An excellent short piece from the Harvard Business Review on managing yourself; Specialist-Generalists can get very stretched – here’s how not to:
February 10, 2017
Three Mindset Shifts That Will Help You Avoid Burnout
Everyone faces stress at work, but some people are able to handle the onslaught of long hours, high pressure, and work crises in a way that wards off burnout. You can get better at handling stress by making several mental shifts:
- Don’t be the source of your stress. Resist your perfectionist tendencies and your drive for constant high achievement. Recognize when you’re being too hard on yourself, and let go.
- Recognize your limitations. Don’t try to be a hero. If you don’t have the ability or bandwidth to do something, be honest with yourself and ask for help.
- Re-evaluate your perspective. Do you view a particular situation as a threat to something you value? Or do you view it as a problem to be solved? Change how you see the situation to bring your stress levels down.
Adapted from “Why Some People Get Burned Out and Others Don’t,” by Kandi Wiens and Annie McKee
The Specialist-Generalist 