How to Finish the Year-end Strong without Burnout

3 Techniques to create some breathing space.

Are you feeling tired while working hard to close the year at work and plan family holidays?

Does it feel like you were a marathon runner pushing through the last mile with the following?

🚀 Completing final projects 

🎯 Hitting sales targets

🗓️ Planning for Q1

📊 Closing budgets

📝 Preparing HR reviews

You know you need to keep going, but you are feeling the strain.

The good news is you don’t have to tough it out until New Year’s Eve. Just like marathon runners use strategic techniques to finish strong, you can create breathing space to reduce stress and maintain momentum through the year-end. 

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Here are three practical techniques for you to consider; the time needed ranges from 5 minutes to an hour, depending on what you need right now.

1. Download Your Tasks from Your Mind (5 mins) 

When you’re juggling dozens of tasks, your brain becomes overloaded trying to remember everything.

What’s getting worse is that each task on your mind may also branch into related concerns e.g. Finishing the report becomes ‘Get data, Update documents, Send emails to stakeholders, and seek approval….’

It uses up your mental RAM, leaving no space for clear thinking.

Take 5 minutes to write everything down. When you can transfer them onto paper, you will immediately feel lighter with more mental space available.

Then, prioritize by this simple process:

1. Identify the 'MUST do' and 'NICE to do'? Does it truly need to happen this month, or can it wait until next year?

   
   

2. Evaluate if they MUST be done by YOU? Can you delegate to a colleague, automate with AI, hire help, or involve family members?

   
   

3. Choose your top 3 priorities to focus on this week. Let everything else sit on the paper without consuming your precious energy.

Repeat the process weekly. Research shows that writing down tasks by hand reduces anxiety and improves focus. It’s like decluttering your mental desktop so you have space to think and feel less overwhelmed. 

2. Take a 10-Minute Recharge (10 mins)

The busier you are, the more you need to take micro-breaks. Your body and mind can’t sustain high performance without rest, even elite marathon runners build recovery into their training.

Choose one of these quick recharge:

• Power Nap: Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed. Set a timer for 10 minutes and close your eyes. Even a brief rest can restore some energy.

  
  

• Yoga Nidra: If you work from home, try this guided meditation technique that provides deep rest without falling fully asleep. All you need is not to achieve an impressive pose but to lie down. Search “10-minute Yoga Nidra” online and find more resources.

  
  

• Nature Walk: If you work in an office, step outside for 10 minutes without your phone. Walk to the nearest park or green space. Nature reduces cortisol (your stress hormone) faster than almost anything else.

Think of this as strategic recovery, instead of time wasted. Marathon runners know how to incorporate rest to prevent injury and improve performance. The same applies to your body and your performance.

3. Digital Detox Hour (1 Hour or more)

If you're already overwhelmed by work and life demands, distressing news headlines, constant notifications, and doom scrolling only intensifies the stress. Your brain needs quiet space to process and reset.

Set aside one screen-free hour every day. Choose a time that works for you:

• Morning: Start your day without immediately diving into emails or news

• Evening: Wind down without screens before bed to improve sleep quality

What to do instead: Read a physical book, listen to lyric free music, journal, do some art, or simply sit quietly with a cup of tea.

Level up: Once a week, attend a phone-free event—a yoga class, book club, or community gathering. Connecting with real people in person multiplies the benefits by reducing isolation and sparking inspiration.

By having a digital detox regularly, you'll release accumulated stress and return to your tasks with more energy, better creativity and productivity.

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Start Small. Build Momentum

You don't need to do all three techniques perfectly. Pick the one that feels most manageable right now. Even 5 minutes of brain dumping can shift your state of mind.

The goal isn't to add more to your plate. It's to create small pockets of space so you can finish this year strong, without collapsing at the finish line.

Which technique would you like to try first?