Burnout help
September 23, 2020 10:18 AM Subscribe
I'm experiencing burnout. What are some strategies which worked for you to combat it?
I'm experiencing burnout. Looking at this list of symptoms was like looking in a mirror. I won't go into it in too much detail... Suffice it to say that I feel disappointed, disillusioned, angry, cynical, constantly taken advantage of, and just depressed by the prospect of a life that will be spent toiling in various meaningless paper-pushing jobs under the thumb of despots who don't care about their workforce or anything other than how busy you look.
Things I am doing (or rather, trying to do) to combat burnout:
- Jobhunting: Tricky in a pandemic. Have gotten to the final round of interviews in a few cases and then got told I didn't have the right experience... frustrating, but it is what it is. I find it very draining, but I am still actively looking.
- Trying not to work overtime: I end up logging out on time but checking my email late into the night. My (dysfunctional, hypercritical, micromanagerial) boss and grandboss send me emails late into the night. I know that if I didn't read them till morning, the upshot would be no different, but I find it extremely difficult to resist checking. I don't take time off - I haven't had a break from work for months now because I am so anxious about everything falling apart in my absence. The few days here and there I have taken as vacation, I have spent regularly checking my emails. There's always something terrible lurking in my inbox.
- Trying not to take things personally: This is where I fail the hardest. On the one hand, I know I am doing a good job. I mean, I've been working here for years, I am intelligent and conscientious, I know how to do my job. On the other hand, I work with very nitpicky, negative people. I struggle badly with feeling useless and inadequate and desperately need validation from bosses to feel okay about the quality of my work. It makes a huge difference to my mood if my boss tells me I've done a good job. But this doesn't come often and I feel it's problematic that an external variable has such an impact on me.
- Trying to take care of myself: This is challenging given that I live alone and work from home, and that the pandemic in the UK is at such a stage that socialising is difficult to do. I am in close touch with friends and family. I'm looking into getting a cat, if possible. I get much, much less exercise than before simply because I'm at home all the time - I feel very bad about the changes in my body. But I am doing 3 zoom exercise classes a week and I know I am getting stronger because I can do things I couldn't before. I am trying to remember to eat, even if it's just a Huel shake at mealtimes. (Those things are life-savers, by the way.) I am trying to get a minimum of 6 hours sleep a night.
What else can I do to help myself? What worked for you?
I'm experiencing burnout. Looking at this list of symptoms was like looking in a mirror. I won't go into it in too much detail... Suffice it to say that I feel disappointed, disillusioned, angry, cynical, constantly taken advantage of, and just depressed by the prospect of a life that will be spent toiling in various meaningless paper-pushing jobs under the thumb of despots who don't care about their workforce or anything other than how busy you look.
Things I am doing (or rather, trying to do) to combat burnout:
- Jobhunting: Tricky in a pandemic. Have gotten to the final round of interviews in a few cases and then got told I didn't have the right experience... frustrating, but it is what it is. I find it very draining, but I am still actively looking.
- Trying not to work overtime: I end up logging out on time but checking my email late into the night. My (dysfunctional, hypercritical, micromanagerial) boss and grandboss send me emails late into the night. I know that if I didn't read them till morning, the upshot would be no different, but I find it extremely difficult to resist checking. I don't take time off - I haven't had a break from work for months now because I am so anxious about everything falling apart in my absence. The few days here and there I have taken as vacation, I have spent regularly checking my emails. There's always something terrible lurking in my inbox.
- Trying not to take things personally: This is where I fail the hardest. On the one hand, I know I am doing a good job. I mean, I've been working here for years, I am intelligent and conscientious, I know how to do my job. On the other hand, I work with very nitpicky, negative people. I struggle badly with feeling useless and inadequate and desperately need validation from bosses to feel okay about the quality of my work. It makes a huge difference to my mood if my boss tells me I've done a good job. But this doesn't come often and I feel it's problematic that an external variable has such an impact on me.
- Trying to take care of myself: This is challenging given that I live alone and work from home, and that the pandemic in the UK is at such a stage that socialising is difficult to do. I am in close touch with friends and family. I'm looking into getting a cat, if possible. I get much, much less exercise than before simply because I'm at home all the time - I feel very bad about the changes in my body. But I am doing 3 zoom exercise classes a week and I know I am getting stronger because I can do things I couldn't before. I am trying to remember to eat, even if it's just a Huel shake at mealtimes. (Those things are life-savers, by the way.) I am trying to get a minimum of 6 hours sleep a night.
