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If you think you are on the cusp of burnout, you are already IN the burnout. Burnout isn't like a moment that occurs that you can pin point. It sneaks up on you

If you think you are on the cusp of burnout, you are already IN the burnout. Burnout isn't like a moment that occurs that you can pin point. It sneaks up on you and by the time you are thinking of it you are already deep in it. Everything you describe is a sign that you are burning out. Take a step back and find ways to improve the situation: short frequent breaks during the days, mini-vacations each week/month, EXERCISE OUTSIDE (walsk ,runs, bike, anything outside rain or shine), find a group of friends or family you ENJOY being around and spend more time talking and laughing with them. You may not necessarily need to leave your job, but if it is REALLY tearing you down and you feel hopeless everytime you go to it, then NOW is the time to start looking for something else. Do not let all of this build up until you are at a breaking point and suddenly quit "out of the blue" because the pressure has built up too much. At that point it may be difficult to find a job and you might be so burnt out you literally don't have the motivation TO find a new job. Good luck, find a way to heal yourself, and know that there are a lot of others out here who have gone through this and have begun to get through it - myself included.

0xfaded 4y ago
I've been on the extreme end of this, crawling out of bed at 845, leaving work 15 minutes early, eating and going straight back to bed. If you notice yourself sliding, it's easier to fix things now than to let it get to such a stage. Obviously no one benefits (not even your employer with deadlines) if you're a zombie. I needed to quit my job, get back into sports and hobbies, and basically didn't go near my laptop for 3 months. I'm lucky, I'm back to my old self (when other people start noticing and telling you this you realize how far gone you were). I know people who never recovered. Prioritize you
sz4kerto 4y ago
> If you think you are on the cusp of burnout, you are already IN the burnout. I don't think so. Many people who reflect on themselves actively but have no experience with irreversible burnout think or say that they're burning out, but they just have good self-awareness. Also -- based on my limited experience and some 'formal' education in burnout management, etc. -- I think that burnout can't be fixed with exercise, more free time, vacations, etc. These can help preventing burnout in your next role, but they generally won't fix your life in your current environment. For people who are actually burned out the recommendation is generally that 1) first stop the thing that burns you out 2) then start doing things that seem to heal you 3) then make a plan for what you'd like to do next (e.g. in work) and how you plan to keep your balance 4) start doing the next thing I.e. you can't make good plans and rebalance while you're in the middle of the thing that is burning you out. I understand that this advice requires a lot of privilege (e.g. that you can drop work for a few months for example), but there are hacks that help even if you're less privileged.
- lowercased 4y ago
  > I think that burnout can't be fixed with exercise, more free time, vacations, etc... > 2) then start doing things that seem to heal you what if more free time, vacations, etc, seem to heal me? I think I get your general gist, but this seemed a bit contradictory.
  - klik99 4y ago
    In my case, exercise seems to be the thing for getting over burnout and free time/vacations don't really help. Curious what helps for others
    - lowercased 4y ago
      Exercise doesn't seem to help me much, as... I'm already doing regular daily exercise and still am in 'burnout' mode. Stepping away from everything for, say, a few weeks might help. However, there's little chance of taking 'extended' time away from any projects and coming back to those projects. They'll move to someone else.
    - ac2022 4y ago
      For me it was lack of control that was causing burn out. Exercise definitely improved my mood but it was only for couple of hours. Once I decided that I will switch job, I was 1000x better although I was working longer and harder.
  - muzani 4y ago
    I think someone else mentioned that lack of progress/control is what causes burnout. Generally, vacations make you lose control. Depersonalization and cynicism are symptoms of burnout. But I think vacations solve burnout the same way that tissues solve colds. It's something you reach for instinctively.
    - lowercased 4y ago
      > cynicism are symptoms of burnout I've possibly been mildly 'burned out' since the late 80s. And... back in my day, all the smokers and ne'er-do-wells in high school were the 'burn outs'.
kempbellt 4y ago
This. When you start asking questions like "What's a sign of burnout?", that's usually a sign of burnout. Other obvious signs: - experiencing less and less enthusiasm about work, making it difficult to want to go to work at all - difficulty focusing on tasks at work because you can't muster up any "care" at all to actually think about what work wants you to do (Task: Change the font size on the About page. Internal response: "Why? Who cares...") - taking longer breaks and finding any excuse to drag your feet when you are heading back to your desk - taking sick days when you don't feel "sick" but really feel like you need a day off (I would argue that the way you feel is a valid reason for taking a "sick" day - which is why we call them "personal days" at my company. Sick, tired, hungover. We don't care. You need a day off, you take the day off) - asking questions about when's the soonest you can take a vacation even if you have no vacation planned (feeling like you need to escape) - becoming more disagreeable with your coworkers, tasks, friends, family, responsibilities, etc (related to the above "not caring". You start to not see the value in a lot of "trivial" things, and become disagreeable on their basic merits) - eating and/or drinking more than usual (or other substance use) The list goes on, but I would say that a lot of "burnout symptoms" are akin to those with depression. Essentially, your energy, enthusiasm, and general give-a-shit slowly starts to fade. Unfortunately, humans are rarely rational creatures. Even armed with this information, it can take quite a bit more "drudging along" before a person will hit their actual breaking point. My personal recommendation when you start to feel this way, if you can, is to walk away.... It feels like a huge change to just quit your job, but looking back, I believe that the damage that burnout has caused would have been less if I had taken the financial hit and just quit the moment I started feeling it. Edit: In response to the poster's edit question "When is it time to change change jobs because of it?" Asap. The longer you stay, the more you will feel burnt out, and it will result in diminishing returns
- mcv 4y ago
  These symptoms make me wonder if my son has a burnout from school. Except he's not remotely working hard.
  - yadoomerta 4y ago
    i sympathize a lot with all of the symptoms. in my experience, as someone who used to work pretty hard, once you're past the cusp of 'it's all pointless' it makes it really really hard to bother. Like you're not getting anything out of it. You don't care if the work is done or not. Nobody else seems to care. And even thinking about it makes you feel ill and horrible. Difficult situation to grind hard work out of
spike021 4y ago
I always see people mentioning that exercise is one of the solutions to burnout. I'm going to disagree with that. I got a puppy early last year. Once we could start taking walks I started walking on average 4.5-5 miles between walking him and my own usual walks to the store or whatever. I still got massively burnt out by my last job. I decided to just leave, and that's been a big help so far.
jonathankoren 4y ago
This. You have to stop yourself, while you think you can still go on. I can’t stress this enough. If you wait too long, eventually you’ll just stop caring, and that’s when you’ll end up doing something stupid, or have no desire to fix things.
- yadoomerta 4y ago
  That's where I'm at right now :( So many years of putting out a garbage product nobody wants gets to you And then nothing else seems better
winternett 4y ago
If one has enough money and retirement savings to pad them through the next year, I'd highly recommend taking this tumultuous period off working in the corporate world. Burnout is devastating, it cause people to rage quit, it causes people to be unresponsive, and to quit in bad times when they don't have good financial position. The major points to remember are: There will always re-entry pains, but you will likely return refreshed if you take time off properly. Don't settle into the lure of doing nothing and not learning new skills during time off, just learn to do it at a good pace that fits you in between doing things you've always wanted to do while working. Many companies are running on duct tape, life is always a gamble. It's your responsibility to balance your own risk with reward, and to reduce life's costs, being in undesirable situations, and unpredictability, no employer will do that for you. Once you burn out, your stability and ability is completely thrown out of place, and you won't be able to maintain any work or life balance of your own. That's when things like homelessness and worse happen. It's important to work out a plan to never be near to, nor in, that burnout position. It's not easy if you're not wealthy I know, but you've always got to ask yourself if the people in life who ask you to do favors for them would do the exact same for you as a guide of who to trust... Life is unforgiving to people who don't have limits, ESPECIALLY during trying times. Being neither selfish nor selfless is the best way forward in tough times.

