During your burnout recovery, you will likely still not be at your original energy level for a while. It takes a different amount of time for everyone, but in Cait’s experience the average time frame has been around 18 months. In today’s #straightfromcait episode, Cait Donovan, host and burnout speaker, shares 8 tips for helping to get your energy back during recovery.

Doing too much all at once can cause you to do more harm than good for your recovery. Start with choosing one thing to work on, and then once it becomes a habit you can move on to the next. A good place to start is seeing your doctor for blood work, or if you can afford it going to a functional medicine practitioner. If you have an underlying medical issue like anemia or low Vitamin D, you will not be able to feel energized regardless of how much mindset work you do. Another simple tip to improve your energy is to drink more water. Just adding one additional glass of water each day is a great way to keep yourself from becoming dehydrated, especially if you add in some electrolytes. 

Overdoing it is part of what causes burnout in the first place, so be patient with yourself during recovery. Be honest and take a step back if you find yourself doing too much. Start with small actionable steps like drinking more water or improving your posture and slowly work up to doing more as your energy returns.

Quotes

• “If your vitamin D or B12 are low, or if you’re anemic or your thyroid is off, you're not going to feel rested and or energized no matter how much mindset work you do.” (2:02-2:14 | Cait)

• “You can't have energy without water. If you aren't drinking enough, and you know who you are out there, add one more glass a day.” (3:44-3:52 | Cait) 

• “Check in and be honest about whether or not you're overdoing it, please. Because when you start to feel better, you might be inclined to work like you used to. And you might just not be able to do that yet. If you're overworking, you'll need to take a step back somehow. Learning how to rebalance your life is part of recovery, and it's impossible to feel rested when you're always overworked.” (5:14-5:36 | Cait)

 • “Did you know that when you're sitting in a crappy position all day and you don't breathe fully and therefore you don't use energy well, you're basically creating an inefficient machine?” (5:40-5:50 | Cait)

• “If you aren't moving because exercise still feels like it's too much, you might need to shift your mindset around what exercise means.” (6:29-6:37 | Cait)

• “Be patient with yourself, please. The desire to push yourself beyond your energetic means is a piece of what drew you to burnout in the first place.” (7:43-7:52 | Cait)

Links 

https://instagram.com/carolynbrownie

https://instagram.com/isabelsmithnutrition

https://instagram.com/themetabolismmakeover

https://instagram.com/lalunehealing

https://www.youtube.com/@SpringForestQigongYouTube

https://www.friedtheburnoutpodcast.com/post/riley-jarvis-the-big-secrets-of-exceptional-sleep-with-the-sleep-consultant

https://www.friedtheburnoutpodcast.com/post/carolyn-brown-love-where-you-live-beautify-your-home-and-drink-your-damn-water

https://www.friedtheburnoutpodcast.com/post/isabel-smith

https://www.friedtheburnoutpodcast.com/post/elizabeth-collins-the-burnout-witch-talks-leaky-gut-tarot-and-optimal-blood-work

https://drinklmnt.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=Cj0KCQiA3eGfBhCeARIsACpJNU9X5rms3Ys7g762nRUemppIJhQg3yl1Uiv6-UzrHte5xRkyD_4ZjwAaAuY7EALw_wcB

Connect with Cait:

Cait Donovan is a keynote speaker, author, and host of FRIED: The Burnout Podcast, specializing in burnout, mis/match, and sustainable performance at work. She partners with corporate leaders, teams, and professional associations through keynotes, workshops, and leadership sessions that treat burnout as data, not failure, to help organizations reduce burnout without blame or shame and build healthier, high performing cultures.

To bring Cait to your organization or event, book an inquiry call here: https://bit.ly/bookcait

Learn more about Cait’s speaking work: https://www.caitdonovan.com/speaking

Short on time? Watch this 3-min video: https://bit.ly/caitdreel2025

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm