We all go through times where we feel mentally exhausted. You will find that it affects your personal life and even work. Mental exhaustion can be due to stress and burnout feeling. You will be able to feel this mental exhaustion at work since it’s the place that requires all your mental capacity.
We will list some of the mental exhaustion signs that you might be experiencing at work. If you can relate to a couple of signs then you might need a break.
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1- A Constant Lack of Focus
Some people experience a lack of focus for a couple of days and then they regain it, but this one lasts for a long time. You can find yourself having days or weeks of lack of focus. And it doesn’t happen during doing tasks; you can find yourself forgetting a lot of things, like emails, tasks, and even deadlines.
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2- Losing Appetite
This is one of the major signs of mental exhaustion. You will find yourself skipping meals with your colleagues like lunch or breakfast until one day you will realize that you haven’t eaten anything all day!
Since mental exhaustion causes a lack of focus, you will find yourself spending most of your time working to finish on time. This will lead you to lose appetite because you’re directing all your senses towards work.
You will start to notice your loss of appetite when you find yourself losing weight.
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3- Fatigue and Insomnia
Mental exhaustion and physical exhaustion are always connected. You will find it hard to get out of bed to go to work and you will have no desire to even getting out of the house.
Insomnia is also one of the signs that causes physical exhaustion. Even though you had a long tiring day at work, you still can’t sleep! Insomnia is also one of the factors that affect your performance at work. So, if you’re not sleeping, you won’t be able to achieve anything at work.
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4- A One Minute Task Could Last for Hours
Taking too long to do a simple task happens due to a lack of focus as well but not all the time. You can be focused but have no desire to work. You will find yourself distracted or procrastinating because you don’t want to work!
This happens because your mind doesn’t have the power to process.
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5- Isolation
Working alone will become your comfort zone.
You’d rather do your work on your own and get everything done by yourself than collaborate with your team. Why? Do you ask? Having too many opinions and discussions can cause confusion. So, you automatically find that it would be better to do your work the way you want and know without any interruptions.
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6- Feeling Stressed and Anxious On A Free Day
Even on a normal working day that doesn’t have much work, you’ll still feel stressed.
When you have mental exhaustion, you will feel that all you want to do is sitting in peace with no one around asking you to do anything.
So, being at work will put you in a position where you can have a rush of tasks at any minute. This thought will cause you anxiety and stress.
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7- Losing Motivation
Ever felt that you’re not excited about your job anymore? This is a lack of motivation.
The projects or tasks that used to fulfill your passion are no longer helping you! You will even find yourself barely recognizing your passion. You simply don’t care anymore.
If you ever experienced this feeling, then you don’t have to worry; you’re not lost nor lost passion, you’re just exhausted.
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8- Thinking Outside The Box? More Like Stuck Inside The Box
If your job depends on creativity, then mental exhaustion will reduce its level. You will have moments when you feel that your mind is blank! No thoughts, nothing to help you come up with a creative idea.
When you face a similar situation, it would be better to ask for a break so your mind can reactivate itself.
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9- Negative Feelings and Thoughts
Experiencing all of these signs will lead you to self-doubt!
All of this will make you feel that you’re not good enough and that you are losing your skills, especially if your performance is going downhill.
Each sign lead to the other, negative feelings affect your work and your performance and at the same time, your lack of focus and everything that’s mentioned above will cause you negative feelings.
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So, if you’re experiencing any of those signs, this is your mind telling you that you need a break. It is also recommended that you avoid stressing yourself that much, so you don’t end up having all of these signs. Â