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How do You Know if You're Burnt Out?
Burnout isn't simply being tired after a difficult week. It's what can happen when the demands you're carrying continue to exceed your capacity to recover.
She woke knowing that she just couldn’t face another day of continuous online meetings. Just the thought of voices through her headphones with no way to silence them, and no break from the monotonous meetings, was enough to induce tears.
She tried to still the inner shaking to take stock of what was happening to her.
She tried to still the inner shaking to take stock of what was happening to her.
When had she shifted from loving her work to dreading every day? Why did she feel so numb inside?
What was it that had her muttering under her breath, the mute button safely on, about how insufferable her manager and colleagues were?
She was so tired, yet unable to stop. She found it difficult to concentrate…
Even in her confusion, she could recognise that demands on her exceeded her capacity - she was struggling to finish; work was spilling over; she worked nights.
She felt responsible for everything, and weekends weren’t enough to recover. She slept for most of them, but by Monday was still tired…
The things she used to love doing - running in the mornings, meeting friends for coffee - no longer gave her any pleasure. Rather, they drained her, and she began avoiding them.
Sam was experiencing burnout.
She was so tired, yet unable to stop. She found it difficult to concentrate…
Even in her confusion, she could recognise that demands on her exceeded her capacity - she was struggling to finish; work was spilling over; she worked nights.
She felt responsible for everything, and weekends weren’t enough to recover. She slept for most of them, but by Monday was still tired…
The things she used to love doing - running in the mornings, meeting friends for coffee - no longer gave her any pleasure. Rather, they drained her, and she began avoiding them.
Sam was experiencing burnout.
Yet burnout isn't necessarily a dramatic breakdown.
It often develops gradually. You keep functioning, keep meeting deadlines, keep taking responsibility while your capacity to keep doing it gradually diminishes.
It isn't a binary state, and people can become progressively less able to recover while still functioning.
Burnout symptoms can overlap with depression, anxiety, sleep problems, and other health conditions. As a result, it isn't a formal medical diagnosis.
It isn't a binary state, and people can become progressively less able to recover while still functioning.
Burnout symptoms can overlap with depression, anxiety, sleep problems, and other health conditions. As a result, it isn't a formal medical diagnosis.
- It can look like being perfectly functional on the outside while feeling completely depleted underneath.
- Sometimes burnout looks like working harder, not stopping.
- It can look like becoming more controlling because you don't trust anyone else to do things properly.
- It can look like irritability rather than exhaustion.
Burnout isn't always about too much work. Sometimes it's about the way we've learned to respond to too much work.
Heather came to see me because she knew she was heading in the direction of burnout. She responded to organisational dysfunction at her work by taking on more responsibility for it.
She wasn't simply doing too much. Her solution to the problem became part of the problem.
She became the “go-to” person - the one who knew who was doing what. And before long, her documentation served as the project’s fulcrum, and she became answerable for others’ tasks and duties, without ever having agreed to manage the process.
She wasn't simply doing too much. Her solution to the problem became part of the problem.
She became the “go-to” person - the one who knew who was doing what. And before long, her documentation served as the project’s fulcrum, and she became answerable for others’ tasks and duties, without ever having agreed to manage the process.
So What Can You Do?
Here are 3 Very Practical Things You Could Try:
If some of this blog sounds familiar, start by restoring yourself before trying to solve everything.
- -1-Stop and noticeBefore you open your laptop tomorrow, take two minutes to ask: What am I feeling? What is my body telling me? What am I already carrying into today?
- -2-Reduce the loadStart your day by putting your tasks into three groups: what can wait, what can stop altogether, and what can be delegated. Then ask yourself: What really needs to be done today — and what am I trying to do simply because I feel responsible for it?
- -3-Make space to recoverBefore you fill the evening (or lunch break) with work, ask: What would actually help me recover today? Could I sleep, move, get outside, take a proper break or do something that gives me energy?
Restoring yourself starts with noticing where you are. You don't need to have all the answers (if anything, at this stage it's impossible to think rationally) but you do need to pay attention to what your body, mind and energy are telling you. By getting back in contact with yourself this way, you create space and slow down, if only a little.
Not Sure What Your Body is Telling You?
The Burnout Body Check-in is a simple way to pause and notice what's happening in your body, mind and energy.
You'll receive 6 burnout tools over about a month, starting with the Body Check, one email a week after the first few days. Unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer to talk it through? If you're worried you're heading towards burnout, you can book a free, no-obligation call to explore what's going on.
Photos by engin akyurt , kevin turcios and Ceyda Çiftci on Unsplash
All names of clients have been changed to protect identity.
All names of clients have been changed to protect identity.
