Summer Reset: Quick Wins to Rejuvenate, Recenter, and Reclaim Your Energy
Proven Micro-Strategies for Professionals to Diminish Burnout
The season may shift, but exhaustion doesn’t vanish with the calendar.
When I was a classroom teacher, I would collapse into summer—sometimes sleeping nearly a week straight just to feel like myself again. As a school administrator, I didn’t have that luxury. The end of the year wasn’t a finish line—it was a pivot point into summer programs, strategic planning, and staff management.
Now, in my quality of life and burnout prevention work with professionals across sectors—from education to healthcare to mental health, real estate, finance, and social services—one truth remains constant: burnout isn’t simply about being tired.
It’s a full-body, full-life depletion—draining not only energy but also identity, confidence, and clarity. It stems from our personal and our professional lives. It it not created in a silo.
Burnout isn’t just a wellness issue. It’s a quality of life issue.
According to Dr. Michael Frisch’s Quality of Life Therapy framework, well-being is shaped by fulfillment across key areas including health, self-esteem, work, play, relationships, purpose, and overall life satisfaction. When these components are neglected—especially by those who spend their lives serving others—burnout becomes not just likely, but systemic.
That’s why rest alone isn’t enough. We don’t just need to pause—we need to repair.
These five quick, research-informed resets are designed to help you do just that—each one supporting a specific Quality of Life component and aligned to one or more modules within the Joyful Leadership Institute™ framework I created to help people just like you!
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Reclaim Your Morning
Quality of Life Component: Health & Self-Esteem
Why it matters:
When you begin your day in reaction mode—emails, alerts, mental logistics—you hand over your energy before you’ve centered yourself. Over time, this undermines autonomy and self-esteem.
Quick Win:
Avoid your phone for the first hour. Instead, hydrate, breathe deeply, move your body, and set a single, anchoring intention. Even 15–20 minutes of grounded presence can shift your physiology and your mindset—reminding you that you are worth leading with.
Scattered & Reactive → Clear & Self-led
➡️ Aligned to Module 2: Your Wellness Roadmap to Beat Burnout
➡️ Aligned to Module 5: Take Timely Action
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Schedule Joy on Purpose
Quality of Life Component: Happiness
Why it matters:
Joy is not a luxury—it’s regenerative. But it doesn’t compete for space—it must be invited. Many helping professionals wait for joy to arrive after everything else is done. That day rarely comes.
Quick Win:
List five things that bring you joy. Then schedule one each week this summer. Not squeezed in—protected. You don’t have to earn joy. It’s not selfish. It’s a strategic investment in your capacity to keep showing up with energy, warmth, and presence.
Depleted → Energized
➡️ Aligned to Module 3: Evaluate What Drains You—and Lights You Up!
➡️ Aligned to Module 4: Prepare to Take Action with Purposeful Priorities
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Protect Time Without Obligation
Quality of Life Component: Play
Why it matters:
Many high-performing professionals are often available to everyone but themselves. Unstructured, unscheduled time becomes rare. But rest isn’t just about sleep—it’s about creating space to decompress without expectations or responsibilities.
Quick Win:
Protect 2–3 half-days this summer as sacred “No Obligation” time. No appointments, no to-dos, no roles to play. Whether you nap, walk, read, or simply pause—this time is yours.
And here’s the reframe: downtime is productive. We’ve been conditioned to only associate productivity with output. But replenishment is what sustains your capacity to show up with clarity, presence, and strength. If your body and mind are your greatest tools, rest isn’t a luxury—it’s leadership.
Overcommitted → Grounded
➡️ Aligned to Module 6: Shift From Do It All to Delegator!
➡️ Aligned to Module 7: Create Happiness Habits
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Realign with What Matters
Quality of Life Component: Purpose
Why it matters:
Burnout thrives when your life stops reflecting who you are. Many professionals in the helping fields live in constant response—meeting expectations, absorbing others’ needs, and sidelining their own. And in business and finance, you’re rarely operating on your own timeline. But regardless of your industry, you can realign. You can implement strategies that sustain both your career success and your quality of life.
If not, over time, you don’t just lose energy. You lose yourself.
Quick Win:
Ask yourself:
– What have I been tolerating that I’m ready to release?
– What genuinely lights me up that I want to protect?
– What would it look like to honor my own needs without guilt?
Choose one meaningful shift—however small—that brings you back into alignment. Say yes to what matters. Realign your life to reflect you—not just your role. I had to learn this myself: our job titles may describe what we do, but they do not define who we are. This isn’t indulgent. It’s how sustainability begins.
Misaligned & Disconnected → Purpose-driven & Values-centered
➡️ Aligned to Module 1: Uncover Your WHY
➡️ Aligned to Module 4: Prepare to Take Action with Purposeful Priorities
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Take a Week to Reflect and Reset
Quality of Life Components: Self-Esteem, Goals & Values, Creativity
Why it matters:
One of the most insightful questions I’ve ever heard came from an educator during a one-on-one Joyful Leadership Institute coaching session. She asked, “What will I do if I’m not worrying?”
It stopped me in my tracks—not because I didn’t understand it, but because I had once lived it. For so many high-performing professionals, worry becomes a stand-in for responsibility. We confuse stress with care, and we fall into the trap of believing that constant concern is a sign of commitment.
But worrying is a negative feedback loop. It keeps us in motion without meaning. It drains our energy while convincing us we’re being productive. What we need instead is a positive feedback loop—one built on clarity and the intention to believe that we are allowed to enjoy our time.
You don’t need to earn peace through exhaustion. You’re allowed to experience ease, joy, and stillness—and you don’t have to apologize for it.
But real clarity and creativity often return only when we pause long enough to let them.
Quick Win:
Choose one week this summer where there’s nothing to fix, nothing to finish, and nothing to prove. Choose not to worry. No backlogs. No pressure to perform.
Use the time however you need: to rest, reflect, reconnect, or simply be. Spaciousness isn’t wasted time—it’s where renewal begins.
Chronically “on” → Recalibrated & Restored
➡️ Aligned to Module 3: Evaluate What Drains You—and Lights You Up!
➡️ Aligned to Module 6: Shift From Do It All to Delegator!
➡️ Aligned to Module 7: Create Happiness Habits
These aren’t one-time practices. They’re the foundation of a new way of working and living—one where your energy is protected, your values lead, and your well-being is part of the system, not sacrificed to it.
Quality of life doesn’t end when work begins. We get to choose how we move through our days—and we have the autonomy to design a life that sustains us, not just demands from us.
If you're ready to move beyond burnout and bring lasting well-being strategies to your organization, I’d be honored to support your team.
Whether you’re seeking professional development workshops, strategic quality of life support, or a comprehensive system to improve organizational culture and retention—let’s talk.
📩 Contact Lisa directly at [email protected] to explore training or consulting for your school, district, or organization.
About the Author
Lisa Imel, M.Ed., is the Founder and CEO of EdSolutions Group and the creator of the Joyful Leadership Institute™. A Fulbright Scholar, licensed superintendent, and former teacher and principal, Lisa has supported thousands of professionals in education, healthcare, and nonprofit sectors to recover from burnout and realign with purpose.
Her signature frameworks address the root causes of burnout and build long-term systems of support for leadership, well-being, and human-centered performance. Lisa’s work is research-based, results-driven, and deeply personal—designed to create immediate shifts and lasting change.
Helping professions have the highest burnout rates in the workforce.
📉 Contact Lisa to improve your retention, employee well-being, and the lives of the people you serve—through an intentional, meaningful, research-based solution.
📩 To learn more about Lisa's speaking, consulting, or professional development programs, email [email protected].
