28. Are You Running on Empty? How to Recharge Your Body, Mind, and Spirit

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Nursing is a demanding profession, and it’s easy to put yourself last while caring for others. But when you’re constantly running on empty, burnout isn’t far behind. In this episode of The Nurses' Break Room with Jenny Lytle, RN, I explore the power of small, intentional changes that can have a big impact on your energy, mindset, and overall well-being.

We’ll dive into:
✅ The small habits that drain your energy—without you even realizing it
✅ Simple self-care strategies for body, mind, and spirit that fit into a busy schedule
✅ How to course-correct before stress and burnout take over
✅ Why rest, movement, and mindful reflection are essential for sustainable well-being

Action Steps

1. Identify one small energy-draining habit in your day and replace it with a self-care practice.
2. Schedule a 5-minute mindfulness or movement break into your shift—every bit counts!
3. Reflect on how you feel at the start and end of your workweek to notice patterns and make necessary adjustments.

If you’ve been feeling drained, disconnected, or just not yourself lately, this episode is for you. Tune in and take the first step toward feeling recharged and refreshed.

🎧 Listen now and start making small changes that lead to big results!

If you're feeling overwhelmed, burned out, or like there’s never enough time, I’ve got something just for you! Head to https://selfcareisntselfish.com to grab your FREE copy of my book, Self-Care Isn’t Selfish: The Compassionate Nurse’s Step-by-Step Guide to Personalized Stress Relief. It’s packed with simple, effective strategies to help you prioritize your needs—without guilt—so you can feel energized, focused, and ready to take on the day. Go to https://selfcareisntselfish.com 

Looking for connection with people who get the stress and self-care struggles of nurses and caregivers? Check out https://thenursesbreakroom.com

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennylytlern/

More ways to connect here: https://linktr.ee/jennylytle

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello and welcome back to another episode of the
Nurse's Break Room with JennyLytle RN.
Today we're going to focus onthe impact of the little things
that we do or don't do.
So often I talk to clients orpotential clients or just people
out in the world aboutself-care and about stress

(00:22):
relief, and there's a lot oftalk about not having enough
time for taking care ofourselves, not having time to do
the things that we want to do,and this morning, as I was doing
my devotionals and myjournaling, it got me thinking

(00:43):
about it's often the littlethings that really have a big
impact on our lives, whetherit's something financial, and
you think, oh, doing this littlebit, getting even a cup of
coffee out every day.
Yes, maybe it's only a coupleof dollars if you get a really

(01:05):
cheap cup of coffee, but if youdo that regularly, then that
adds up to quite a bit.
And it's the same with thefoods that we eat.
If you're having a little bitof an indulgence one day, then
maybe that's not a big deal.
But if you find that you'retreating yourself every meal in

(01:31):
between meals, then that's goingto have a much different impact
.
And so the point of today isjust thinking about the areas of
our lives and just asking wheream I in terms of this?
Are there little things thatI'm doing that are impacting me

(01:52):
negatively?
Or maybe are there things thatI'm doing that are impacting me
positively, and it's not meantto make you feel bad, but it's
just meant to bring awarenessbecause, going on, because those
little shifts in I don't knowin the atmosphere, in the way

(02:32):
that the rocket is going, ifthere wasn't that constant
course correction, then itwouldn't end up at the moon.
And so it's the same way withour lives.
If we're just going along onautopilot and not reevaluating
the way things are, then we canend up in a place that we don't
want to be at.

(02:52):
So we're just going to do aquick body, mind and spirit run
through.
So, body-wise, what are youdoing in terms of fuel?
What are you eating?
Are you planning meals?
Are you eating meals thatsupport your health goals, or

(03:14):
are you just grabbing somethingquick and easy and on the go, or
something that maybe tastesgreat in the moment but isn't
really getting you where youwant to go?
I know for me personally.
I dialed in my nutrition in away that was it was working well
for me, and then I just stopped.

