Through your leadership career, the time may come where you start to feel the effects of stress, unchecked it can lead to burnout. Signs of burnout can include digestion problems, high blood pressure, immunity, sleep issues, concentration issues, depressed mood, feeling worthless, loss of interest and fatigue to name a few. We concentrate on work, the challenge to succeed and forget the coping mechanisms we had when we were younger. Wouldn’t it be great if we had a piece of equipment that would let us know when we were approaching burnout?

When trail running, it is common to keep your eye on your heartrate using a fitness watch. Your heartrate will pass through five zones from Zone 1 (Moderate Activity) to Zone 5 (VO2 Max) as you increase your pace of running. Maintaining your heart rate in Zone 3 (Aerobix) will allow you to run for extended periods with relative ease and complete your 5K , 10K, 15k or more. Moving into Zone 4 (Anaerobic) becomes increasingly difficult and if you get into Zone 5 (Maximum Effort), you will not be able to continue for a long distance. You may want to walk to recover from Zone 5, but as soon as you start running again your heart rate will go right back into Zone 5. You have passed the red line of recovery and only extended rest will help.

It is the same with burnout at work. Everyone has a different red line when it comes to life. Your personal red line is a combination of life stress and work stress which varies at any time based on specific conditions. Like trail running, if you pass the red line of stress, the recovery is much more challenging. The secret – do your best to maintain and continue to develop your coping mechanisms – exercise, spending time with family and friends, meditation, yoga, reading or hobbies. Be aware of your personal red line and look for symptoms like those above.