words Revathie Dhanabalan

Let’s start with a little did-you-know here,

In 2019, World Health Organization (WHO) redefined burnout to be recognised as a form of work-induced stress. According to the new definition, burnout is characterised by feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance from one’s job, feelings of negativity or cynicism related to one’s job, and reduced professional efficacy.

And now that you are in-the-know, can you tell if you’re on a cusp of a burnout or just going through a really challenging month?

According to the WHO, burnout has three elements: feelings of exhaustion, mental detachment from one’s job and poorer performance at work.

Now, you are more or less in a well-informed state, let’s try and figure out some safe, socially-distant activities when your work is draining the life out of you. Don’t forget, remote work burnout is a thing. It might be time to alleviate that stress, break that routine and recharge with some simple weekend ideas. If you’re lucky enough to be spending the weekend at home especially this Chinese New Year long weekend — turn to this list.

1. Get yourself a jigsaw puzzle

They’re wonderfully engrossing. Of course with the pandemic, puzzles have been selling out as it becomes a regular pastime for many. It truly did become a wonderful distraction even for myself. Research suggests that the activity gives your cognitive functions a good workout and can help stave off dementia in older adults. For many, finishing a jigsaw puzzle turns out to be a meditative experience. And the best part of it, jigsaw puzzles can be a collaborative effort with your family. Looking for some cute puzzles? Check out BooksActually or even Amazon.

2. Make something with your hands

Here’s one thing I’ve come to realise since the start of the pandemic, you don’t have to feel creative in order to craft or make art. All you need to do is just do it! And I did learn that from Sarah Urist Green in her book “You Are an Artist”. The main aim of it is to take elements of fear and decision-making out of art-making. And of course, it’s another thing that surged during the pandemic. Looking for some quirky ideas? NPR’s interview piece with Sarah Urist Green gives you five ideas to get started.

3. Contemplate poetry with philosophers

The New Yorker published this interesting piece in 2020 titled “Invisible Bullets: What Lucretius Taught Us About Pandemics” on the views of the ancient philosopher Lucretius. That led me to some proper reading (if I may say so) all due to one simple fact - most of us rarely stop to think about how language works, or how come we succeed in getting our ideas across in words. And you might be thinking, how is this relaxing in any way? It’s just as simple as learning a special kind of thinking — where we interpret language and world and mind. Not sold on it yet? Take a read on How the Brain Responds to Beauty.

4. Throw a solo dance party

If meditation and reading isn’t quite your cup of tea, this is us encouraging you to let your hair down and dance with reckless abandon! Not only do you feel free, but it’s also a great way to get in that exercise and get those endorphins going in our bodies. This is also another perfect family-friendly activity to do together at home. If you’re looking for a new playlist to get you started, check out Youth.SG’s round-up or our Songs To Stay Home To.

5. Movie night with a twist

I’m going to be that 30-year-old that will admit, Tiktok has been a gamechanger for me. Scroll through the “For You” page and you are inundated with ideas from people around the world. But the best one that I’ve found during this pandemic, is matching your meal/cocktails to your movie choice. In this example, let’s go with a family-friendly and the most obvious option - Ratatouille. My simplest recipe for that is a vegetable stew (if you’re a tad lazy cook like me). This is also a great way to bond together as a family and of course to get your imagination going.

6. Crosswords for the win

Similar to the jigsaw puzzles, crosswords did have their moment during the pandemic. The New York Times - the gold standard for crosswords decided to add two new offerings last year. It really does go back to endorphins again when you solve that final entry in the crossword. There’s a whole world dedicated to crosswords and this article titled “From crosswords to sudoku, puzzles of all sorts take their moment in the sun during coronavirus pandemic” covers this perfectly. The New York Times really does have you covered if you want to give crosswords a whirl.

7. Immerse yourself in Fiction

And now, we are finally at reading and books of course (my personal guilty pleasure). Book sales saw another surge in online sales with many most definitely opting for cookbooks. In the toughest of times, Fiction provided the perfect form of escapism and as we all know, books are hugely beneficial for our mental health. Books can take you to different places, relax and calm you. I can go on and on with reading, but it is frankly one of life’s biggest joys. If you’re looking for some self-help favourites to get started, check out “5 Book Smart Choices To Kickstart 2021” and get you some bibliotherapy.

7 Ideas For The Long Weekend