Experiencing burnout, or a sensation of feeling overwhelmed and uninspired in your professional or personal life, can happen to anyone. In today’s ever-connected world, burnout is something that more and more employees are at risk of facing, due to employers expecting them to respond at all hours of the day and night, and impeding demands on time from social accounts, professional obligations, and personal life.

Here’s how to avoid burnout in both your personal life and your professional career:

Schedule time to relax.

Whether relaxing means going for a mountain bike ride, painting at a local studio, or booking a weekend getaway to the Caribbean, scheduling time to relax is an important part of the process of avoiding burn out. Of course, we can’t always pursue creative endeavors or jet away at a moment’s notice, but something as simple as scheduling a time to walk the dog, enjoy a hot bath, or curl up with a good book can still offer you a much-needed opportunity to destress and decompress. Giving yourself the opportunity to unwind and mentally relax will give you the strength that you need to fulfill your obligations, personally and professionally, with a reduced risk of burning out. Care for yourself can allow you to better care for others.

Prioritize and reevaluate your obligations.

Sometimes the best way to get something done is to admit that we need help and will not be able to complete it ourselves. The stress of burnout often accompanies a feeling of being unable to get done everything that we are obligated to do. If you are feeling this burden, stop! Sit down and make a list of your priorities and obligations. Do it now.

Once you’ve written down everything, large and small, that you can think of put the items in order of the things that you absolutely have to do down to smallest the things that you would like to accomplish, time permitting. Figure out which obligations you can let go of, which ones should be completed first, and which ones to delegate out to trusted connections. Your coworkers and family want you to succeed, and a step on the path to success is delegating what you can to avoid the risk of burnout.

Make sure you are working efficiently.

If you are starting to feel the risk of burnout from stressors related to your work, take some time to ensure that you are completing your tasks as efficiently as possible. Are there time wasters or any challenges and roadblocks that are contributing to your feeling at risk for burning out? Meetings and paperwork often contribute to time wasting, for example; so do inefficient employees and employers. Work smarter, not harder, and you may find that the risk of burnout is reduced already.

Scheduling time to destress, evaluating and reassessing your priorities, and making sure you are working as efficiently as possible can help you to avoid the risk of burnout in the workplace, as well as in your home life. Try these suggestions to reduce your risk of burning out!