Get coaching from an expert on how to protect yourself, as a news editor, and your staff from burnout and learn what to do when you or staffers succumb. Kim Brice is a co-founder of The Self-Investigation, which offers training and coaching to improve journalists’ well-being. These slides are accompanied by a handout of the same title by Brice. For more information about the News Leaders Association's NewsTrain, see https://www.newsleaders.org/newstrain.

1. Staving off burnout
Shifting from:
work vs. well-being
to
work and well-being

2. KIM BRICE
co-founder and trainer
April 2022
Sustaining journalism by enhancing journalists’ well-being

3. Scoring:
1. Add the
score on
each item
to
calculate
the total.
1. Divide the
total by 12
and round
to 2
decimals.
mbl.fyi/work

4. Green: no risk of burnout
Orange: at risk for burnout
Red: very high risk of burnout

7. Burnout symptoms
● Chronic overload (at least 6 months) of
physical, mental and emotional depletion
● Loss of energy: mental and physical
exhaustion
● Negative attitude about work: reluctance to
take things on, cynicism, isolating yourself,
loss in productivity, fewer achievements
● Inability to recover physically, mentally or
emotionally in a timely fashion
Image: Claudia Wolff on
Unsplash

8. “Feeling overwhelmed and exhausted
while still worrying that
you’re not doing enough”
Emily & Amelia Nagoski
Burnout: the secret to unlocking the stress cycle

9. 4 burnout-prevention tips
1. Regular check-ins around how are you
feeling prevents burnout
1. Regular short pauses decrease stress
and sustain good energy levels
1. Decrease multitasking, increase single
tasking
1. Design a team-communication
charter
Image by Mehedi
Hasan ( KΛΛSH ) on
Unsplash

10. How often do you check in with
yourself and your team about
how you/they are feeling?

11. Green, yellow and red light:
Team check-in
I feel OK but ...
● A bit tired
● Stuff on my
mind
● Not totally
present
I feel good
● Positive
● Inspired
● Energized
● Confident
I’m not OK
● Distracted
● Exhausted
● Overwhelm
ed

12. Team check-ins: why and how
WHY TRY IT OUT? RAISE EFFECTIVENESS
● Builds team empathy, trust and connection
● Avoids having the right conversation at the
wrong time
HOW TO TRY IT OUT?
● Suggest it to team rather than imposing it
● Option for anonymity - use Zoom poll
● Can be short and sweet (just the color) or have
more sharing (what would help right now?)
● Leaders go first, offer option to pass
Inspiring article on this practice from
Harvard Business Review
Image source:
Visualpharm

13. Burnout-prevention tip 1
Check-in regularly with yourself
and your team about how you are
feeling
Take action based on the response

14. Source:
Stay at Home
Mummy

15. What is stress?
Normal shifts
that take place
in our body,
mind and
emotions when
we feel
overwhelmed.
Photo by Stormseeker on Unsplash

16. Healthy and unhealthy stress levels
z
RESTED/CALMER
Feel incrementally
better
SHORT-TERM CHALLENGE
Temporary hyper activity
followed by completion of
stress cycle
OVERWHELM
More hyper activity
with irregular
completion of stress
cycle
BURNOUT
Too much, too long,
stuck in the stress
cycle
-Alert, creative, positive
-Good energy level
-Effective, can bounce
back quickly from
challenges
-Negative, anxious, can’t
switch off
-Tension, tired, heart
rate up
- Poor sleep, tummy,
skin issues, headaches
-Depression
-Panic attacks, emotionality
-Exhaustion
-Chronic pain, migraines, digestive
ailments, loss of hair...

17. Taking breaks is key
in the digital world
Source: Microsoft Human Factors Lab study

19. Signals when stuck in
the stress cycle
Source:
Anders
Edman

20. Avoid burnout:
regularly complete stress cycle
Source:
The Pain PT
Switch off
“alarm”
Turn on
“rest &
digest”

21. When have we reached our limit?

22. ● Take regular, short
conscious pauses
● Get 20-60 mins. of
movement daily
● Take time off digital
devices
● Do breathing
exercises/meditation
● Sleep
How to complete the stress cycle
and prevent burnout
Photo by madison lavern on Unsplash

23. Burnout-prevention tip 2
Energy management vs time
management!
Time-block regular conscious
pauses throughout your workday
Image source:
Free Icons Library

24. We need to set
digital boundaries

25. It takes us up to 23 minutes to
come back to the original task
after an interruption

26. 1. Avoid
multitasking
2. Promote
deep work
Minimize distractions
Photo by Yi Liu on Unsplash

27. 1. Batch check
emails, chats and
social media
2. Use “status
update” to
communicate if
you’re available
3. Be clear about
expectations &
urgency
Minimize distractions

28. Non-urgent, after-hour
emails create stress

29. Burnout-prevention tip 3
More single tasking
Create time for deep work

30. Team-communication charter
By Amy Blankson

31. Team-communication charter
By Amy Blankson

32. Team-communication charter
By Amy Blankson
More details in the Digital Wellness Playbook

33. Group discussions
Group 1:
What are your digital boundaries?
(working hours, when are you NOT
available?)
Group 2:
How do you like to communicate?
(for urgent msgs., FYIs, task updates)
Image Source:
Alexander Cowan

34. Burnout-prevention tip 4
Design and negotiate a team-
communication charter
Designate an ambassador to keep
the team accountable to its
agreements
Image Source:
Alexander Cowan

35. Habit change is possible.
It requires practice and
determination.
Accountability buddies can help!

36. For more information
contact@theselfinvestigation.com
What do you want to try first?
Handouts and slides: bit.ly/illinoisnewstrain

37. • Centering practice
recording (5 mins.)
• Re-centering & re-
balancing w/movement
video (5 mins.)
• How stress affects your
body video (5 mins.)
• Digital wellness: your
playbook for surviving
thriving in the remote-
work era free ebook
theselfinvestigation.com/resources

38. Learn more about The Academy