you do say “yes” to. I’ve always been pretty good at saying no (hopefully at the right moments) and I’ve found that saying no to some things can actually help everyone involved.

Learning how (and when) to say no is something that takes practice, especially if you’re someone that is honestly interested in helping everyone you can, or one of one of the many who feels guilty every-time you turn down a request for help.

I did a little research and a lot of thinking and I’ve come up with a few tips and observations that might help you know how and when to say no.

…and how to avoid it.

I’m sure most of us, at one time or another, have had a very stressful Friday afternoon (or whichever day constitutes the beginning of your “weekend”) rushing around trying to get things done to clear things up for a relaxing few days off. I call this “Friday Afternoon Syndrome” or FAS.

And personally, I avoid this situation like the plague–whenever possible.

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