Traffic light rest: Colour-code your calendar to beat burnout
For most of my life, I was someone who wasn’t able to take breaks. I believed that taking breaks meant I was being lazy. The issue was that because I didn’t take breaks, I wasn’t able to be my full, productive self when I needed to get shit done, because I was exhausted. I never took more than a week off between jobs (if at all). I left university on a Friday, moved back home to London over the weekend, and started my graduate job on the Monday.
Because I was on go all the time, my ideas came to me when I was trying to sleep, which was the only time my brain wasn’t busy. Of course that made things worse, because I’d get up to put the ideas on paper, not get a good rest, wake up tired, and repeat it the next day. I used to think holidays were my “breaks”; in reality I still checked emails, actioned things that felt urgent, and the moment I switched off my brain went into idea mode because it finally had room to think. Honestly, I think I was living in a state of constant, high-functioning burnout for at least six years.
After studying burnout, the symptoms, causes, and treatments, I realised that rest was the only option. The problem was, I had no idea what rest meant. I also learned burnout can take years to recover from, so my one-week holidays weren’t making much of a dent. So, how am I working on getting over burnout (because this is a journey for me too)? First, I had to figure out what rest looks like for me, because it’s not just sleeping. Rest looks different for everyone, even more so for neurodivergent people. Once you’ve worked that out, schedule it. The high achievers I work with are great at scheduling work and dinners, but often fall short on personal activities. If you live by your calendar, start blocking time for rest.
One method I use with clients is my traffic light method: review your calendar in periods of stop, get ready, and go rather than by days or months. As an ex-founder and manager, I know you can’t always switch off in the evenings and weekends; that’s not a luxury leaders always have. But I can recognise that some periods are busier than others. So, rather than waiting for a week off, start scheduling your calendar according to the mode you need to be in. Sometimes you’ll have red, yellow, and green in one week; sometimes it will run across a month or a quarter. You decide. If there’s a massive project at work that needs your full attention, you might be in green/go mode for two weeks, then plan a red/stop week after that, and move into a yellow/get-ready few days before going full steam ahead to green for your next project. The beauty of this method is that it lets you look ahead and plan your energy and output accordingly. It also reduces the guilt in stop mode, because you know it’s necessary to be your best and most productive self during go mode.
Here’s how I explain the different modes to clients. Adapt them to how life and rest look for you.
Red / Stop
Take on easier tasks at work or take time off.
Limit socialising.
Actively rest (including non-physical rest such as creative and sensory rest).
Yellow / Get ready
Start to pick up more tasks and ease back into regular output.
Socialise a little more, but be selective.
Still prioritise physical rest; there may be less time for other types of rest.
Green / Go
Full work output and productivity.
Socialising is at full tilt here.
Rest may be more limited, so plan micro-recovery.
I challenge you to colour-code your next month and notice how you feel. I’m sure you’re good at green and maybe even yellow. Let’s get some red in there too.