Quilting My Way Through Burnout

Regular readers may have noticed that I have not made a blog post here in two months. I am dealing with burnout, and it's not much fun. Burnout occurs when one feels overwhelmed, and mentally, emotionally and often physically exhausted. Burnout makes one feel too tired to do much of anything.

In my case, the burnout was brought on by competing demands for my time at work. I've been burned-out before, and I know the drill. My first instinct is to run from it, but that does not fix the problem. I'll share with you here some of the steps that have worked for me on my journey to recovery.

The first thing I do is take a step back and disengage emotionally. This allows for some clarity and perspective, and helps to prioritize. If you're buried in tasks, tell people what you "can" do, not what you can't do, and ask for help if you need it. Burnout is often driven by a perceived lack of control, so begin to take control of the things you can.

Work is work, and home is home, and they must be separately maintained. For me that means no bringing work home, no checking work emails on my phone outside of office hours. Control what you do and when/where you do it.

Be good to YOU. Eat right and get plenty of sleep. Do only what you feel capable of doing, don't pressure yourself to do anything more, and don't allow others to pressure you. Slow things down, be gentle with yourself and control the pace.

Burnout victims want to retreat into their funk, but that is not the path to recovery. Make time for the things you like to do, and control how you use your time. For me, much of that focus was spending more time at the sewing machine, making quilts for the Quilt of Valor presentation at work.

Making quilts for Quilts of Valor is something I have written about here many times. These quilts are the highest honor a civilian can bestow on a veteran. Working on these quilts was a bit of therapy for me, thinking of these brave men and women who have sacrificed so much while I pieced and stitched and quilted. Stepping outside yourself is always a good thing, and is especially helpful in a burnout situation.

I made three quilts for the Springs Creative Quilts of Valor presentations. Two are repeats of the black-and-white stars-and-stripes quilt I designed and made last year; the blocks are larger and the quilts are put together quickly. The red border is a nice accent, too.

The third quilt is made from traditional red, white & blue patriotic fabrics using a quilt pattern from a JOANN Christmas craft book from the early 1990s. It's always been a favorite design, but it takes more time to make.

It was a small presentation, with four quilts given. Two were quilts I donated, and I was asked to present them. A QOV presentation is very emotional, and there were more than a few tears shed (some of them mine).

It's difficult to express here how incredibly moving this ceremony is, and if you have an opportunity to attend one, please do. These veterans deserve our support and admiration for all they have done. What a privilege it is to participate in such a meaningful program!

So, is my burnout gone? Hardly. But I am working my way out of it, following the steps I have outlined above. Things have calmed down a bit at work, and I am fortunate to have support from others there who have allowed me to take that step back and just breathe. I'm back at the blog posting again, which is more forward motion. Burnout recovery doesn't happen overnight, but I am working my way through it.

Over the next few posts I'll update you on the things I've been sewing during these past two months. Although I may be a little crispy around the edges, I have been having fun at the sewing machine!

Until next time, keep those sewing machines humming, and be good to yourself!

danthefabricman@yahoo.com

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