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Thought you might be interested in the following article from TFDA.com ---------------------------------------------------------- Burn-out happens several times throughout life.  It could come in college, in a relationship, in business or in mid-life. If you feel as if you’re starting to burn out here are some things you can do to avoid it. In funeral service, the buck usually stops with the arranging director – the person who receives all the notes of gratitude from the family but who also has to field all the complaints, the criticisms, the protests about charges and the discourtesies that may come from a bereaved family. The point of any 12-step program is survival and renewal.  That’s the point here.  Read the following 12 steps and then read them several more times, especially if you are having thoughts that funeral service may not be your final career:   1.     Be realistic. You are only one person – and you cannot juggle every detail or handle every aspect of the funeral service yourself. Take a realistic look at your time and the duties you must perform.  Whenever possible, give yourself some slack time.  Read professional journals.  Try to balance your to-do list and make sure you allow others around you to do the same.   2.     Don’t be too hard on yourself. Realize this is a demanding profession.  Then, be good to yourself.  Surround yourself with supportive friends and family – and then take care of yourself, making sure you’re eating a healthy diet, getting enough sleep, taking time to exercise and seeing your doctor regularly.  If you are feeling overly stressed, tell your doctor.   3.     Keep a time log for a few days.  If you’re not managing your time well, you’re going to burn out faster.  By keeping a log of how you spend your time at work, you may identify certain activities that eat up a lot of time with few results.  Make appointments for yourself to get those tasks done you don’t like to do – and show up promptly for these appointments and expect others to do the same.   4.     Decide on your boundaries and limits…then be consistent. Don’t let people steal your time and try not to give away too much of your time. Learn how to say no.  It won’t kill you.   5.     Look for solutions, not someone to blame.   When something slips or isn’t done, blaming yourself or others doesn’t help. What does? Fix it and learn from your experiences.  Then, make changes to ensure that you get the results you want the next time.   6.     Look for challenges…then be innovative. If you’re in a rut, find innovative ways to do those everyday tasks.  Create services to add to your offering.  Improve performance.  Then, tweak what you do best and make it even better.   7.     Don’t hesitate to ask for help. Usually when you need a helping hand, you should first look at the end of your arm.  But everyone needs a little help once in a while because you can’t do it all by yourself. Ask friends or associates for help, or hire a professional when you need a fresh way of looking at things.   8.     Take time to communicate clearly. Let people know what you need.  Be clear.  Be concise.  Then, listen to those around you.  You’ll set a good example.   9.     Allow yourself downtime.  It’s healthy to take a break – to refresh and replenish. Stop pushing yourself…and others. Schedule time off and vacations on a regular basis – and take them. You’ll return with a fresh outlook.   10.  Pay attention to your emotions.  It won’t help to ignore them or stuff them down.  Instead, learn now to acknowledge your feelings and to deal with the underlying causes.   11.  Take time for a reality check?  What’s making you feel good about what you do?  What’s missing?  Assess your priorities and make adjustments where necessary.  Then, make the choices you need to make to honor your own values.   12.  Today is your day of opportunity.  Life’s too short to be serious or tense all the time.  Find ways to make your work enjoyable…for yourself and others…and make time to have fun. http://tfda.com/index.php/site/article/11/