Developed by Janice Litvin Workplace Wellness with Janice Litvin (415) 518-2202 [email protected] www.JaniceLitvin.com
Developed by Janice Litvin
Introduction
Workplace Wellness with Janice Litvin (415) 518-2202
[email protected] www.JaniceLitvin.com
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Banish Burnout Toolkit © 2020 Janice Litvin • www.JaniceLitvin.com
Introduction
My goal for the “Banish Burnout™” program is to help you change the way you react to stress,
from the inside out.
To that end, I developed this toolkit to support and anchor your efforts so that you don’t let stress
get you too low for too long. I based the toolkit on my own experiences banishing burnout and
using the teachings of Dr. Albert Ellis, one of the co-founders of Cognitive Behavior Therapy.
We all get stressed but how low do you go and how long do you stay there? In other words, is
your level of anger appropriate for the situation? If someone cuts you off in traffic how upset do
you get? And, how long do you stay upset? The answers to these questions can help you start to
understand if you might be headed towards burnout.
The exercises in this toolkit accompany the “Banish Burnout: Move from Stress to Success™”
presentation.
If possible, team up with an accountability partner, someone you trust deeply, and work these
steps every week or at least every time you find yourself upset. The best way to make behavior
changes is with conscious, repeated effort.
As you work through these exercises, you’ll learn how your thoughts control your feelings and
your habits control your thoughts. And that knowledge will help you banish burnout!
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REFRAMING YOUR THINKING
Tool #1 - Stress Audit - The 1st step is AWARENESS.
EXAMPLE:
Stressor: heavy traffic
My physical reactions: tight jaw, neck & shoulders, knots in the stomach
My emotional reactions: anger, frustration
My verbal reaction: complaining, accompanied by unending negative thoughts
Exacerbating behavior: let the complaining go on too long, with too much intensity
Possible Addictive Behaviors: overeating, drinking, etc.
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Now you try it. Write out something that happened recently, big or small in one or two words.
Then write out your reactions, including the level of intensity you felt.
Stressor:
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My physical reaction(s):
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My emotional reaction(s): How did I feel?
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My verbal reaction:
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Exacerbating behavior:
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Possible Addictive Behaviors:
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What did you learn from this exercise?
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Banish Burnout Toolkit © 2020 Janice Litvin • www.JaniceLitvin.com
CHARACTERISTICS OF STRESS REACTIONS
REFRAMING YOUR THINKING
Understanding Your Stress Reaction So You Can Change Them
Tool #2 EXAGGERATING
EXAMPLES:
It drives me crazy (or stresses me out) when...
It drives me crazy when there's a long line at the coffee shop or restaurant
It drives me crazy when I have to wait on hold when I need to call tech support line.
It drives me crazy when there is a lot of traffic
It drives me crazy when I can’t get my work finished because I have too much.
It drives me crazy when I don’t get enough support from my manager.
What drives you crazy (or stresses you out)?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________________
What could you do to mitigate the situation or your feelings?
______________________________________________________________________________
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Banish Burnout Toolkit © 2020 Janice Litvin • www.JaniceLitvin.com
CHARACTERISTICS OF STRESS REACTIONS
REFRAMING YOUR THINKING
Tool #3 OVER-GENERALIZING
EXAMPLES:
He is always late
I always make mistakes when....
The copier is always breaking down
The service at that restaurant is always terrible
My sister-in-law is always talking about herself.
My friend, Susy, is always criticizing me
REALITY SPIN:
Do these situations really ALWAYS happen, or does it just seem that way in the moment?
Now let’s put a reality spin on these statements.
What are your over-generalizations?
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How could you re-frame them to be more realistic?
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You can change your reactions by changing your emotional, irrational thinking.
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Banish Burnout Toolkit © 2020 Janice Litvin • www.JaniceLitvin.com
Exercise: Putting A Reality Spin On Your Thoughts
1. Pick a person or situation that really frustrates you, someone or something that you
encounter on a regular basis.
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2. What is the negative dialog in your head concerning this person or situation?
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3. Think about the statements that sound like over-generalizations.
