Hey – Walker and Davis here.
Happy Saturday morning to the Laying Foundations community!
Construction consists of long days and lots of hard work. No matter what position you are in, you will undoubtedly begin to feel the pressure, long hours, and sometimes little sleep that comes with a job in construction. So, if this is common across the board, how should you be dealing with burnout?
Today’s issue takes about 5 minutes to read and was written for you by Walker Lott.
Enjoy.
Meme Of The Week
I hate to break it to you, but no matter who you are, you will probably begin to feel burnt out at some point in your career. Work is…well…work, and it’s not always the easiest thing to do day in and day out, especially if you work on the weekends too.
However, burnout is not simply caused by too much work alone; it is also a result of how you treat yourself and your body on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis.
Burnout is the combination of poor health habits like bad diet, little sleep, too much alcohol, etc, and long hours of work. Over time, these things combine to cause a person to feel “burnt out.”
So, what are some ways a person can overcome this feeling and turn the tide on burnout?
1. Find A Health Routine (And Stick To It)
One great way to avoid burnout is to have a daily routine that helps your mind and body recover.
For me, one daily habit I have instilled is to go to bed early (not always successful at this one), wake up early, and get a workout in before I go to work. I’ve discovered this helps my mind get clearer, my body gets stronger and sets me up for success for the work day ahead of me. It also gives me a feeling of accomplishment that I did something that morning that will help me in the long run.
Im not saying you should make going to the gym every morning (however, you should be doing something active daily) but find what works for you and something that will make you better in the long run. Things like reading 10 pages, doing a devotional, studying something new, working on a hobby, etc., will help you find a routine and set you up for a successful day.
2. Make Time For Rest
Point number two flows from point number one, but rest is extremely important to the body and mind. If you are constantly on the go, not finding time to give your body a breather, and have a poor diet, poor health, and poor everything, then it will catch up to you and when it does, it will not be fun.
Rest is a broad term too. It doesn’t necessarily have to be sleep; it can be family time, vacation, a daily walk, etc., but find something that helps you unwind each day.
3. Don’t Be Afraid To Take Time Off
I mentioned taking a vacation in a point above but I wanted to reiterate it. We need time away from work to recover. I get it; you have a lot of stuff to do, you are “important,” and you “can’t take time off.” These excuses seem to always pop their head up, especially in construction.
I have learned that you are not as important as you think, and the job will survive without you, I promise. However, you have to have a company that believes the same thing and a team that is independent to accomplish this.
There should never be a team that can’t operate if one person isn’t there. If you take time off, your team should be able to pick up the slack while you’re gone. Same for a company or manager. If your employee takes time off, you should have set the team up well enough to where you can still run successfully and don’t have to bother your employee on his time off.
Even if this isn’t the case, you shouldn’t be afraid to take time off when you need it because, at the end of the day, it’s only a job. In 20 years, you will wish you took that time off and spent it with family, friends, or even time alone.
Quality of the Week: Introspection– the ability to look inward and find what needs improving.
20-Year-Old Self Advice: Find mentors early, and get accountability partners who hold you to a higher standard.
Next-Gen Vision
This is inspired by SiteNews – the modern voice of Canadian Construction. Laying Foundations believes in painting a picture for the younger generation. By doing so, we want you to submit your best job site photos for the month of May. We will release the best photos at the end of the month of June to share with our subscriber base. The best photos will get a shoutout on the newsletter and laying foundations merch!
Help us paint a picture for the younger generation to see how awesome the construction industry is by submitting your photo here!, and get accountability partners who hold you to a higher standard.
Check out episode 124 on The Laying Foundations Podcast!
Join us for a conversation with the owner of Black Iron Dirt & Demolition, Luke Payne. Luke has a tremendous story, starting his career in landscaping, he learned the very beginning of moving dirt around the job site. He then pursued a full-time sales role selling boats during the day while running his first heavy equipment business every waking moment he wasn’t working. His story is full of grit and figuring it out on the fly.
