three questions for cross-fertilization to avoid burnout

We know that new ideas often come from the cross-fertilization of different fields, occurring in the mind of a widely knowledgeable person.~Ian Leslie, writer and podcaster.

Below are 3 questions to create cross-fertilization and avoid burnout. I believe that no matter your line of work, you can use the ideas and process of cross-fertilization or cross-pollination. Broadly defined, this is an incredibly simple concept. If you know anything about plant hybridization, you’ll know that breeding across different varieties within a plant species can lead to some unexpected and surprisingly good results.

In the context of intellectual work, I use the term cross-fertilization to mean finding something fun to do that is not part of your regular job, whether you are a professor, a programmer, an administrator, or a research scientist. The crucial word here is fun: this is not about making yourself do something you “should” do, like exercise. “Shoulds” do not usually result in fun. The goal is to find a way to fill your well and feed your soul.

Grow your brain with non-work activities that are fun for you

Engaging in activities fun to you may result in cross-fertilization of ideas and help with re-engaging in professional life, though this is not guaranteed. What is guaranteed is finding a different form of self-care. People on the cusp of burnout are often encouraged to take time off, drink a cup of calming tea, or go get a massage. Some might drink a bottle of wine to drown their sorrows. That is not what I am encouraging here. Rather than a passive activity, you want to take a more active role in pursuing interests outside work.

In academia, curiosity expands your horizons. Using your curiosity to explore new interests and activities will keep your mind alert, help your pre-frontal cortex be more creative, and can result in seeing yourself, your abilities, and your work in a new light. Curiosity is undervalued as a deeply ingrained habit of creative and successful people. Discovering new things, exploring new ideas, and deep learning can keep you excited about your work for decades. You want to build your capacity for knowledgeable growth.

Work coming from a place of happiness and joy gets things done more quickly and with better quality results. “All work and no play” will make you dull to others and leave your own spirit weary. As Ian Leslie argues in Curiosity: The Desire to Know and Why Your Future Depends On It, curiosity is a mental muscle that needs nurturing. Actively seeking and participating in new activities that feed your curiosity is one form cross-fertilization can take. You may come back to look at your work with fresh eyes.

Two forms of stress: Eustress and distress

Most investigators agree there are two types of stress, one good (eustress) and one bad (distress). Good stress can help you be productive in small bursts, much like a little bit of stage fright can send enough adrenaline into your system for a better performance. Bad stress can drain the chemicals your brain needs to perform, leaving you exhausted and depleted of energy. Burnout is frequently the result of living in a place of distress for long periods of time. Pursuing a new challenge, so long as it is not impossible to achieve, restores good stress and reduces the rest.

Many academics that come to me for coaching are experiencing burnout or are on the verge of burnout. They often think the best alternative is to drop out of academia altogether and spend a year traveling, living in a monastery, or sailing around the world. There is no need to take things this far.

Don’t quit your day job; enhance it

You do not need to quit your regular job to find new challenges. My clients have had success in finding small activities close to home, like learning to make jam, ride a horse, or play the guitar. The activity you pick doesn’t really matter, as long as it’s something you really want to do but have never done. Your chosen activity must be truly interactive, not passive, and allow you to engage eagerly and enthusiastically.

Remind yourself that learning anything new can be uncomfortable at first. If it’s not a challenge, you will likely be bored quickly and end up reverting to your old patterns of working all the time. If you want to avoid burnout, that will not serve you well. Being a novice again can be exhilarating and liberating if you allow the activity to be an experiment. If you are not enjoying it, let it go and find something else that lets you discover new ways to be. Learning new things can grow your mind, literally, as new pathways across the neural network are created.

Three questions to help figure out what you want to do

If you’re looking for new ways to find activities that deeply feed you, reduce stress, and help avoid burnout, start with the three questions below.

1. What are three things you’ve never done but would like to try?
   

One of these is probably a good candidate for an activity unrelated to work you could start now. If the answer is “climbing Mount Everest,” you probably can’t do that tomorrow. What you can do now is start reading about expeditions, join a rock-climbing club, and figure out on your calendar when you can actually do this (Summer, two years from now—great, lots of time to prepare!)

2. What did you enjoy doing as a child? (Consider what it would be like to do this as an adult.)

One of my favorite things to do was play a game called “Geography.” I know, I know, weird nerd-type fun. The object was to go to as many places as you could within a certain time limit, using available modes of transportation while collecting various objects. I guess the game could have been called “Treasure Hunt,” but it wasn’t. At any rate, fast forward to today, and I still love learning about new places and what makes them unique. Planning for trips is one of my favorite things to do…and sometimes, it even culminates in an actual trip.

3. What are you doing right now for fun and recreation?

In my case, it happens to be exercise. I spend a huge amount of time at my computer and desk, often on the telephone. I feel the need to move when I get done for the day. My chosen exercises are yoga, biking, and walking (preferably on the beach or in the woods, as I have said many times before). It’s amazing to me how often I have an epiphany about something I have been struggling with by just stepping away from my office and doing something unrelated. A nice side effect for me is sleeping better.

Conclusion

I am not promising that simply by trying this method of deliberately doing something different, you will have your own epiphanies, but you might. Curiosity, after all, feeds cross-fertilization. Successful cross-fertilization means finding an activity that inspires, renews, stimulates, or encourages the restoration of balance in a work life that’s out of balance. New activities approached with a light-hearted sense of play and fun are more likely to be antidotes to obligation and work. Use cross-fertilization activities to help avoid burnout.

New book release

To read more about avoiding burnout, check out my contribution to the newly released Unraveling Faculty Burnout: Pathways to Reckoning and Renewal by Rebecca Pope-Ruark, PhD. Here’s the list of all contributors:  Lee Skallerup Bessette, Cynthia Ganote, Emily O. Gravett, Hillary Hutchinson, Tiffany D. Johnson, Bridget Lepore, Jennifer Marlow, Sharon Mitchner, Marie Moeller, Valerie Murrenus Pilmaier, Catherine Ross, Kristi Rudenga, Katherine Segal, Kryss Shane, Jennifer Snodgrass, Lindsay Steiner, and Kristi Verbeke.

Still need help? Set up a 20-minute NO OBLIGATION meeting with Hillary.

Tags: academia, academic, becoming yourself, burnout, dream, Getting Organized, goals, happiness, happiness at work