What else can I do to help myself? What worked for you?
I'm sorry you're going through this; it's all so frustrating!
My tip: If you can afford a treadmill, buy one. It completely changed my experience of quarantine. I also live alone, and would have never in a million years dreamed of buying a big bulky thing and dumping it in the middle of my living room. I bought it on Amazon, and had a friend over (masked) to help set it up. Now I really enjoy just popping on it a few times a day for walks, with no pressure to "exercise" or sweat.
You're doing the right thing to focus on sleep too. Another quarantine purchase for me was blackout blinds, and they've easily added 30-60 minutes of sleep time for me a night. Good luck and take care!
posted by kinsey at 10:28 AM on September 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
My tip: If you can afford a treadmill, buy one. It completely changed my experience of quarantine. I also live alone, and would have never in a million years dreamed of buying a big bulky thing and dumping it in the middle of my living room. I bought it on Amazon, and had a friend over (masked) to help set it up. Now I really enjoy just popping on it a few times a day for walks, with no pressure to "exercise" or sweat.
You're doing the right thing to focus on sleep too. Another quarantine purchase for me was blackout blinds, and they've easily added 30-60 minutes of sleep time for me a night. Good luck and take care!
posted by kinsey at 10:28 AM on September 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
I'm only a couple of weeks ahead of you on this, and it hasn't been a magical cure, but it has been huge to find something I wanted to do, and do that.
Some shapes this has taken:
- doing research into climate restoration efforts, to see if there's anywhere I could work that's part of that field (so far: no. But just making an effort to go learn something, listening to podcasts with curiosity and interest instead of as a way to drown out my anxiety??? So good.)
- helping a local nonprofit I care about, working with people there to gather information on a structural problem they're having and figure out a path forward. Just the action of talking to people and trying to build consensus is so positive. Sometimes I come away like "what is WRONG with people?" but I have a productive way to channel that into policy and education improvements and that feels great.
- regularly calling some family members and friends, to check in on them and stay up on what's happening in their lives
Even just a couple hours a week of setting and then achieving a goal is really satisfying and a nice counterbalance to a job of never hitting (impossible) metrics and never being "off".
posted by Lady Li at 10:32 AM on September 23, 2020 [2 favorites]
Some shapes this has taken:
- doing research into climate restoration efforts, to see if there's anywhere I could work that's part of that field (so far: no. But just making an effort to go learn something, listening to podcasts with curiosity and interest instead of as a way to drown out my anxiety??? So good.)
- helping a local nonprofit I care about, working with people there to gather information on a structural problem they're having and figure out a path forward. Just the action of talking to people and trying to build consensus is so positive. Sometimes I come away like "what is WRONG with people?" but I have a productive way to channel that into policy and education improvements and that feels great.
- regularly calling some family members and friends, to check in on them and stay up on what's happening in their lives
Even just a couple hours a week of setting and then achieving a goal is really satisfying and a nice counterbalance to a job of never hitting (impossible) metrics and never being "off".
posted by Lady Li at 10:32 AM on September 23, 2020 [2 favorites]
Also: it helps you find satisfaction from something you're doing that ISN'T about people-pleasing, or at least isn't focused on pleasing the people at work.
Here's another recommendation: What sort of routine or step could you take to not check your work email at night? Do you need to get it off your phone? Silence notifications? Put your phone or laptop in a drawer at the end of the work day and not touch it again until morning? Think about what sort of simple action might work. It's like how when you're trying to eat less sweets, you don't want to have to consciously be refusing an Oreo every 5 minutes. You want to get the Oreos out of your line of sight and possibly out of your house. Find ways to help yourself.
posted by Lady Li at 10:36 AM on September 23, 2020 [9 favorites]
Here's another recommendation: What sort of routine or step could you take to not check your work email at night? Do you need to get it off your phone? Silence notifications? Put your phone or laptop in a drawer at the end of the work day and not touch it again until morning? Think about what sort of simple action might work. It's like how when you're trying to eat less sweets, you don't want to have to consciously be refusing an Oreo every 5 minutes. You want to get the Oreos out of your line of sight and possibly out of your house. Find ways to help yourself.
posted by Lady Li at 10:36 AM on September 23, 2020 [9 favorites]
Have you ever taken a break from social media, and find that your fingers are almost literally itching to open the Instagram or Facebook app on your phone? I have, and for me it's just like quitting anything else addictive; with each day that goes by the urge gets less and less.
