Burnt Out: What To Do When You’ve Had Enough

Being completely burnt out can happen to the best of us and it is not uncommon. Especially for vacation deprived Americans. But we can’t all quit and go live on the beach. So we have to recover somehow. You can bounce back. A break and a few deep breaths and back on track.  We did an episode on burnout which generated a ton of emails and still does. Many of you have suffered or are suffering burnout yourselves. What can we do about it and what can we do to prevent it in the future?  What Is Burnout?  “Burnout is a psychological term that refers to long-term exhaustion and diminished interest in work.”  That’s the technical definition. In real speak, “fed up with this shit!”  The Symptoms  Do you know the difference between being physically tired versus mentally tired? I’m a big fan of physically tired. Being tired from a long hike, a good run, helping your best friend move out of their fifth-floor walk up. That kind of tired quiets the mind and lets you sleep like a baby.  Mentally tired sucks and it’s the kind of tired that being burnt out produces. When you’re mentally tired, your brain won’t shut up. It’s the kind of tired that won’t allow your thoughts to stop long enough to let you rest. Being burnt out can also result in cynicism and detachment. “This job sucks. Things will never get better.” “Nothing I do makes any difference.” “This job creates nothing of value in the world. I sit at a desk eight-plus hours a day and don’t engage my brain at all.” Hard to find motivation with those kinds of thoughts ringing in your head. Being burnt out sucks the meaning and engagement out of work life. The Causes When the economy tanked in 2007-8, many employers began laying off workers. Those lucky enough not to lose their jobs now were expected to do the work of two, sometimes more, people. And they did it and did it without complaint lest they be next. By mid-2014, all 8.7 million jobs lost were replaced. But in the interim, a lot of people got burnt out. During that time, people felt a lack of control. T