Should I stay or should I go? Checklist for when work feels like a burden

I worked for just two months before I hit burnout and considered quitting my job. To be fair, life was complicated. I had suffered from bacterial meningitis with a resulting brain injury and was pulled off working as an intern for several months. When I returned, even with help, the long hours and personal frustrations made me regret everything. I ended up staying in medicine, and have worked there for the last 15 years, but it’s not the last time I questioned it.

You may be similarly overwhelmed in your position, questioning whether it’s the job or you that is the problem. You may be so exhausted and overwhelmed that you feel like you can’t see straight. You may be ready to walk out the door, just unsure what exactly is next. Either way, the steps below are the ones I ended up going through personally when life gets crazy and work feels more like a burden than a dream.

Here’s the Checklist to ask yourself before leaving:

       1) Did you try taking time off? I understand, life is busy, but this is a priority when you’re stressed out. Have you taken a good vacation this year? Can you take an afternoon off sometime soon? Exhaustion can make you lean into bad decisions. Getting your head in the right place and remembering what matters most to you are crucial to make a good move in life, and this requires getting some good rest. Start with scheduling a long break as soon as you can, and doing something that you enjoy.

     2) Are you mad at the job itself or the location? Do you hate the nitty-gritty of the position you have chosen, or are most of your grievances problems that might be solved or amended in another location? What is your favorite part of your job? What might you miss if you walked away? Having some honest conversations with yourself and nailing down your biggest concerns is crucial in order to eventually leave them behind.

      3) Have you done a wellness retreat, talked to a counselor, or discussed this with a life coach? It’s easy to get inside our head and not see possibilities that others can easily see- talking this out well with someone who is impartial can be so beneficial. Establishing your problems and setting clear desires for your future will allow you to not end up in a worse place in your next job. Stress and overwhelm make us impulsive and desperate, and then we just end up in even worse positions long term.

 4) What have you left behind? What did you used to dream of that is no longer a part of your life or career? What did you used to love that is now on the back burner, and is it possible to pick it up again?

• For instance, if your favorite thing is mentoring students and you have no access to students in your current position, is it possible to change that? Can you bring some brighteners to your current situation to find some hope again?

     5) Are you financially set to move? I have spent several more months in a less-than-ideal work location, slashing my budget and saving most of it so I could afford to take some time off and rest.

• For me, taking off two months, regardless of what happened before, is about all I need to recover even when I’ve reached burnout. After two months off work, I will start getting bored and looking for a new project or position. I’ve done this five times in my career, and it helps so much to give me clarity for where I want to go next, but it does require a financial sacrifice for some ultimate peace of mind. Sometimes time is all you need to start to dream again for a new future.

Need some help working through these questions a bit more? Start here with my RESET download- five practical steps for dealing with the stress in your life- even your job itself!

*I also have a lot of content about how to combine your faith with your work and give you clarity for your future if you are interested.