I've been in burnout before. Twice over the past 4 years, so I know when I'm at the edge and when I need to pull back. Without going into too many details, my father had 3 urgent surgeries in one day and I'm the main caregiver along with my mom, who is recovering from her own surgery last year. And then just when my father was out of the woods, one of my kids had a quick emergency surgery that we learn this week if it's going to be a bigger problem and require another surgery.

Add to that I spoke at 4 conferences in 3 weeks and started a new revenue stream inside this space.

Oh and if you're not new here, you'll remember my lemon of a loveable dog Kora, who got her third double eye infection in 6 months at the same time as all this was going down and was rejected from being kennelled during one of the conferences so needed constant care.

By the time last Friday came, I knew I was approaching burnout. In fact, I was probably inside of burnout.

But I have a job to do which mainly involves writing my own emails and emails for other people. So, how did I manage? Here's my burnout framework in case you can identify with me and would like to build a plan of your own.

1. No matter what, time away from work is a priority. Work will always be there. Your mental health needs to be prioritized.
2. Prioritize the email that needs to go out and write it. Write it short. Put one call to action in and get out.
3. For these purposes, template the email in step 2 and use it whenever you feel you need to step back from the emails.
4. Build systems and templates for releases. Stay tuned over the next few emails where I explain exactly what I mean, but sneak peek, I launch books inside an automation, not my regular newsletters. And I duplicate that automation for every launch. Way less work.
5. Have a relax list ready to go. This one came from a therapist I used to work with and it's stuck with me over the past 5 years. Because I suck at not working, she had me write down a Top 10 list of things I could do that weren't working so that I could cross something off the list when the time came for me to just give in and chill out. And my list couldn't say 'watch Netflix'. I had to be much more specific so that I would follow through. Watch one episode of Bridgerton Season One (season one so far has been my fave but this week that could all change!). Be specific so your brain doesn't trip over itself. What tv show? What book? What hike? What bottle of wine on a Friday night? And do NOT skip this part.
6. Give yourself permission to step back from work. But also remind yourself to step back IN.

This past weekend during my stepping back, I set the templates up for my client so that over the next 3 weeks during their launch, when I got my links, all I had to do was insert them. Everything else was ready and duplicatable. And I wrote a couple of FB posts and scheduled them. And then I turned to my list. Here's what I did in case anyone wants to hit reply and talk about how much they love something I'm into as well.

1. Watched Welcome to Wrexham. I love soccer and Ryan Reynolds. Win win.
2. Watched Dark Matter - oof, I loved it!
3. Read Till Death - 10/10 recommend. Like, a lot.
4. Walked my dog.
5. Visited my dad.
6. Went to the gym.
7. Played my new video game that my daughter bought me for Mother's Day.
8. Listened to some Taylor.
9. Slept. I napped and went to bed early Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

And yesterday I woke up jazzed. Ready to jump back in. Writing this email that you're currently reading. Met with clients. Planned some of my new website. Took my daughter for her driver's test. Talked to some friends. I'm back.

Now, I'm an experienced burner-outer and knew if I didn't take the weekend to myself, I'd be worse off this week. And I knew 3 whole days of no work was exactly the right amount for me. You might want to start with a few hours or a day. But don't fight the signs. You have my permission to write your own relaxation list and execute it. Your words will thank you.

Happy Emailing,

Holly

Stay tuned to your inbox next week where I'm going to start my 3-part series on how to automate your next release emails. It's a game-changer!