God created you to be well. He created you to live with peace, clarity, and purpose, not constant stress and exhaustion. Let’s talk about how to avoid burn out & achieve work life balance.
When we talk about mental health in the workplace, we often try to fix what is happening at work without looking at the bigger picture. The reality is that your experience at work is directly connected to how you are living the rest of your life. If your life feels out of balance, your work will feel that way too.
This is an invitation to take a step back and look at your life as a whole so that your mental health at work can actually improve in a sustainable way.
The 9 Wellness Bank Accounts
A helpful way to understand your mental health is to think of different areas of your life as bank accounts. Each one is either being filled or depleted on a daily basis. There is no neutral. When you ignore an area for too long, it starts to affect everything else.
These nine areas give you a practical way to take inventory and make adjustments where needed. These specific pillars of wellness come from Reform Wellness, which is a resource that has benefitted both me and my clients for years. These accounts will help us how to avoid burn out & have a healthy work life balance. So let’s dive in!
Faith
Your relationship with God is the foundation of your wellbeing. If our work day is not grounded in a relationship with Him, it’s only a matter of time before we burn out. Beginning with the foundation of faith & prayer will ensure that peace, contentment & fulfillment in the rest of the day will truly last.
What drains this area:
Neglecting prayer, missing Mass, falling into patterns of sin, and disconnecting from God in your daily life.
What fills this area:
Prayer, the sacraments, time in Adoration, Confession, spiritual reading, and a real openness to God.
When this area is strong, everything else becomes more stable. If you haven’t yet established a consistent prayer life, do not move on to any other pillars until you have.
Space
Space includes both your physical environment and your schedule. When your surroundings are cluttered or your schedule is packed with no margin, it becomes very difficult to feel calm or focused.
What drains this area:
Disorganization, physical clutter, and a schedule that is completely full with no room to breathe.
What fills this area:
Order, cleanliness, and intentionally leaving space in your day. This often means saying no, even when it is uncomfortable.
I had to learn this in my own life. For a season, I worked every single night after my kids went to bed. I convinced myself that it was necessary because of my schedule during the day. Over time, I realized I had created a life with no margin. I now protect two nights a week where I do not work. It still requires intention, but it has made a significant difference in my energy and overall wellbeing.
Nutrition
There is a lot of noise around nutrition, and it can become overwhelming quickly. Instead of overcomplicating it, focus on one question. Are you nourishing your body? The way you nourish yourself before, during and after your work day will directly impact your mental health in the workplace.
What drains this area:
Under eating, overeating, obsessing over food, restricting certain foods, or eating without paying attention.
What fills this area:
Eating enough, choosing whole foods, paying attention to your body’s cues, and allowing yourself to enjoy your food.
One small shift that can make a huge difference is slowing down to focus on enjoying your meal without distractions. This alone can help your body feel safe and changes the way you experience and digest food. Your body responds well to consistency and nourishment. It does not need perfection.
Movement
Your body was created to move, but movement does not need to be intense or rigid to be effective. Some professions happen primarily from a desk chair & while we can do little about that, it’s important to realize this reality and make sure we are getting enough movement in ways that are within our control.
What drains this area:
Being sedentary most of the day, using exercise as punishment, or forcing yourself into routines you do not enjoy.
What fills this area:
Movement that feels supportive, enjoyable, and sustainable. Walking, stretching, strength training, or anything that helps you care for your body well.
If you ever see me running, you better start running too because it means something is after me. This is not a movement that will fill my account – it would drain me simply because I dislike it, while others love the runners high! We are all unique and what fills one account may drain another. Tune in to yourself and what you need most.
Movement should support your life, not become another source of pressure.
Sleep
Sleep is essential for your mental and emotional health. You cannot function well long-term without it.
What drains this area:
Going to bed too late, inconsistent sleep patterns, and using screens right before bed.
What fills this area:
Getting 7-8 hours of sleep most nights, having a consistent bedtime routine, and creating an environment that supports rest.
I’ve found it fascinating to read that research shows sleeping both less than 7 hours and more than 8 hours will have your brain functioning 10 years older than it really is. I also appreciated learning that the quality of our sleep in the early hours of the night is twice as good as the sleep we get after 1am. This means that it not only matters how many hours we sleep, but also what time we go to bed.
