Burnout: Why it’s Okay & How to Navigate it

Let’s talk burnout. I am currently undergoing a period of burnout after working non stop for 9 months straight. My projects at work have been quite heavy and I found myself pulling very long hours to meet deadlines and get my assignments done. During this period of time, I felt extremely motivated and excited at accomplishing every task. In essence, I was firing on all cylinders, but at the end of the work day I was exhausted, having sustained myself on coffee and bites of food here and there for the whole day. After about 3 months of working in this way, I hit a major wall. The best way I can describe it is that everything felt very slow and drawn out. Tasks, regardless of difficulty, that I used to approach with hunger and eagerness, I now saw as hurdles that I’d need to somehow overcome. I began to notice that the cognitive load that it took to attend my virtual meetings was at an all time high to the point where I dreaded hitting that ‘join’ button more than anything else. I kept pushing through and little by little felt myself becoming unhappier in both my work and personal life. It was at this point that I knew I needed a reset. 

I started reaching out to my coworkers and those around me at work to see how they were feeling. I learned that, like me, some people were in the burnout phase, others had just come out of one, while some felt stuck in an endless up and down cycle brought on by the pandemic. Months of work from home, attention being pulled every which way, and inability to connect with others has left us all feeling off. For me, I realized that my feelings of burnout were largely exacerbated by the pandemic as well, and so I kept reaching out to more people to talk about how I felt.

What helps me a lot to work through feelings is to speak with others and ask for their advice. It was really refreshing to learn that being burnt out is okay and can naturally happen when working a high stress job. One of my mentors shared with me how being ‘work UNproductive’ is just as important as being ‘work productive’. For instance, if you feel burnt out and can’t imagine finishing for the day, it’s totally okay to take a step back and read or watch something or nap for the rest of your day. One affordance that we’ve gained from the pandemic is to define our own working hours. She helped me understand how taking a step back and reseting has shown that you will be more productive in other tasks and how your brain will subconsciously work on problems for you. If you push yourself too hard and don’t step away, you end up spiraling, becoming more burnt out, and producing less valuable work. She also helped define the concept of a ‘high stress job’. I, personally, had never seen myself as working in a high stress environment since working in tech is advertised as carefree and flexible. Although there are significant privileges to working in tech, our jobs are still high stress because things change on a daily basis, multiple escalations/fires arise, and we don’t really know what we’ll be working on in the next 2-3 months due to rapid change. This gave me a sense of comfort and helped me understand that it makes sense why I don’t feel good. Working in tech, consulting, marketing, and many other jobs are ‘high stress’ making burnout even easier. 

Speaking with my mentors was empowering because it helped shed light on perhaps why I was feeling burnt out and I felt less imposter syndrome knowing those around me further along in their careers were going through or had gone through similar periods of lowness. In addition, my manager shared a New York Times article (There’s a Name for the Blah You’re Feeling: It’s Called Languishing) with me about the concept of languishing. The article describes how many of us right now are in this weird in between of not being depressed but also not happy. This in between state is what psychologists have begun to define as languishing with the goal that giving a feeling a name helps empower people to feel heard and more in control. I definitely felt better after reading this article because I felt less alone in my feelings and also had a better understanding of what could be contributing to my overall burnout both at work and in my personal life. The article states that immersing yourself in projects or tasks (watching Netflix, playing an online game) is proven to help you fall into a state of ‘flow’ to combat feelings of languishing. I really enjoyed the article because it helped me gain tools on how to address part of what was contributing to my burnout and put a name to my current state. 

So what am I actually doing to combat my burnout? Well, the first step I’m taking for my mental health is some PTO (paid time off) during which I plan on completely disconnecting. I hope that this time will help me rest and come back energized. I also have shifted to being kinder to myself and letting myself adjust my work hours if I need to. Sometimes, it’s really hard for me to focus and instead of becoming frustrated, I’ll get in my car and go grab a cup of coffee and step away for 30 minutes to an hour from my desk. Other days, I’ll go to a coffee shop and try to get work done there. I’ve found that shifting my atmosphere and just giving myself space helps me push through periods where I’m languishing. One mentor recommended that for every 3 months you work, take a long 4 day weekend to completely disconnect, and that’s something I plan on trying to adopt.

There’s really no easy solution to burnout. It’s something we will all feel at one point or other in our careers. I’m starting to realize that the best way I can help myself is to identify it and take the time I need to rest and come back. I’m training for my career to be like a marathon not a sprint and so I need to make sure to take time to heal when getting injured, especially since there’s still a ways to go.