Checking your email after hours is just like that. For me it was compulsive, especially when I knew there were going to be fires I had to put out. Eventually I realized that there was always going to be something terrible in my inbox, as you say, and I might as well wait until I had a few terrible things piled up so I could take care of them all at once in a batch during business hours. The other benefit of this is that you can condense and reduce adrenaline surges and not get them right before bed, which is terrible for sleep quality!
And w/r/t people pleasing and approval-seeking, those are hard, hard, HARD habits to break and are often rooted in childhood stuff so it goes really deep. I'm so glad you're working with a therapist! Remember that the person you need to please is yourself, and you need your own approval. I learned a lot by reading through Captain Awkward's posts on how to set boundaries and just trying to practice in real life as much as possible. It gets easier even if it's really uncomfortable at first.
posted by stellaluna at 10:46 AM on September 23, 2020 [6 favorites]
Checking your email after hours is just like that. For me it was compulsive, especially when I knew there were going to be fires I had to put out. Eventually I realized that there was always going to be something terrible in my inbox, as you say, and I might as well wait until I had a few terrible things piled up so I could take care of them all at once in a batch during business hours. The other benefit of this is that you can condense and reduce adrenaline surges and not get them right before bed, which is terrible for sleep quality!
And w/r/t people pleasing and approval-seeking, those are hard, hard, HARD habits to break and are often rooted in childhood stuff so it goes really deep. I'm so glad you're working with a therapist! Remember that the person you need to please is yourself, and you need your own approval. I learned a lot by reading through Captain Awkward's posts on how to set boundaries and just trying to practice in real life as much as possible. It gets easier even if it's really uncomfortable at first.
posted by stellaluna at 10:46 AM on September 23, 2020 [6 favorites]
Do you have access to a green space, like a forest or a park? Go there and just do nothing for 15 minutes. Shinrin-yoku seemed stupid to me at first, but it really helps me when I'm stressed, depressed or anxious.
posted by Tom-B at 10:47 AM on September 23, 2020 [9 favorites]
posted by Tom-B at 10:47 AM on September 23, 2020 [9 favorites]
Taking a few days of vacation recently really helped me.
posted by Jahaza at 11:29 AM on September 23, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Jahaza at 11:29 AM on September 23, 2020 [2 favorites]
I went through a cycle of burnout recently. I am not quite sure what got me back to not being completely DONE WITH EVERYTHING. Here are a few things that happened between realizing that burnout was an issue and now where it is lingering, but manageable:
- went to a place for a 4-day weekend with poor internet with Mr. chiefthe, so no work or other obsessive checking of online activity; it was a place that provided all meals (a hiking lodge), so we didn't have to worry about very much
- during that 4-day weekend, I set no expectations for myself other than one activity per day -- in my case hiking or biking; I otherwise did a lot of reading, which is a goto soothing activity for me
- talked to my NP about burnout and took anxiety and depression inventories at his recommendation to start tracking that over time
- I stopped trying to do things in the evening that felt like PROGRESS on personal projects and leaned into doing very little for a week or so
- started playing a nightly game of Scrabble with Mr. chiefthe
- dropped out of my weekly Zoom hangout with friends for a couple weeks
On the work side, I did a few things in the last couple years that helped my relationship with work:
- turn off notifications on phone and set my work email to not check automatically (i.e. work email is pull, not push), so I have to deliberately make the decision to look at my work email; I am amazed at how well this works
- my WFH area is only used for WFH and nothing else; I close my work laptop at the end of the day to create another obstacle to starting work up later
- track my time to understand how much I am working, mostly to have a better sense of how much; I include the "let me just answer this email" time as well
I certainly feel like burnout could quickly come back around the corner, so I am being careful about gearing back up on things. You do seem to be on the right track with the directions -- a lot of this is going to be based on your personal preferences and relationships, but I hope this offers some ideas -- burnout really sucks. :(
posted by chiefthe at 11:35 AM on September 23, 2020 [6 favorites]
- went to a place for a 4-day weekend with poor internet with Mr. chiefthe, so no work or other obsessive checking of online activity; it was a place that provided all meals (a hiking lodge), so we didn't have to worry about very much
- during that 4-day weekend, I set no expectations for myself other than one activity per day -- in my case hiking or biking; I otherwise did a lot of reading, which is a goto soothing activity for me
- talked to my NP about burnout and took anxiety and depression inventories at his recommendation to start tracking that over time
- I stopped trying to do things in the evening that felt like PROGRESS on personal projects and leaned into doing very little for a week or so
- started playing a nightly game of Scrabble with Mr. chiefthe