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4. And then, counter those over-generalizations with LOGIC / evidence-based explanation.
Provide any evidence that directly contradicts these over-generalizations.
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5. Next, think about how you could possibly solve the problem, if it makes sense for the
situation.
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Banish Burnout Toolkit © 2020 Janice Litvin • www.JaniceLitvin.com
TOOL #4: SELF-CARE - SETTING HEALTHY BOUNDARIES
Setting healthy boundaries is a big topic. Let’s start with communicating your needs. It is
incumbent upon you to communicate your needs at work or at home. Your boss does not know
when you are starting to get burned out if you do not tell them. Similarly, your family members
do not know how you are feeling or what you are thinking if you don’t tell them.
Re-frame what you need and how you will communicate it.
a. Communicating your feelings / needs. No one knows how you feel about a
situation if you don't tell them.
It bothers me when...
It would be helpful if…
Could you please _______ when ________?
EXAMPLES:
It bothers me when you criticize my work without including any positives or any
suggestions. It would be helpful if you include the positives you see in my performance?
It bothers me when you ignore my suggestions without any explanation or education.
It bothers me when you drop huge last-minute tasks on my desk with little or no advance
warning.
EXAMPLE:
When possible, could you please give me more than 24 hours’ notice when you need
something done?
Now you try it:
It bothers me when...
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It would be helpful to me if …
______________________________________________________________________________
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Banish Burnout Toolkit © 2020 Janice Litvin • www.JaniceLitvin.com
Could you please ________________________ when _________________________?
______________________________________________________________________________
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b. Feedback
Sometimes just getting some acknowledgement goes a long way. When a boss writes a personal
email to thank someone for going the extra mile, it shows the boss cares and is thinking of you.
Not every boss knows how to be empathetic or emotionally intelligent. Sometimes we have to
train them. If you get performance reviews regularly that is a good time to mention your needs.
What do you need in the form of feedback?
Pat on the back
Positive reinforcement
Do you like to celebrate accomplishments?
What would that look like?
______________________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________________
How and when could you communicate the form of feedback you need? Work with a friend or
accountability partner on this exercise.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
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c. Feeling overwhelmed
Notice when you begin to feel overwhelmed and communicate it to your boss or partner.
Remember, they do not know how you feel if you do not tell them.
Try to stay calm and speak rationally. That is the best way to engage a boss.
EXAMPLE:
Ask for a shift in your deadline and priorities.
I’m beginning to feel overwhelmed / overloaded.
Which of my projects could be re-shuffled so that someone else could help or the deadline
could be changed or both?
Which of these other projects do you want me to stop working on so I can join you on this
new project?
Thank you for thinking of me for that committee. I’d love to be involved. I will be finished
with this current project in two weeks.
May I reconnect with you then to discuss this further?
Tip:
Always think, “what most needs my attention at this moment?” when asking to shift
priorities.
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Banish Burnout Toolkit © 2020 Janice Litvin • www.JaniceLitvin.com
d. Saying no at work
Being able to say no to excessive demands in your professional life is an important key to
avoiding burnout. Use this exercise to explore ways to set healthy boundaries at work.
One common circumstance is the case when the boss comes to you with an “exciting new
project.” As exciting as the new project sounds, you know you are getting overloaded. Saying no
to the boss is next to impossible. Here’s a tip:
Which of these other projects do you want me to stop working on so I can join you on the new
project?
Or
Can we reshuffle some of our other priorities and deadlines to meet your needs without burning
everyone out? How can we reach our goals together?”
(Notice the pronouns.)
Now you try it. How would you word saying no?
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Banish Burnout Toolkit © 2020 Janice Litvin • www.JaniceLitvin.com
5. Saying no to everyone else.
Saying no is one of the hardest lessons to learn and yet one of the most important parts of self-
care. Once I learned how to say no I was so much happier. Be careful, you may start saying no to
everyone every day! It’s almost too simple.
EXAMPLE:
Your work friend calls and says, “I have to leave early to pick my son up, could you be a
friend and finish that big budget report that is due tomorrow?”
