"I avoided burnout by being really boring - wearing same outfit every day and eating from paper plates"

A burnout coach has revealed how she avoided burnout by "being really boring" - by wearing the same outfit every day and eating meals with paper plates.<br /><br />Gabriela Flax, 28, suffered from burnout after beginning to lose interest in her "dream" product management job.<br /><br />After recovering from her burnout a "lack of resources and practical help" within the industry led Gabriela to become a burnout coach.<br /><br />Burnout is a state of chronic overwhelm accumulated over time.<br /><br />A combination of self-inflicted pressure in a stressful workplace and feeling the need to always say yes left Gabriela suffering from migraines, panic attacks and constant exhaustion.<br /><br />She says her burnout even made her feel like she didn't deserve downtime - and she would refuse to nap or allow herself to watch TV as it "wasn't productive."<br /><br />While navigating her burnout, Gabriela came up with the 'boring list' - full of ways to simplify every day activities to reduce the early symptoms of burnout and gain some energy back.<br /><br />This included having a clean basket as well as a dirty basket for laundry and creating a 'focus mode' on her phone to only see important notifications.<br /><br />She also added a favourite dish to her Deliveroo app for ease and bought three sets of an outfit she felt comfortable in - to take away the pressure of having to choose what to wear.<br /><br />Now working as a full-time burnout coach, Gabriela helps others overcome their burnout by using the list alongside other methods - inlcuding NLP - a way of changing somsones thoughts and behavuoirs to acheive a desired outcome.<br /><br />Gabriela, originally from Baltimore, Maryland, US, but now living in Marylebone, London, said: "The boring list is for people who have just acknowledged burnout - it's a mental reprieve.<br /><br />"It's going to be tough but it's about focusing on small changes that can be made to your daily life.<br /><br />"It's not a cure to burnout, but these are things you can do in the early stages to let some steam out.<br /><br />"It allows someone to win back bite-size pieces of energy and put it into their reserves.<br /><br />"If you are in a position to have a meal delivered and you can remove the stress and time pressure you are experiencing through decision fatigue then let's just remove that entire experience."<br /><br />At the top of Gabriela's 'boring list' is having a clean basket as well as a dirty laundry basket.<br /><br />She said: "Everyone has a dirty wash basket but we don't often have a clean basket.<br /><br />"Most of us have a clean chair, but anything that creates chaos through mess makes us feel worse.<br /><br />"The clean basket allows you to keep the space tidy but if you don't want to open your closet because of decision fatigue - don't bother with it, go to the clean basket, you know it's clean. No decision needed."<br /><br />Gabriela also recommends anyone suffering from decision fatigue invests in multiple sets of the same outfit.<br /><br />"It's something you want to feel comfortable in and something you feel good in", she said.