How to Avoid Burnout

In this time of unpredictable chaos, I am offering two grounding practices that have helped me enormously over the last few years. As we continue to move forward and navigate through these times, I hope these practices will be helpful to you as well.

This blog post is part of Puneeta's Staying Grounded Fortnightly-ish Newsletter. Edition May 26, 2025

How Religious are you?

It may surprise you to learn that I am not a religious person. I was raised a Hindu, I still follow many Hindu practices, I feel at home in many temples, I check the box ‘Hindu’ when asked but when I compare myself to other Hindus especially those who are transplants like me, I feel, for want of another word, diluted. I blame my parents for this state, and how I was raised. Secular, we used to be called. SBNR is what some refer to it today. Spiritual But Not Religious. I think of Hinduism as a spectrum. A knob dial for the Gen X and Boomers here, where I toggle a few degrees here or there regularly. This newsletter isn’t about how Hindu I am though; I will leave that conversation for the trolls on Instagram. There’s always a person or two on social media who doubt my beliefs based on how they are feeling that day. The reason I am sharing this is to offer context to how I start my day – a routine I follow almost every day. It may take different forms depending on work/ kids/ family/ cooking and everything else. In general this routine helps me find my bearings, and also process the turbulence of the world in a healthy fashion. You’ll see some connections to Hinduism but it feels right to refer to this practice as more spirit-centring and grounding than traditionally religious.  

Spiritual Practice

Find a time of the day in a space that is dear to you. Early mornings in your home works well for many. Your kitchen, backyard, balcony, bedroom, work area, or the green space behind your flat also work.  

Find a patch of nature or a peaceful view. If you’re at work, a blank wall could work too. If possible, light a candle. 

Put on some slow peaceful music. Headset or on speaker, however you please. Here is a link to my playlist. The songs have changed over the years but a few have stayed constant. 

Allow your mind to wander, and then move slowly. Examine the trees and leaves. Write if you’re sitting down. Draw if it pleases you. 8-10 minutes is a good length of time for this.

This activity isn’t the same as meditation or creative writing/ drawing though you may feel you are doing any or all of these things. The act of identifying a time and space, lighting a candle, puttering about slowly in your happy place, connecting with nature, consciously allowing yourself to wander (in person or in your mind) offers a sense of freedom and feeling grounded, a feeling that is close to joy, despite whatever else that may be going on outside in the world.

Spend 10 minutes on this practice this week, and drop me a note afterwards. Tag me @mapleandmarigold if you feel the desire to share on the socials.  Here’s a snapshot of what my counter looked like last month. 

My other regular practice is something I have followed for at least 3 years, though I’ll be honest I didn’t see this as a practice till recently. Here goes:

Knowledge Practice

A few years ago, I unplugged myself from “breaking news!” This was around the time when the climate change space had became a place of disinformation and I was finding it hard to stay on course. So I put up boundaries – the tallest walls for social media, and other gateways too. I have always been an analog newspaper reader but at that time I signed up to get information and news directly from reputable journalists via their direct feed or newsletter. This soothed my nervous system and also helped my soul find its own footing before I expose it to other people’s POV and emotions. Reality is still evident though:

Here’s what you can do immediately: 

1. Delete notifications from all the news aggregators and all social media.
2. Unfollow: 

• Meme accounts
• Those who share pictures of dying/ killing/ active war zones (hide instead of unfollow, if this is people you know irl)
• ‘Breaking news’ accounts
• Accounts that share “here’s the latest horrendous assault that happened in your city today.” Stay with me – the next steps will help you stay in touch at a pace you choose.

3. Subscribe to a local or national newspaper. Read it when you can, even if you can’t do it everyday. 

4. Bookmark global news sites with good quality journalism. Here are a few examples: The Guardian, Al Jazeera, CBC News, The Narwhal, The Conversation, BBC and CNN – in the order listed here. 

5. Create a ‘playlist’ of journalists in your city/ country/ world, and sign up for their newsletters. Support their work as often as you can. 

Drop me a note if you would like to see my list. It changes but there are some core people who I stay in touch with on IG and via their newsletters.

Happy Grounding!

This blog post is part of Puneeta's Staying Grounded Fortnightly-ish Newsletter. Edition May 26, 2025