At first your guilt will kick-in, but summon up all your strength to push back and say,
“I’m so sorry, I wish I could, but I just can’t.”
Saying no to a friend is probably one of the biggest changes you will ever make. You will be so
much happier and relieved. You will not lose the friendship, and if you do, that was not a real
friend to begin with.
Friends do take no for an answer. Being a good friend means never having to say yes, or at
least not always. Just because a friend asks you to do something does not mean there is not
someone else who could do it. Of course, there are exceptions. Family members often get a
pass, but again - not always. When your spouse asks you to do something, when they could just
as easily do it, do you always say yes?
At first setting this type of boundary will be hard for the people in your life to accept, but they
will learn to adjust. Sometimes, it’s a matter of time, and you can always say this: “I can help
you later, but not now.”
EXERCISE:
How would you say no to someone in the family who wants you to do something that you either
do not want to do or feel you should not have to do? Write out what you want to say without
extra explaining or complaining or self-pity. When you begin to explain why you can’t do
something the other person will take that opportunity to try to help you with your schedule so
that you can do what they want. In sales, that is called “handling objections.”
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Banish Burnout Toolkit © 2020 Janice Litvin • www.JaniceLitvin.com
BONUS ITEM
Tool #5: SHOULD STATEMENTS
Over-using the word “should” is a flag that you are engaging in a form of self-criticism. Do you
find yourself saying or thinking statements like the ones below?
Should statements
EXAMPLES:
I should be smarter
I should be able to handle that problem
I should be better at...
I should keep the house cleaner
I should be nicer to...(fill in the blank)
I should be (fill in the blank)
The next step would be to replace the should statement with a preference and a goal, when
appropriate.
Preference/Goal statements
EXAMPLES:
I should be able to get to work on time.
Preference: I would prefer it if I could get to work on time more often. I could try setting
an alarm & get up a little earlier.
Goal: for the next seven days I will set my alarm 10 minutes earlier.
I should be able to get my work done in 8 hours.
Preference: I would prefer it if I could manage my time. I’m going to set this as a goal.
Goal: Write out an hour-by-hour schedule (or whatever timeframe works for your day),
allotting the amount of time you estimate it will take to accomplish each task. In general
think of 30- or 60-minute blocks of time. Be sure to take a 5-minute break every hour.
I should exercise more.
Preference: I would prefer it if I could exercise at least 3 times per week.
Goal: I am going to put my favorite exercise on my phone calendar and if necessary, put
my workout clothes in my car, so I can go straight to the gym / hiking location, etc. on my
way home from work.
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Banish Burnout Toolkit © 2020 Janice Litvin • www.JaniceLitvin.com
Now you try it.
What are your should's? Make a list here.
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Which is the most important should to you?
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REFRAME YOUR THINKING Now convert the should into a preference statement with a possible goal attached.
Preference: I would prefer it if I could
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Goal: I am going to (do something) _________________________________________________
On (specific day and time) ________________________________________________________
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How did that feel?
______________________________________________________________________________
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Banish Burnout Toolkit © 2020 Janice Litvin • www.JaniceLitvin.com
In closing…
Your boss does not want you to get burned-out!
YOU CANNOT TAKE CARE OF YOUR WORK OR YOUR FAMILY,
IF YOU DO NOT TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!
Please let me know how you are doing with your Banish Burnout Toolkit™ from time to time.
If you would like to bring me in to your company, organization, or conference, to present any of
my talks, including:
• Banish Burnout: Move from Stress to Success™
• Falling in Love with Fitness™
• Lose for Life™
• Out of the Box Wellness: Innovations in Workplace Wellness™
please get in touch via email: [email protected] or phone: 415.518.2202.
More information can be found at www.JaniceLitvin.com.
Ways to keep in touch.
Linkedin: JaniceLitvin
Instagram: JaniceLitvin
Facebook: Janice Litvin Speaks
Twitter: @JLitvin
Youtube: JaniceLitvin
Workplace Wellness with Janice Litvin
(415) 518-2202 [email protected]
www.JaniceLitvin.com