Guest Author - Ogo Ogbata

Computer careers can be extremely lucrative but the fast pace of technology and office politics make IT professionals prone to career burnout. Would you like to get more enjoyment out of work? Read on to learn how to avoid career burnout.

Career burnout is a very real and topical issue in my opinion. Yes, stress is a part of our everyday existence, but when the work you do is taking over your life, it's time to stop and take stock of things.

Since burnout is caused by prolonged stress and frustration, it helps to answer the following questions as truthfully as possible:

1. Who am I and what are my core values? What's most important to me in life? What makes me happy?
2. What are my strengths and weaknesses? What are my gifts and talents? Where do I shine?
3. Am I in the right line of work? If fear wasn't a factor and money wasn't an issue, what would my dream career be? How can my gifts and talents solve a recurring problem in my community?
4. Am I dedicating time to the pursuit of worthwhile goals or chasing shadows? Am I developing my talents and operating in my area of strength?
5. Am I managing my time wisely? How can I do more in less time (and with less stress) by managing time better? How can I spend more time on the things that matter most in life?
6. Who do I look up to career wise? How can I learn from those who are already doing what I want to do career wise? How can I improve my people skills so that I can get the best out of people and work better as part of a team?
7. Am I worrying too much? Have I disciplined my mind to stop worrying about the things I cannot change?

Reflect on your answers, write them down and take corrective action as soon as possible.

Life can be stressful for sure but sometimes we add to our burden by overcomplicating things. If you're in the wrong line of work, look for alternative employment (and trust me there's always an alternative). If your work environment can be improved in some way, resolve to become a facilitator of change. Reduce financial worries by making your money work harder for you (e.g. learning to save, invest, starting a part time business and earning residual income through an online business or book royalties for instance). Identify what means the most to you and spend time on those things e.g. family, church, craft, friends and so on.

As for the things you can't change, try not to worry about them. Life is short. Just enjoy it while it lasts!

A lot of people get into high paying jobs in order to save up for what they 'really' want to do. But when career burnout sets in, personally I think it's time to leave the comfort zone. With courage (and it does take tremendous courage, make no mistake), a lot of the things we try to achieve 'indirectly' can be achieved quicker and with less emotional pain.

For instance, a close family friend (I'll call him Duke) has been dreaming of setting up his own business for many years. Although Duke is very capable of achieving his goals, I believe he's been procrastinating due to fear of the unknown (which is quite natural, of course, but then fear needs to be confronted before it will go away). Of course Duke tells everyone that he's saving up and waiting for family life to get less complicated before starting the business and in the meantime he endures a stressful albeit well paying job he's no longer happy with. However, just recently Duke lost his job after a company takeover so now that he's been forced out he's finally keen to start the business.

In summary, a lot of people wait too long to steer their lives in the right direction and suffer a lot of stress in the process. If putting up with a stressful job is absolutely the only way you can do what you really want to do in the long term, then do so cheerfully by all means. But a lot of times there are other alternatives and we just have to move past our fear to get to the other side...