- dropped out of my weekly Zoom hangout with friends for a couple weeks
On the work side, I did a few things in the last couple years that helped my relationship with work:
- turn off notifications on phone and set my work email to not check automatically (i.e. work email is pull, not push), so I have to deliberately make the decision to look at my work email; I am amazed at how well this works
- my WFH area is only used for WFH and nothing else; I close my work laptop at the end of the day to create another obstacle to starting work up later
- track my time to understand how much I am working, mostly to have a better sense of how much; I include the "let me just answer this email" time as well
I certainly feel like burnout could quickly come back around the corner, so I am being careful about gearing back up on things. You do seem to be on the right track with the directions -- a lot of this is going to be based on your personal preferences and relationships, but I hope this offers some ideas -- burnout really sucks. :(
posted by chiefthe at 11:35 AM on September 23, 2020 [6 favorites]
If I could wave a magic wand for you to shift one thing that I think would have an extraordinarily positive impact, it would be to stop checking email outside of work hours and during vacation. You might log off on time, but right now you are constantly working. I know it can addictive; it's like a kind of doomscrolling for work. Do you have a dedicated work space at your home that you don't use for anything else? If not, can you shift things around so that you have a clear physical delineation between work and non-work? Where are you checking email and how can you make it harder or force yourself to have firmer boundaries? If you are looking at your phone, then can you take your work email off your phone? If you are checking on your computer, can you shut down your computer and leave the area where it is?
Having other things to do after work and during vacation is a challenge right now, but perhaps you can recruit a friend to have short, regular check ins during the time of day when you are most tempted to check? Or can you watch some fantastic new TV show that will distract you?
Somehow you have got to retrain your brain to end this very self-destructive behavior.
A few ideas on other things that might:
Can you add a daily morning walk into your routine? Key to this is that you don't take your phone with you if you might look at it/use it/stress about it. The idea is to have a time away from technology where you are moving your body. It doesn't have to be strenuous exercise or a long walk, but some movement can help dissipate some of that anxiety. I also want to suggest ending your day with some sort of ritual or routine that helps you shift out of work mode. Another walk would be great. So would meditation. I know I've been struggling with decompressing from work without my commute, so my suggestion is to create a ritual that is part of your brain's recognition that you are moving from work to non-work time.
Getting a new job would help, of course, because it sounds like you have difficult co-workers, but the suggestions I'm making would be healthy regardless of the job.
I also really think you should take a vacation and somehow make it so you can't check work email or work at all. Or if you're not up for that, go for a day trip to a rural area without cell phone coverage. Disengage more from work. This stress sounds exhausting.
posted by bluedaisy at 11:40 AM on September 23, 2020 [2 favorites]
Having other things to do after work and during vacation is a challenge right now, but perhaps you can recruit a friend to have short, regular check ins during the time of day when you are most tempted to check? Or can you watch some fantastic new TV show that will distract you?
Somehow you have got to retrain your brain to end this very self-destructive behavior.
A few ideas on other things that might:
Can you add a daily morning walk into your routine? Key to this is that you don't take your phone with you if you might look at it/use it/stress about it. The idea is to have a time away from technology where you are moving your body. It doesn't have to be strenuous exercise or a long walk, but some movement can help dissipate some of that anxiety. I also want to suggest ending your day with some sort of ritual or routine that helps you shift out of work mode. Another walk would be great. So would meditation. I know I've been struggling with decompressing from work without my commute, so my suggestion is to create a ritual that is part of your brain's recognition that you are moving from work to non-work time.
Getting a new job would help, of course, because it sounds like you have difficult co-workers, but the suggestions I'm making would be healthy regardless of the job.
I also really think you should take a vacation and somehow make it so you can't check work email or work at all. Or if you're not up for that, go for a day trip to a rural area without cell phone coverage. Disengage more from work. This stress sounds exhausting.
posted by bluedaisy at 11:40 AM on September 23, 2020 [2 favorites]
Take time off.
Stop checking work stuff after hours. I shut down my computer every day at COB so it's harder to check things. I turn the work phone on silent mode, put it on the charger and that's that.
If you get work email on your personal cell phone ask yourself do you really need it that portable? If you're like many in the covid times, you probably aren't traveling that much, so maybe take Outlook or whatever it is off the personal cell.
Make sure you take breaks throughout the work day.
Do less for a few days in every non critical area.