(03:36):
Life got a little bit busy andI thought, oh, I'll get back to
it, and that's been about amonth and a half, and so this is
definitely me calling myselfout as well.
I have noticed that I'm notfeeling as healthy, as
clear-minded as I was.
I'm not quite as energetic.
I've got headaches that arestarting to come back a little,

(03:57):
and that's not the way that Iwant to be.
So that's something that I knowI need to address.
Exercise Are you getting enoughmovement?
Are you doing the things thatbring you joy?
It doesn't have to be a chore.
Is there something that youenjoy doing?
And, if so, something that youenjoy doing?
And if so, are you fitting thatin?

(04:18):
I know sometimes of a winter,it can be easier to stay in and
maybe not do those things.
I know that's again the casefor me, and so this is me
calling myself out as well.
I haven't been moving as muchas I know is beneficial for me.
I know is beneficial for me.

(04:41):
Rest Now, that's one that Iusually try to do pretty well on
, but I do shift work, and so myrest can be chaotic.
There's times when I'm able tosleep fairly well, and other
times not so much, and it may bethe same for you.
So what does that look like foryou?
Are you taking time toprioritize sleep?
That's when your body does itsrepair In terms of your mind.

(05:03):
What about journaling?
Getting some of those thingsout of your head and onto paper
and I know that some peoplearen't really comfortable
journaling for one reason oranother or don't like taking the
time for that.
Sometimes, for me, justprocessing things out loud can
be helpful, and even if you'rejust talking to yourself in the

(05:24):
car, that can be beneficial.
Something that I like to do ifI know that I'm doing kind of a
brain dump, is I will use avoice recorder.
App Otter is one that I've usedfor a long time.
I just use the free version ofit and I will talk myself
through things and coach myselfalong the way, and then I'm able

(05:45):
to you know download that.
I can listen to it again, I cansee a transcript of that and
pull the things that maybe thatI want to take from that,
because I can come up with somereally good ideas in doing that.
Also, along with our mind havingdowntime, stepping away from
work, from productivity, we allneed that time to just let our

(06:07):
brains be, and I know this isreally this is probably the
hardest one for me, because I amreally passionate about the
things that I'm working on.
I am really passionate aboutthe things that I'm working on
and I know that I can't go 24-7,but also there's so much that I

(06:32):
want to do and there are somany things that I'm involved in
that I have to make myself takea step back and when I do, I
know that I'm more productive,because having that downtime,
letting my brain rest instead ofjust go allows me to come up
with new ideas and to rejuvenateand to feel better and then
spirit and whatever that lookslike for you.

(06:53):
For me it's my God time.
I like to start my morningswith time with my devotionals
and with God and just journalingand praying and reading, and
that's something that I knowmakes a big impact difference
for me.
I also like to be in nature,and I don't spend as much time

(07:15):
in nature in the winter as I doin the spring and summer and
fall, but I do try to enjoy justwhen I'm driving along and I
see a sunrise or a sunset, and Ilove seeing deer and so things
like that really and I loveseeing deer, and so things like
that really really can brightenmy day and give me more energy
and just also a feeling of calmand peace and contentment.

(07:40):
And then the people that you'rearound as well.
Thinking about that, who are yousurrounding yourself with?
And it may be something whereyou're not able to control who
you're working with every day,but having people that you're
able to reach out to and connectwith whether it be on the phone

(08:01):
or after work on social media,the people that are really your
people and in your corner thatcan make a big difference.
Connection is so important, andthat is one of the things that
I'm really excited about as theNurses Break Room becomes more

(08:27):
active and because I've justbeen doing this soft launch for
it.
We've only got a few membersright now, but the goal is for
there to be authentic connectionin there, and so you can find
out more about that atthenursesbreakroomcom.
But just take a little timethis week to touch on each of

(08:49):
these areas and think about whatcan I do maybe a little bit
more often or a little bit lessoften, if that's the case to get
me closer to the life that Iwant to live and to a life of me
caring for myself.
And until next time, rememberthat self-care isn't selfish.

(09:13):
It's essential if we want tocontinue to care for others and
live our best lives.