By: Andrea Landstad CPA
Andrea Landstad CPA, from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, shares some personal reflections, including strategies that have helped her manage personal expectations and the imperative to be perfect, in order to avoid burnout.
Throughout life, we often hear the phrase “just do your best.” But what does “your best” really mean? Personally, when I hear someone say “just do your best” I picture a romanticized movie montage of coffee, fast typing, late nights, and… burnout. The idea of working ourselves to a breaking point has become a badge of honour for so many people that the BBC stated in a May 2021 article that “overwork culture is thriving” (Lufkin, 2021).
Of course, that is completely at odds with the simple, at least in theory, the concept of doing our best. While we may find comfort in hearing someone say, “just do your best, that is all you can do,” so many of us find it difficult to know when we have done enough. This makes it easy to fall into the trap of working past our limit and falling into burnout.
So, how do you avoid working past your limit?
1. Understand that Your Best is Fluid
Some days, you will be able to work 10 hours whereas other days getting out of bed is the best you can do. Understanding that there will be times where you mentally don’t have the strength to solve complex issues is extremely important. You can’t always be giving 100%, so you should not feel shame in giving yourself a break when it is needed.
2. Know Setting Limits Doesn’t Mean You Failed
Oftentimes, we fall into burnout because we knew that we needed a break, but we didn’t want to disappoint someone by setting a limit. Other times, we may have felt like setting a boundary meant we failed at fulfilling our roles. The Canadian Mental Health Association Saskatoon states that burnout “is not a reflection on your success or failure at work, it is not a personal indicator on whether you are capable of handling difficult times or not.”. It is okay (and encouraged) to set limits and stick to them.
3. Focus on the Your in “Your Best”
It is easy to fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others. We believe that we need to push ourselves because someone else appears to be working harder than us. But we need to remember that we all have different capacities at different times. You’re the only one who hears your internal monologue, so trust when your body is saying it needs a break, even when others aren’t taking one.
Next time you hear someone say, “just do your best,” know that you don’t have to hit a point of burnout to accomplish your best results. Allow your best to be fluid, set limits, and listen to your body and you will be well on your way to avoiding falling into burnout.
CPA Assist provides confidential counselling services and 24/7 crisis support to Alberta and Saskatchewan CPAs, candidates, and their immediate families. To book an appointment through CPA Assist, call 1-855-596-4222 or email cpaforbes@telus.net.
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