Small Daily Practices That Can Keep You From Burning Out (When Everything Is Falling Apart)
When the next crisis hits, and everything feels overwhelming in a charity, it's rarely the grand acts of self-care that save leaders from burnout. It's not a two-week holiday (which most would work though), a resilience at work course, or even reallocation of resources.
It's the small daily practices that leaders consistently maintain, even when it feels difficult, that there isn’t time, and when it feels like they are spinning more plates than ever. Especially when they are spinning more plates than ever.
Many charity leaders describe the juggle of multiple challenges at once, with one additional big project pushing them to the limit. It’s the unexpected loss of funding or a significant new bid that needs to go in now; key staff resignations at a busy period; a huge IT project that needs to be implemented; or a merger, all whilst managing increasing service demands. That familiar knot of dread appears each morning, accompanied by constant questioning about how to keep services running well, looking after the staff, getting the day to day done & navigate through the crisis.
If you're nodding along, you already know that charity leadership can push you to the brink. The weight of responsibility, to service users, staff, trustees, funders, can become overwhelming, especially when multiple challenges hit simultaneously.
And for some leaders the stressors don’t get left at the end of the workday; many senior leaders are juggling a busy family life and caring for older family members. It can feel like there is no respite from caring and being responsible for everyone around them. It’s a lot to hold and leaves many leaders wondering who is looking after them.
But all these pressures don’t have to become completely overwhelming. Based on 20 years in the sector and my work with charity leaders who have navigated these periods successfully, here are the small practices that make the difference between burnout and resilience.
Morning Practices: Setting Intention Before Reaction
Five minutes of breathing before email. Create a brief pause before diving into the day's demands, this doesn’t have to be mindfulness or meditation (though if that works for you, brilliant) it's simply about steady breathing, getting yourself ready for the day, knowing that you can deal with whatever is in your inbox in a methodical way, without getting caught up in other people’s urgency.
Why it works: This micro-practice creates a moment of intentionality before the day's demands take over. It activates your parasympathetic nervous system, reducing stress hormones and improving decision-making capacity.
The three priorities rule. Start the day by writing down just three priorities, not fifteen. These aren't aspirational ‘it would be nice’ items but genuine must-complete tasks.
Why it works: Overwhelming to-do lists paralyse us with decision fatigue. When everything seems important, nothing is. By forcing prioritisation, you ensure that even on the hardest days, you're moving forward on what matters.
End-of-Day Resilience Builders
The done list. Before leaving each day, note three things they've accomplished, not what hasn't been done.
Why it works: Our focus naturally shifts to what's not working, what hasn’t been done and what is causing us stress, which can create a pervasive sense of inadequacy. So, by deliberately focusing on what we’ve achieved & tracking progress, however small, counterbalances this tendency and helps keep you motivated.
The gratitude practice. Take time to acknowledge what you are thankful for: the contributions from team members, the things you’ve enjoyed in your workday, the wins with clients, no matter how small.
Why it works: This helps to remind you of the positive aspects of your work when your attention is focused on the challenges, and it reinforces your sense of community when you might be feeling alone.
The boundary. Create specific actions that signals the end of the workday, whether that’s changing clothes, a particular route home, or a brief end-of-day ritual, help you maintain boundaries between work and personal life by signalling that you don’t need to focus on work any more.
Why it works: Actions can help create psychological boundaries. Without clear transitions, work stress follows us home, stopping you from switching off and re-energising after your day.
Throughout the Week: Maintaining Energy and Focus
Strategic Thinking. Protecting time throughout the week for focused work on complex problems will help maintain your resilience. For some it might be the first hour of the day, for others it might be a couple of hours at the start of the week and end of the week, what matters is keeping that time protected for the strategic thinking, and not allowing it to be filled with ‘busy’ work.
Why it works: Most charity leaders are constantly responsive which creates broken focus, making it difficult for you to stay on task and think effectively. Protected time blocks allow the thinking your role requires.
Strategic breaks. Brief, intentional breaks throughout the day & week, whether to make tea, take a walk, talk to others or simply look out the window, are important to help you maintain your energy.
Why it works: These breaks enable you to take care of your physical wellbeing, and stop you over-focussing on a problem or challenge, helping you gain distance and perspective.
Noticing Emotions: Pay attention to the emotion you’re feeling, name them, consider when has triggered them, accept them and then use practical tools to soothe them.
Why this works: By not paying attention to your emotions, especially the difficult ones, you’re more likely to drain your resilience, and find yourself waking in the middle of the night worrying. By addressing them in the moment, and developing tools to manage them, they will pass and you will feel more in control
The Energy Builders. Paying attention to the things which energise you and deplete your energy at work and use this knowledge to plan your weeks and days. Do the tasks which deplete you when you have more energy (this may be earlier in the day if you manage to switch off outside work) and tasks which give you energy when you know you’ll need a top-up.
Why it works: This helps you keep your energy balanced, so you don’t run out, and keeping the activities which energise you spread through your week will help keep you motivated.
Keep Things Flexible & in Perspective: If you find yourself ruminating, take action to find perspective to pull you out of the cycle. Think about what you have control of in this situation, what is a positive yet realistic way of understanding the situation, what goals can you focus on and who can you talk to who will help you find new perspectives.
Why it works: Asking yourself these questions stops you ruminating, helps you broaden your thinking, and focus on what you can practically do to manage the situation, instead of worrying.
Do Things you Love: Spending time outside of work with people you care about, doing things which you enjoy and give you purpose (outside of work) is a hallmark of resilient people.
Why it works: These are some of the most nourishing things you can do for yourself, and are often the first to fall to the wayside when we’re stressed. Maintaining the things you enjoy outside of work, will give you the energy to keep going when things get tough.
Building Your Personal Resilience Practice
The specific practices that work for you might differ from these examples. The key isn't which practices you choose but their consistency and appropriateness for your unique circumstances.
Consider these questions:
What small practices might create moments of calm and intention throughout your day?
Where do you most need boundaries to protect your wellbeing?
What connections could you cultivate to combat isolation during difficult periods?
How might you regularly reconnect with the meaning in your work, even when challenges dominate?
Start with just one practice that resonates with you. Integrate it into your day until it becomes habitual, then add another. These small actions, maintained consistently, create resilience reserves that sustain you through the most challenging periods.
Remember that resilience isn't about never struggling, it's about having practices that help you recover quickly when you do. Your charity's work matters deeply, but you matter more.