• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

2

As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch

3

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster

1

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

2

As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch

3

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
CommentaryFortune 500

Harman CEO: 5 Ways to Avoid Burnout

By
Dinesh Paliwal
Dinesh Paliwal
and
Bethany Cianciolo
Bethany Cianciolo
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Dinesh Paliwal
Dinesh Paliwal
and
Bethany Cianciolo
Bethany Cianciolo
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 14, 2016, 12:59 PM ET
505640165
Stressful day at the officePhotograph by PeopleImages.com via Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

The Fortune 500 Insiders Network is an online community where top executives from the Fortune 500 share ideas and offer leadership advice with Fortune’s global audience. Dinesh Paliwal, chairman, president, and CEO of Harman, has answered the question: How do you prevent burnout?

I equate employee burnout to automotive care (no surprise there). It’s well documented that stop-and-go traffic wears more on a vehicle than consistent-speed highway driving. No matter our driving habits, we all know we must regularly maintain our car’s vitals—oil, tires, brakes, etc. Similarly, our brains and bodies perform best with a mindful focus on tasks and a routine maintenance of healthy habits.

I wasn’t surprised that a study conducted by Monster.com found that 42% of survey respondents reported leaving a job because it was too stressful. We are in an age of very high expectations for performance, which can lead to anxiety around a need to continually outperform.

Technology has enabled an environment where information is constantly fed to us on a real-time basis. You can’t slow the feed of information, nor would you want to, but you can control and organize your consumption. I feel burnout comes as a result of consistent over-simulation. So how do you throttle it all in a way that still drives productivity and the motivation and stamina to win?

These are a few of my best practices for staying sharp, alert, and in control of my day:

Instill healthy habits
I don’t like to get too caught up in habits because too much structure can stifle creativity. But there are a few habits that make us more productive and are healthy to work into every workweek, if not every day. I love to start the day with a workout—even just a run on the treadmill while catching up on the morning headlines. By waking up early and getting the body moving, you’re already starting out with a win.

See also: America Doesn’t Take Vacation, but You Should

Practice mindfulness
Be present. We all have an ever-growing list of tasks and activities, and so we debate the merits of multitasking vs. focusing on one thing at a time. Most executives are hard pressed to multitask because there will always be more than one crucial situation to deal with. I find multitasking with the pyramid-priority approach very helpful. It allows me to treat one eye as a wide-angle lens and the other as a telephoto lens. This way, I’m able to focus on tackling critical problems one at a time. Multitasking without priority and focus more often than not creates more work in the long run and leads to a sense of overload.

If you are in a meeting, for example, and constantly responding to emails about other topics, you are not making any progress toward accomplishing the goal at hand, and will likely have to repeat the process. We’ve all had times when it’s go-go-go, and start to feel the control slipping. Own your time and give it your attention. Mix up your meetings and pace—just like you would your workouts—to help with focus, maximize your day, and avoid that hamster-wheel sensation that, while good exercise for rodents, leads to burnout in humans.

One of my former bosses once shared his formula for success: He kept 20% of his time away from the computer, phones, and emails, and instead used that window of time to reflect on decisions already made, upcoming decisions, and organizational strengths. It has served me well.

Stay organized
A cluttered mind leads to burnout. Free yourself of that by staying organized, with a clear path for goals and objectives. Before I leave the house each day, I like to write a list that details my main goals and the tasks I need to accomplish for the day.

 

Celebrate wins
Who doesn’t like to celebrate? It is important to reflect and reward yourself and the team for significant accomplishments. Because we must remain grounded and tenacious for the next battle, we shouldn’t celebrate every little win, but taking time to appreciate the hard work and outcome inspires people and instills a hunger to outdo your past performance. Moreover, once it becomes an organizational habit, you have a high performance and highly motivated team.

Protect sacred time
The business world never stops, and we are in an age of a 24-hour work cycle. But you must set aside sacred family and friend time. Maybe it’s as simple as keeping your phone away from the dinner table, or blocking time on your work calendar to go to a concert or baseball game. Whatever it is, prioritizing those who are closest to you will recharge you mentally and enrich those relationships.

Burnout can be a career killer. It can wrongly cast negative feelings toward a career or workplace, when the issue at hand might go deeper than that. In many cases, the root cause of burnout is in our own practices. Everyone should get a tune up. Do some self-reflecting and mental maintenance to help recalibrate your mind so you can enjoy the ride a bit more.

About the Authors
By Dinesh Paliwal
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By Bethany Cianciolo
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Commentary

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Commentary

senate
CommentaryCongress
One rare bipartisan AI bill is moving through Congress. Here’s why it deserves to pass
By Neil Björkman and Betsy BrewerJuly 1, 2026
9 hours ago
I know how Gen Z can survive the ‘jobpocalypse’ because I built an AI company — in 2015
CommentaryCareers
I know how Gen Z can survive the ‘jobpocalypse’ because I built an AI company — in 2015
By Jeremy FainJuly 1, 2026
10 hours ago
mr
Commentary250 Years of Innovation
America needs 3.8 million manufacturing workers. This CEO has a blueprint to find them
By Mark RayfieldJuly 1, 2026
10 hours ago
usa
Commentary250 Years of Innovation
America at 250: why the Constitution was built to restrain government, not celebrate majority rule
By Steve H. HankeJuly 1, 2026
10 hours ago
t
CommentaryMedia
Netflix could turn NBC into its biggest bet yet — and this time, the math actually works
By Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven TianJune 30, 2026
1 day ago
wb
CommentaryLeadership
I grew BDO from $600 million to $3.4 billion. Here’s the 3-part formula that made it possible
By Wayne BersonJune 30, 2026
1 day ago

Most Popular

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
Success
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
7 days ago
As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch
Big Tech
As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 1, 2026
13 hours ago
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
Success
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
By Preston ForeJune 27, 2026
4 days ago
Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place
Success
Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place
By Sydney LakeJune 29, 2026
2 days ago
The Supreme Court's birthright citizenship ruling hands the U.S. economy a $7.7 trillion win
Newsletters
The Supreme Court's birthright citizenship ruling hands the U.S. economy a $7.7 trillion win
By Diane BradyJuly 1, 2026
11 hours ago
The U.S. Army is opening military bases to private billions — here's why that changes everything for the next 250 years
Commentary
The U.S. Army is opening military bases to private billions — here's why that changes everything for the next 250 years
By Marc AndersenJune 30, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.