A CEO’s life can be rough. It’s often a series of back-to-back crises, endless meetings, and zero downtime, leading to prolonged CEO burnout. If you can relate to this, it’s time to hit the reset button on your life and get some real rest. You don’t need to take a full vacation to recharge. You just need a change of pace and some breathing room.
1. Take an ayahuasca retreat
Ayahuasca retreats aren’t just for hippies who worship the Earth or curious cosmonauts. They’re for everyone and can be the antidote to CEO burnout that you’ve been looking for.
According to Forbes, tech leaders are drawn to psychedelics like ayahuasca as a way to disrupt the endless grind and refresh their perspective on life.
Attending an ayahuasca retreat can provide a deep emotional reset by releasing buried emotions in a matter of hours with the chance to process stress in a safe, guided environment. Retreats like
New Life Rising are run by experienced, compassionate ayahuasqueros who will support you the whole way. The structured, ceremonial environment creates a deep connection between participants that can’t be compared to anything else.
Aside from the psychedelic aspect, people who experience ayahuasca report revelations about personal priorities, values, and creative blocks that stick with them long after the ceremony ends. If you’re looking for a way to break free from the daily grind and you’re not interested in conventional breaks and vacations, ayahuasca might be your best adventure.
2. Hire a coach
Asking for help is a great way to recharge your life. A good coach will push you to work through your blind spots so you can become the best version of yourself. One coach can transform your entire life, not just your ability to get work done.
Coaches reflect what you can’t see, like the habit of overworking yourself, hidden triggers, and those internal narratives that keep you stuck. They help you define goals that matter and keep you accountable. Unlike a retreat or a book, coaches provide helpful feedback and create personalized strategies just for you. The right coach can transform CEO burnout into a total leadership upgrade.
3. Schedule recovery time like it’s a mandatory meeting
Recovery time may not seem like much of an adventure, but if you’ve never planned it into your day, it will be a game-changer. You’d be surprised how pausing during your workday to rest can improve your mental and emotional health and bring clarity to your life. But it needs to be in your calendar. If
recovery time isn’t programmed into your schedule, it doesn’t exist. Something will happen to derail your plans. By adding it to your calendar, you won’t accidentally schedule something else for that time, and you’ll be more likely to follow through.
Allocate non-negotiable time blocks into your days. It can be as little as half an hour or an hour, as long as you prioritize it like you would an important meeting. When you schedule your recovery period for the same time every day, it will become a predictable part of your routine and you’ll feel the cumulative effects. You’ll also send an important message that rest is just as important as work, and you might inspire others to do the same. This alone can help prevent
mass burnout among your teams.
4. Try bodywork
Your body will carry what your mind doesn’t process, so it’s important to shake that loose once in a while. In this busy world, we spend so much time in our heads that we forget to occupy our bodies, but that’s the key to releasing trauma. There are two wonderful ways to get out of your head and into your body: yoga and somatic therapy.
Yoga can be an excellent antidote to stress. Breathing and mindful movement
activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which lowers cortisol and reboots the body’s fight-or-flight response.
Somatic therapy leverages physical sensations to facilitate emotional and mental release. These are just two options, but there are plenty of other modalities you can try. When you clear trauma from the body, you’ll see the world differently, think clearly, and make better decisions.
5. Limit digital activity
Digital burnout is real. While constantly engaging on social media has become the norm, it’s working against you and contributing to CEO burnout. Disconnect from
social media and emails that aren’t business critical. When you stop chasing notifications and comments all day, you’ll feel more energized and alive.
Rebooting is non-negotiable
To be more effective as CEO without crashing and burning, you need periodic reboots. Don’t sacrifice your well-being for your job. Weave rest and reboots into your daily life to gain better clarity and keep CEO burnout from creeping in.
