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Beating the burnout

15th February 2018

Article written by:

Chris from iContract

With 2018 in full swing now, you might find yourself hitting the ground running with a new contract and burning the midnight oil. And with the start of British summer time still a few weeks away, these cold and bleaker climates can be a combined recipe for work fatigue and many may risk burning themselves out before the year has even started.

With work flexibility on the increase and a positive work-life balance so easily achievable today, burnout should be a rarity in the workplace. Nonetheless, despite all these advancements in modern work, burnout still does exist. Here’s some easy to follow tips to ensure you’re still productive but not tinkering over that edge into burnout.

Find your me time

It’s important to keep your mind from being fixated with the idea of work and allow it time to indulge in other passions. Whether it’s something as simple as reading a book, or putting your feet up to watch your favourite show, you need to allow yourself to take its focus off work. Find that me time – don’t be afraid to take that full lunch break you’re entitled to, set aside that evening to pursue a hobby of yours – remember that even if you work for yourself, work is always for someone else in the end. Your own me time is important, so find it!

Take control of your hours

Losing control can be an easy path to burnout. Working needless overtime can be a massive indication that you’ve lost control of your hours and the simple solution to overcoming this is structure and planning. By taking strict control of your working hours and knowing when you are going to be working and when you are not going to be, means you’ll find yourself in a calmer state when it comes to work and you won’t be associating it with overtime and long hours.

Keep work and play separate

The digitally enhanced and technology driven country we currently occupy has kept us connected and plugged in to this world 24/7. With the power of online at our fingertips all the time, many have found it difficult to unplug from the world of work and have always found temptation to dip into our work e-mails when we should be spending time with our loved ones.

Letting your work life interfere with your social life can be dangerous territory and it’s important to keep the two separate. If you allow your work life just an inch over your social life, you’ll find yourself becoming sucked into it more and more. At weekends, why not try some drastic exercises like switching the work phone off to stave off temptation fully,

Recharge with a short break

It might not be holiday season yet, but with temperatures still quite cold, a short break might be what the doctor ordered to set you up for the next few months ahead. After the madness of Christmas, New Year, and more recently if you’re a parent – half-term – you haven’t really had the time to sit back and relax – rest and recharge with a short break and you’ll be fighting fit for the rest of 2018.


Enjoy the flexibility that contracting brings and take control of your working life today. Start your contracting journey with iContract by registering for free at www.icontract.co.uk

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