These days the top risk to organizations around the world is employee burnout. The COVID-19 pandemic is ravaging communities in multiple ways. Families are stressed out because of unplanned homeschooling, decades of female economic empowerment is being undone, racial justice protests are captivating the media, friendships are (or aren’t) Zooming along, and public safety is on everyone’s minds. The global pandemic is magnifying the gaps, precarity and inequality of our society. Being on the verge of burnout makes total sense. Here are 10 ways to avoid burnout in your worklife as we head into an uncertain Fall season.

What leads to burnout?

Before the global pandemic people around the world were “always on” – in Australia employees were working an average of 315 extra hours (or two months) of unpaid overtime in the evenings, on weekends and during vacation. According to Psychology Today, you’re burning out (or close to it) if you are feeling exhausted, a sense of disillusionment, and suffering from “the erosion of the soul” because of the disruption of how we see ourselves and what we’re expected to do. HBR’s Elizabeth Grace Saunders argues that feeling out of control and experiencing a mismatch between your values and what’s being asked of you also contributes to burnout.

Let’s focus on what you can do to avoid burnout.

Build three awesome habits

My colleague Lisa popularized the phrase “cornerstone habits” on our team. Since habits account for about 40% of our daily behaviours every day, one way that you can manage burnout is to build a few foundational – or “cornerstone” – habits that will drive positive change in your life.

So why three habits? James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, recommends stacking habits because it connects a new habit that you want to unleash with behaviour that already exists. For example,  when I wake up I will exercise for 10 minutes after my first cup of coffee and when the work day ends I will complete my end of work ritual (write down the three or four things that didn’t get done, put my phones away in a drawer until 8pm).

These stacked habits address my goals of getting more energy in the morning and breaking my addiction to devices.

Ask for help

Here is the understatement of the year: it’s pretty overwhelming these days. Being vulnerable and asking for help has several benefits. Getting help is an obvious benefit because your workload is lightened by a colleague or perhaps you feel heard by a friend or counselor. When we ask for help, we demonstrate vulnerability, which not only serves us but helps others, too. Vulnerability can unlock psychological safety in your community, which is the differentiator of high performing teams.

Play (especially outside)

Play helps us reduce stress. One of the many reasons that I’m grateful for my kids is that they give me an excuse to play every day. According to Inc’s Jessica Stillman, leaders who know how to balance seriousness with play can build the tough skills required for navigating these unprecedented times.

During the first few months of the pandemic I built forts, played soccer and tossed a picnic blanket over my head as I played ghost and chased my kids around the park for hours.

Burn bright, recharge, repeat

The data about remote work are clear: employees are working more than ever by swapping commutes for productivity and water cooler chats for 15-minute virtual check-ins throughout the day. According to my workplace Microsoft analytics widget, 94% of my last week was spent collaborating (which means meetings). Such a practice is not sustainable, especially when getting non-meeting work done takes place in the early mornings or evenings.

This week, though, I’m privileged to be working from my place of zen, blocked a lot of time off in my calendar for deep work, and will take Friday afternoon off to go camping with my son. Over the last few weeks – just like the first three months of the pandemic – I was burning very bright and working all the time, so scaling things down and recharging is important for my wellness, productivity and presence with my family and colleagues.

Prioritize social connections

Human beings got where we are today by being social creatures. All my connections these days are virtual or over the phone. I miss spontaneous collaboration as much as I miss elevator conversations (yes, I’m that guy). According to Adam Grant, workplaces have become increasingly lonely, which has undoubtedly been exacerbated by the pandemic, especially with teams who struggled to communicate before work got virtual. The thing is, it only takes 40 seconds for people to feel a genuine connection with someone, so think about how you might engage with folks in your work life (here’s a tip: connections get deeper when we find uncommon commonalities with each other).

I’ve also made it a priority to connect with my closest friends on a regular basis. We’ve played online games and shared physically distanced picnics outside. One time, during a rainy June evening, Kurt and I had physically distanced drinks in my garage. It was weird. And worth it.

Let off steam

Things have gotten tense for me at home and at work. Overseeing organizational reskilling and internal talent mobility while teaching Kindergarten and helping the PAW Patrol rescue Batman, all the while cooking dinner for the family will overwhelm any working parent.

I’m grateful for the colleagues, friends and my wife (who is her own person) who have let me vent, tantrum and cry when the combination of existential dread and daily monotony got the better of me. When I can release stress in small bursts, as opposed to holding it in until there is a volcanic explosion of feelings, everybody wins – especially me.

Embrace solitude

In a distracted world being comfortable in quiet solitude is a competitive advantage. During a global pandemic dealing with solitude is essential. Taking a few minutes each day to meditate or go for walks, especially in nature, without the distractions of technology, kids or deadlines will increase your energy and reduce your stress.

Just make sure the deadline is on track and an adult or responsible, older child is watching your kids!

As a lover of background noise and digital distraction, I’m finding that embracing solitude is helping me focus more on things in my control and things that matter, which reduces the feeling of being overwhelmed.

Stack your schedule

This article by Cal Newport explains why you should schedule every minute of your day if you want to achieve deep work. It’s hard to achieve. Heading into Fall, I’ll be balancing family, school (grade one, grad school), and work, so blocking my schedule will be important for me to avoid burnout.

By blocking chunks for time per day for meetings (and being diligent with what I agree to meet about and with whom), I can make time for the most important things in my work life. This includes exercise, meditation, journaling, and socializing with friends. By stacking your calendar you can be intentional about recharging, too, which helps focus your time on exercise or reading, as opposed to scrolling through social or Netflix.

Be grateful and forgiving

Practicing gratitude at work fosters sensitivity and can help achieve a sense of belonging on teams. Fast Company’s Stephanie Vozza suggests that frequent doses of gratitude can strengthen teams: “Employee recognition programs are a common way gratitude is demonstrated in workplaces, but little micro-expressions of gratitude are easier and can be delivered more frequently.”

I highly recommend bringing this practice to the family dinner table because you will shift your behaviour because of what you express, but also because of what you hear others share.

As we focus on gratitude it’s also important to let go of grudges. According to Psychology Today’s Suzanne Degges-White, “Letting go of the negative feelings and forgiving (even just in your own heart and mind) another’s wrongs is what will free you from the damage they have done.”

Work with joy

Even in these dark and uncertain times I think it’s important to work with joy. So does CEO of Menlo Innovations, Rich Sheridan, who believes the world needs more Chief Joy Officers:

We laugh a lot. We have dogs and babies. We celebrate small victories by shouting out, “Hey, Menlo!” and reporting the good news. Our work management systems allow our team to get meaningful things done each day. We avoid traditional meetings.

However you do it, try to bring more joy to your workplace because our communities need it more than ever these days.