Sometimes what causes burnout is not the task itself. It’s how we perceive it.
Because burnout happens, at its core, when there’s disconnection. When you feel disconnected from the mission of the organization or you feel disconnected from your coworkers or disconnected from the clients you serve.
I had the joyous occasion of being in the hospital last year to have a baby. I met all kinds of medical professionals, and the person who was the most into their job was the lady who changed the sheets.
That was her entire job as far as I could tell. She was coming in and changing sheets on hospital beds.
She came in to my room one day and said, “Well, I’m a little behind schedule, so I can’t stay long.” She went to another department to get cleaner sheets, because she believed postpartum should have clean sheets. She said, “You’re taking lots of photos, and it’s a joyous occasion, and you should have clean sheets.”
She was so connected into the mission and the people. I imagine she was not getting much more than minimum wage, but she had an attitude that was getting her through a bit of a menial job.
There was so much honor to what she was doing because she felt connected to the clients through clean sheets. And I still remember her, so it made an impression.
See if you can think differently about some of the tasks you do or if they can be changed in some ways so that you are more connected either to the values, or the clients you serve, or the people you work with.