Energy Not Found is a 30-minute guide to navigating burnout, presented by Gabrielle Beaulne, Advisor, Client Success at Opening Minds, and shared with Mastermind for Biz. The framework below is drawn from the session; the full slide deck and the accompanying worksheet are available to download.
What Is Burnout?
The session frames burnout across three dimensions:
- Energy
- Relationships
- Efficacy
And as a balance between two forces: demands and usable resources. While resources keep pace, the workload stays manageable. When demands outrun them, the same work becomes the danger zone.
Look for Persistent Changes in Your Operating Pattern
Four signals worth watching:
- Recovery debt
- Work expansion
- Cognitive drag
- Relational shift
What Resilience Cannot Create
Resilience can help someone carry weight. It cannot create:
- Time
- Authority
- Staffing
- Fairness
- Safety
Caring for Yourself: Stop, Shape, Shield
Choose one pivot — one change, not a whole new system:
The Pressure Pivot: A 10-Day Experiment
At the end of each workday, plot one dot from 0 to 10 and connect it to the previous day.
Days 1–3 establish your baseline. Introduce one Stop, Shape, or Shield action on Day 4. Keep the same pivot through Day 10 unless it creates a safety or wellbeing concern.
Then read the line:
Caring for Others
What to say, and what to avoid, when someone on your team is carrying too much:
- “What is making this unmanageable for you right now?”
- “I have noticed you have been carrying more than usual. How is it affecting you?”
- “Which expectation is hardest to contain, and who would need to support a change?”
- “I can take the notes for Thursday's meeting. Would that help?”
- “You need a break.”
- “Try to set boundaries.”
- “Everyone is overwhelmed.”
- “Let me know if you need anything.”
The Worksheet: Burnout Bingo
The downloadable toolkit includes a Burnout Bingo card — 24 moments to mark off, from “opened email before getting out of bed” and “worked through lunch” to “needed the weekend to feel normal” and “used ‘busy’ as the default answer”. Mark the moments that have felt familiar recently. Five in a row makes BINGO, and prompts you to perform a Pressure Pivot.
The second page is the Pressure Pivot energy graph for the 10-day experiment.
Start Small Today
- Take care of your energy.
- You deserve balance.
Opening Minds is a mental health resource and a Health Partners partner. The slide deck and worksheet above are shared with Mastermind for Biz members.