0xfaded 4y ago

I've been on the extreme end of this, crawling out of bed at 845, leaving work 15 minutes early, eating and going straight back to bed. If you notice yourself sliding, it's easier to fix things now than to let it get to such a stage. Obviously no one benefits (not even your employer with deadlines) if you're a zombie. I needed to quit my job, get back into sports and hobbies, and basically didn't go near my laptop for 3 months. I'm lucky, I'm back to my old self (when other people start noticing and telling you this you realize how far gone you were). I know people who never recovered. Prioritize you

sz4kerto 4y ago

> If you think you are on the cusp of burnout, you are already IN the burnout. I don't think so. Many people who reflect on themselves actively but have no experience with irreversible burnout think or say that they're burning out, but they just have good self-awareness. Also -- based on my limited experience and some 'formal' education in burnout management, etc. -- I think that burnout can't be fixed with exercise, more free time, vacations, etc. These can help preventing burnout in your next role, but they generally won't fix your life in your current environment. For people who are actually burned out the recommendation is generally that 1) first stop the thing that burns you out 2) then start doing things that seem to heal you 3) then make a plan for what you'd like to do next (e.g. in work) and how you plan to keep your balance 4) start doing the next thing I.e. you can't make good plans and rebalance while you're in the middle of the thing that is burning you out. I understand that this advice requires a lot of privilege (e.g. that you can drop work for a few months for example), but there are hacks that help even if you're less privileged.

