3 Ways to Renew Your Sense of Professional Accomplishment

Photo by Jewel Mitchell on Unsplash

Many people think of burnout as something solely related to overwork or exhaustion. But thanks to the work of Dr. Christina Maslach, we know that burnout actually manifests according to three different symptoms. The last symptom of burnout is professional accomplishment (more specifically, the lack of it). We all want to feel good about what we do. When we feel as though we can't accomplish as much at work we are more at risk of burnout.

So how can you feel accomplished at work? Here are a few ways:

• Get real feedback on where you are professionally. This can be difficult because just asking people for feedback can result in vague answers. I like the suggestion from this article to use a "fill-in-the-blank" phrase to get helpful feedback. For example, you can ask a coworker "The best thing about working with me is ___" 

• Book some time to focus on a personal work project. Google is famous for their 20% time policy where employees can spend a day out of their week on a work-related project of their own choosing. Even if you don't have a full day to spare, see if you can find a 2-hour block to tighten up an existing process or work on one of your "someday maybe" projects. If your normal job responsibilities are becoming rote and repetitive this can be a good way to switch things up and accomplish something new.

• Take 5 minutes to write down 3 things that you accomplished at the end of the day. It's easy to get stuck in a loop where you go in and out of work without really thinking about what you're actually doing. Taking a short timeout to reflect on what you've done can help you objectively focus on all that you're able to accomplish.

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