If your sleep is suffering, it will impact every other area of your life especially your work.
Play
Play is one of the most overlooked areas of adult life, and it has a direct impact on your mental health.
What drains this area:
Only doing what is productive and never making time for enjoyment, laughter and fun.
What fills this area:
Doing things simply because they bring you joy. This can look different for everyone.
Think about what you enjoyed as a child. Those activities often still bring a sense of lightness and joy as an adult. For me it’s being in nature, swimming, hiking, biking and painting. For others it could be golf, reading, knitting and any number of things. Whatever you do simply for the sake of enjoying that activity.
Community
You were created for relationship. Isolation makes everything feel heavier, while connection brings support and perspective. Community could be in the workplace, at church, our neighborhoods or any other place we frequent.
What drains this area:
Withdrawing from others, avoiding vulnerability, or staying in surface-level relationships.
What fills this area:
Spending time with people who know you, support you, and walk with you in both joy and difficulty.
Community does not have to be large, but it does need to be intentional. It serves our mental health in the work place to see how our role at work fits into the community at large and makes an impact in the world – no matter how seemingly small.
Personal Growth
Growth is a necessary part of a healthy life. You are not meant to stay the same. You are meant to continue becoming who God created you to be. At work this may look like continuing education & professional development, at home it may look like reading, studying, listening and learning in whatever way is most impactful to you.
What drains this area:
Staying stagnant, believing change is not possible, or settling into patterns that are not serving you.
What fills this area:
Taking intentional steps to grow, being open to change, and living in the truth of your identity in Christ.
Growth takes effort, but it is always worth it.
Stress Management
You will experience stress. Some of it is outside of your control, and some of it is not. How you respond to stress makes a significant difference in your mental health. Stress is not an objectively negative experience. Stress can motivate us to get things done or make meaningful change. The goal is not to eliminate all stress, the goal is to handle stress well.
What drains this area:
A negative mindset, assuming the worst, and resisting what is happening.
What fills this area:
Practicing mindfulness, maintaining healthy boundaries, staying flexible, and surrendering what you cannot control.
This leads into one of the most practical tools you can use daily…
Mindfulness in Daily Life
Mindfulness is the practice of being aware of the present moment without judgment. It means you are paying attention to what is happening right now instead of getting pulled into the past or the future. It also means recognizing that God is present with you in that moment.
The way you experience your day is shaped by your level of presence. You can move through the same routine in a distracted, stressed state, or you can move through it with awareness and intention.
For example, something as simple as taking a shower can feel rushed and stressful when your mind is racing. That same moment can feel calm and grounding when you slow down, notice your surroundings, and bring your attention back to what you are doing.
Nothing about the situation changes. Your awareness does. To learn more, my favorite resource for mindfulness is this set of FREE audio exercises.
How to Avoid Burnout & Protect Work Life Balance
Once you start taking care of these 9 areas of your life we’ve just covered, you need to protect them. That is where boundaries come in.
Boundaries help you take responsibility for your time, your energy, and your priorities. They allow you to show up fully in the different areas of your life without everything blending together.
Healthy boundaries are both firm and flexible. You protect what matters, while still allowing room to adjust when needed.
This might look like:
- Not checking work emails during time with your family
- Protecting your sleep even when others do not
- Responding to work during your designated work hours
Other people will not always have good boundaries. That is something you cannot control. What you can control is how you respond and what you allow into your time and space. Boundaries help you avoid burn out and protect work life balance.
Final Thoughts
Your mental health at work is not separate from the rest of your life. When your life is aligned and you are caring for yourself in these areas, your work becomes more manageable and more sustainable. Balance exists because the right things are being prioritized.
Therapy & Coaching can be a great support to you. These services can help fill your stress management, personal growth and even community accounts. I’d love to chat and see how I can support you and your overall wellbeing during this season of life.
You do not need to change everything at once. Start by taking inventory. Choose one or two areas to focus on. Make small, consistent changes. Over time, those changes build into a life that feels more peaceful, more balanced, and more aligned with how you were created to live.