lowercased 4y ago
> I think that burnout can't be fixed with exercise, more free time, vacations, etc... > 2) then start doing things that seem to heal you what if more free time, vacations, etc, seem to heal me? I think I get your general gist, but this seemed a bit contradictory.
- klik99 4y ago
  In my case, exercise seems to be the thing for getting over burnout and free time/vacations don't really help. Curious what helps for others
  - lowercased 4y ago
    Exercise doesn't seem to help me much, as... I'm already doing regular daily exercise and still am in 'burnout' mode. Stepping away from everything for, say, a few weeks might help. However, there's little chance of taking 'extended' time away from any projects and coming back to those projects. They'll move to someone else.
  - ac2022 4y ago
    For me it was lack of control that was causing burn out. Exercise definitely improved my mood but it was only for couple of hours. Once I decided that I will switch job, I was 1000x better although I was working longer and harder.
- muzani 4y ago
  I think someone else mentioned that lack of progress/control is what causes burnout. Generally, vacations make you lose control. Depersonalization and cynicism are symptoms of burnout. But I think vacations solve burnout the same way that tissues solve colds. It's something you reach for instinctively.
  - lowercased 4y ago
    > cynicism are symptoms of burnout I've possibly been mildly 'burned out' since the late 80s. And... back in my day, all the smokers and ne'er-do-wells in high school were the 'burn outs'.

kempbellt 4y ago

This. When you start asking questions like "What's a sign of burnout?", that's usually a sign of burnout. Other obvious signs: - experiencing less and less enthusiasm about work, making it difficult to want to go to work at all - difficulty focusing on tasks at work because you can't muster up any "care" at all to actually think about what work wants you to do (Task: Change the font size on the About page. Internal response: "Why? Who cares...") - taking longer breaks and finding any excuse to drag your feet when you are heading back to your desk - taking sick days when you don't feel "sick" but really feel like you need a day off (I would argue that the way you feel is a valid reason for taking a "sick" day - which is why we call them "personal days" at my company. Sick, tired, hungover. We don't care. You need a day off, you take the day off) - asking questions about when's the soonest you can take a vacation even if you have no vacation planned (feeling like you need to escape) - becoming more disagreeable with your coworkers, tasks, friends, family, responsibilities, etc (related to the above "not caring". You start to not see the value in a lot of "trivial" things, and become disagreeable on their basic merits) - eating and/or drinking more than usual (or other substance use) The list goes on, but I would say that a lot of "burnout symptoms" are akin to those with depression. Essentially, your energy, enthusiasm, and general give-a-shit slowly starts to fade. Unfortunately, humans are rarely rational creatures. Even armed with this information, it can take quite a bit more "drudging along" before a person will hit their actual breaking point. My personal recommendation when you start to feel this way, if you can, is to walk away.... It feels like a huge change to just quit your job, but looking back, I believe that the damage that burnout has caused would have been less if I had taken the financial hit and just quit the moment I started feeling it. Edit: In response to the poster's edit question "When is it time to change change jobs because of it?" Asap. The longer you stay, the more you will feel burnt out, and it will result in diminishing returns

mcv 4y ago
These symptoms make me wonder if my son has a burnout from school. Except he's not remotely working hard.
- yadoomerta 4y ago
  i sympathize a lot with all of the symptoms. in my experience, as someone who used to work pretty hard, once you're past the cusp of 'it's all pointless' it makes it really really hard to bother. Like you're not getting anything out of it. You don't care if the work is done or not. Nobody else seems to care. And even thinking about it makes you feel ill and horrible. Difficult situation to grind hard work out of

spike021 4y ago

I always see people mentioning that exercise is one of the solutions to burnout. I'm going to disagree with that. I got a puppy early last year. Once we could start taking walks I started walking on average 4.5-5 miles between walking him and my own usual walks to the store or whatever. I still got massively burnt out by my last job. I decided to just leave, and that's been a big help so far.

jonathankoren 4y ago

This. You have to stop yourself, while you think you can still go on. I can’t stress this enough. If you wait too long, eventually you’ll just stop caring, and that’s when you’ll end up doing something stupid, or have no desire to fix things.

yadoomerta 4y ago
That's where I'm at right now :( So many years of putting out a garbage product nobody wants gets to you And then nothing else seems better

winternett 4y ago

If one has enough money and retirement savings to pad them through the next year, I'd highly recommend taking this tumultuous period off working in the corporate world. Burnout is devastating, it cause people to rage quit, it causes people to be unresponsive, and to quit in bad times when they don't have good financial position. The major points to remember are: There will always re-entry pains, but you will likely return refreshed if you take time off properly. Don't settle into the lure of doing nothing and not learning new skills during time off, just learn to do it at a good pace that fits you in between doing things you've always wanted to do while working. Many companies are running on duct tape, life is always a gamble. It's your responsibility to balance your own risk with reward, and to reduce life's costs, being in undesirable situations, and unpredictability, no employer will do that for you. Once you burn out, your stability and ability is completely thrown out of place, and you won't be able to maintain any work or life balance of your own. That's when things like homelessness and worse happen. It's important to work out a plan to never be near to, nor in, that burnout position. It's not easy if you're not wealthy I know, but you've always got to ask yourself if the people in life who ask you to do favors for them would do the exact same for you as a guide of who to trust... Life is unforgiving to people who don't have limits, ESPECIALLY during trying times. Being neither selfish nor selfless is the best way forward in tough times.