Ways To Avoid Burnout In L&D
Burnout can feel isolating. It's not. At any given time, your friends, colleagues, or coworkers are feeling it. And it has been around as long as there has been work. That means the problem is not new. Fixes for it exist. But how does one go about finding a fix for their specific Instructional Design (ID) and Learning and Development (L&D) scenario? A good place to begin is by looking at the classics.
Remember that feeling of inspiration you got when first discovering a new way to design eLearning experiences? The rush of excitement and anticipation when rolling out a new aspect of your LMS program? You can tap into that energy again, and help shut down burnout before it starts. So go ahead and give yourself some happy reminders. A good place to look is in The Best Instructional Design Books: Classics, Hidden Gems, and the Latest Bestsellers.
These helpful books and texts can offer a helpful reminder into approaches/methods you maybe have not used in a while, or offer a new angle on a challenge you are currently facing. Or they might even provide you with ideas for a new approach you have never tried. Regardless of the specifics, it is quite likely that one of the books showcased in that article can offer some assistance or support. Or, at the very least, remind you about some design concepts or ideas you can apply to your situation, rather than underscore any feelings of isolation or that it is you alone against everything all at once.
Working With The Old And The New
Innovation has always been a key component of any successful L&D program, and Instructional Designers have been inventing new and creative ways to implement courses and programs for decades. After all, generating new ideas and watching them grow, evolve, and succeed is incredibly satisfying.
Sure, there are classical approaches to building programs along with new trends to follow each and every year. And either approach offers good opportunities for IDs and L&D professionals to refresh outlooks, drive change, and combat the onset of burnout. Doing something new comes with its own feelings of excitement and positive energy.
When we think about trends in 2025 and beyond, one item clearly rises to the top: Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is everywhere, and there is little doubt every one of us has heard this question: "How can we use AI to save time/money?"
By thinking strategically and carefully planning action steps, we can find an answer. For example, say you apply action mapping to design a new course targeting cost avoidance. Those efforts can then be supplemented with AI tools that can quickly create the underlying content and personalize the courses. The result? A new course that solves a specific challenge your organization was facing, created in a way that saved time and encouraged participation. Plus, any feelings of burnout took a back seat thanks to actively creating and implementing eLearning using old and new tools.
AI isn't the only new thing out there worth giving a try. Take a look at the eLearning trends for L&D experts and educators to see what other options merit a closer look. You never know what new idea could inspire efforts for your next project.
Moving Forward, Together
Working as part of a small team or even as a solo Instructional Designer can certainly contribute to feelings of isolation and burnout. Sometimes, fighting the good fight is exhausting, and any rewards can be few and far between. The thing is, none of us is alone. Online communities are everywhere. So much so, in fact, that it can sometimes be difficult to find ones to join that are worthwhile.
A solid way to start is by searching online platforms for industry experts that actively post or contribute ideas to the communities to which they belong. This list of top eLearning experts to follow on LinkedIn can help find some personalities worth following. Or maybe even help spark some ideas on how you can identify ways to combat burnout.
And once you're following along with some current topics or engaged in discourse with a community of your peers, don't be surprised to uncover even more ideas for mitigating burnout. For instance, a recent Reddit thread included some commentary around how different types of learning can be looked at from different organizational perspectives. The more basic type being the risk/compliance/mitigation training that simply needs to be done. Those are likely not to be looked at as strategic and can be approached accordingly by Instructional Designers when creating or managing them.
However, on the other hand, there are some topics more strategic to organizations and eLearning courses centered around those will be looked at differently. Perhaps providing IDs with a chance for more creativity in how they make them.
So while sometimes anyone can feel like they are one or a few versus many, these online communities can not only squash that feeling, they can help to identify new ideas or best practices that can be applied.
In Conclusion
Burnout is everywhere. It does impact everyone. But there are ways to avoid it, work through it, and move past it. The ID and L&D fields are no more susceptible to burnout than others, nor are they any more free from it. What does make them unique, however, is their position to address it not only for themselves, but for those they support.
Sure, we can reference classic ID/L&D books and materials to find inspiration. Or couple tried-and-true design concepts with newer technologies and ideas like AI to develop eLearning courses. We can even join networks of our peers to proactively talk about how to avoid burnout.
And then, we can take all of that a step further. We can use the approaches that help combat burnout in our day-to-day, and apply them to other learners we support. Perhaps that includes making a course about how burnout impacts everyone, and how it can be managed.
For more ideas or conversation, we encourage you to join the iSpring Learning Exchange community to interact with fellow L&D specialists from around the world.
