Responsibility Fatigue: What It Is and How to Manage It
Lindsay Knake
| 3 min read
Finishing a project at work. Picking up the kids from school. Helping them with a school project. Taking care of an aging parent. Making dinner for your family. Clearing the sidewalks for a sick neighbor. Getting to your doctor’s office for an appointment. Managing your family’s finances. These are all realities for many American adults.
There is a lot to do, and some may find themselves taking on an overwhelming number of tasks and chores. But taking on too many responsibilities without adequate rest can lead to fatigue. Let’s look at responsibility fatigue and a few ways to manage it.
What is responsibility fatigue?
It can be easy for some people to continually say “yes” to requests at work, from family and loved ones and community members. Being busy can be seen as a sign of success. But while supporting others and acts of kindness are good for us, too many obligations can increase stress and fatigue. This can lead to lower performance at work and a strain on our relationships, which can further increase stress.
Fatigue is feeling severely tired, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Symptoms of fatigue include:
- Feeling tired after sleep and rest
- Consistently low energy and motivation
- Difficulty concentrating
- Impatience and irritability
- Feeling anxious or resentful
- Whole body tiredness
- Malaise
- Boredom
- Lack of interest in activities you typically enjoy
Unmanaged, responsibility fatigue can lead to burnout. Burnout is physical, mental and/or emotional exhaustion, reduced performance and negative attitudes, according to the American Psychological Association. Other signs of burnout include:
- Apathy
- Changes in diet and sleep habits
- Headaches
Recovering from burnout can take months, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Prevention is easier than recovery.
Fatigue shares many of the same symptoms as depression, which could linger even after taking steps to mitigate responsibility and symptoms of being overwhelmed. You may consider discussing your symptoms with your primary care provider (PCP).
How to deal with responsibility fatigue
Here are tips on managing responsibility fatigue:
Examine your schedule and set priorities
Take some time to list your responsibilities and tasks. Figure out what you absolutely must take care of and what is most important to you, such as projects at work and taking care of your kids. Is it essential that you stay so busy, or are these choices you are making? Let go of comparisons to other people. They may be struggling as much as you are or have different resources that allow them to accomplish their long to-do list.
Also, try to stop multitasking, which makes us less efficient and more likely to make errors, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Seek support
See where you can delegate, ask for help or drop tasks. At work, consider talking to your manager about priorities. At home, talk to your family and loved ones about what you need to do, what you would like to do and what you can delay or drop. You may need to be clear about what you need and what you can no longer manage.
It may be difficult to say “no” to requests for more of your time and energy, but it may be necessary.
Take care of yourself
No one can take care of everything, even if you feel like you must. Practicing self-compassion may help relieve any guilt you may feel about needing to make your to-do list shorter. You can support yourself by practicing healthy lifestyle habits such as:
- Take breaks and rest days, including silencing notifications on your phone.
- Manage stress, including with help from a professional.
- Eat a healthy diet of fruits, vegetables, lean protein and whole grains.
- Reduce or eliminate alcohol.
- Get 150 minutes of exercise a week.
If you need immediate help, contact a crisis provider or seek mental health services from your PCP.
Image: Getty Images
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