Some Tips to Help You Prevent or Deal with Work Fatigue
Work fatigue is one of the modern diseases of our time. This is because work has an excessive value in human culture. Indeed, many people around the world live their lives around their work, leaving little to no time or space for their personal lives.
For this reason, work fatigue will be a problem that’s just around the corner for many of us. The most complicated part of this condition is how subtly it develops. In fact, the affected person only usually realizes when the problem’s too complicated to deal with on their own.
“When we are tired, we are attacked by ideas we conquered long ago.”
-Friedrich Nietzsche-
In addition, there are many wrong beliefs surrounding work fatigue. For instance, some people think working tirelessly is a sign of commitment and responsibility. Others think it’s healthy to go overboard one day and try to rest the next. However, this isn’t true.
Therefore, it’s important to be vigilant and try and prevent work fatigue, otherwise known as burnout. However, if you find yourself experiencing it, there are some measures you can take.
The working day is a decisive aspect of work fatigue
There are many people who start working at the crack of dawn and don’t finish until late at night. This is very often the case for freelance workers. However, it sometimes also occurs with salaried employees.
There’s no good reason for this. In fact, the working day should start and end at the same time every day. Furthermore, it shouldn’t last beyond eight hours. The ideal is to work for six hours, but that isn’t always possible. Nevertheless, working beyond these hours will only bring you work fatigue in the medium term.
Organize your ideas smartly
There are two types of activities that cause the most fatigue. Those that require high focus and those that are too repetitive. The former should be organized in a way that you can get them over with at the start of your work shift. That’s because you’re fresher and more attentive at this time.
In addition, it’s best to do the more complex tasks in the first three to four hours, and save the rest of the day for simpler ones. In other words, those that don’t need too much of your attention. You should also take breaks throughout the day from the tasks that need you to focus, as well as the repetitive ones.
Taking a break is the right thing to do. It doesn’t mean you forget about the task, you just do something completely different for a while. Physical exercise or meditation is a good idea.
Sleep and nutrition
There’s one rather dangerous practice among the new habits of modern life. This is skipping breakfast. In fact, it causes your body immeasurable harm. It doesn’t only affect your metabolic processes, it also means trouble for your brain. Indeed, this practice is certainly more trouble than it’s worth.
Not eating anything for lunch, because you’re busy, isn’t a good idea either. You must remember that, more than anything else, you must take care of yourself. If you don’t eat well, you’ll overexert your body, which makes you feel fatigued.
Nor should you miss having a good night’s sleep, because you’ll never get back those missed hours. In fact, not sleeping enough is an act of self-aggression that you simply can’t allow. Furthermore, no job is worth giving up a decent night’s sleep for.
How to deal with existing work fatigue
If you’re already suffering from work fatigue, you need to stop for a minute. Stop and dedicate yourself to a new lifestyle. If you don’t, things will get worse. As a matter of fact, in the worst-case scenarios, work fatigue can even lead to death.
Therefore, first of all, you need to start working on the tips above. Also, you should consider professional help for your mental health. However, the most important thing in the short term is to start working on a routine that meets your needs and desires.
A good idea would be to start meditating frequently. Also, to increase the quality of your sleep and take up some kind of hobby. However, if you suspect that you might be a workaholic, you should always seek professional psychological help.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
Mansilla, F. (2003). El Síndrome de Fatiga Crónica: del modelo de susceptibilidad a la hipótesis de la cadena de estrés en el área laboral. Revista de la Asociación Española de Neuropsiquiatría, (86), 19-30.