Sometimes it helps me to read about ableism as it links to this toxic capitalist ideal of hinging our worth on our productivity. We are worthy because we exist, not because we do stuff. I have to work on unlearning the ableism every day, and maybe you do too.
Until you clear the people pleasing perhaps consider that if you continue the current pace you will eventually let the team down by not being able to follow through on stuff due to illness. That's where burnout goes if not addressed. So it also serves your bosses for you to take better care of yourself.
posted by crunchy potato at 12:00 PM on September 23, 2020 [5 favorites]
Stop checking work stuff after hours. I shut down my computer every day at COB so it's harder to check things. I turn the work phone on silent mode, put it on the charger and that's that.
If you get work email on your personal cell phone ask yourself do you really need it that portable? If you're like many in the covid times, you probably aren't traveling that much, so maybe take Outlook or whatever it is off the personal cell.
Make sure you take breaks throughout the work day.
Do less for a few days in every non critical area.
Sometimes it helps me to read about ableism as it links to this toxic capitalist ideal of hinging our worth on our productivity. We are worthy because we exist, not because we do stuff. I have to work on unlearning the ableism every day, and maybe you do too.
Until you clear the people pleasing perhaps consider that if you continue the current pace you will eventually let the team down by not being able to follow through on stuff due to illness. That's where burnout goes if not addressed. So it also serves your bosses for you to take better care of yourself.
posted by crunchy potato at 12:00 PM on September 23, 2020 [5 favorites]
I went thru a very difficult time a while back, and a lot of it was work-related. It took me a while to unravel all the strands: depression, burnout, low self-esteem, resentment, and anxiety. My feeling that I couldn't ever do enough at my job to satisfy my boss made me anxious, and led me to do extra work outside of work hours. And that not only made me resentful -- because the job was transgressing my personal boundaries -- but also really cratered my self-esteem -- because I felt hopelessly inadequate. I've come to believe there are deep connections between boundary issues, anxiety, and self-esteem. If you can't control your life, it really makes you feel terrible about yourself.
Ultimately, figuring all this stuff out, and learning about self-compassion, helped a lot. But it also helped to start job-hunting. Eventually I ended up with a much more understanding boss (who doesn't expect me to do any work, or even check email, after hours), a big raise, and more realistic performance expectations. My life is so much better than it was.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 3:19 PM on September 23, 2020
Ultimately, figuring all this stuff out, and learning about self-compassion, helped a lot. But it also helped to start job-hunting. Eventually I ended up with a much more understanding boss (who doesn't expect me to do any work, or even check email, after hours), a big raise, and more realistic performance expectations. My life is so much better than it was.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 3:19 PM on September 23, 2020
Agreeing with everyone who says stopping email is your first line of defense. You need rituals that end your work day and begin your personal life. If you aren't ready to stop checking email all the way, maybe start by chipping back at how often you look and how long you allow yourself to do so? Setting some boundaries with yourself is better than none, and hopefully when you see that things don't fall apart when you cut back, it will feel a little more comfortable to cut back more. At a minimum, at least try to retain the appearance that you control your time with your colleagues by scheduling all emails to send during business hours only, even if you occasionally decide to work at an off hour. This will at least give the appearance that you aren't available to work after a certain time to other people. Finally, check your assumptions about what rewards this will drive. Working around the clock has diminished returns and actually often reflects badly on the person who gets caught up on it, even though people will rarely say it. Subconsciously, people will wonder why you are behind and see you as more of a follower than a leader.
Also seconding those who suggest you find something you want to do and start doing it if possible. I'm trying to read more and stay off the internet, and it has helped me.
Also some food for thought - people like happy, effective people who boost the mood and morale of the people around them. You'll be better able to show up as this person if you manage your stress better, and you may start receiving more positive feedback if you are bringing more positive energy into the situation by leading by example and pushing back on the bad energy your coworkers and boss are creating by juxtaposing it with an opposing vibe. I did this in tandem with my coworkers when we all shared an awful boss who was terrorizing us - it definitely helped to lessen the effect of her actions because we essentially reflected a different reality back at her. If she was frantic, we stayed calm, etc. Peer pressure can work both ways.
posted by amycup at 5:39 PM on September 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
Also seconding those who suggest you find something you want to do and start doing it if possible. I'm trying to read more and stay off the internet, and it has helped me.
Also some food for thought - people like happy, effective people who boost the mood and morale of the people around them. You'll be better able to show up as this person if you manage your stress better, and you may start receiving more positive feedback if you are bringing more positive energy into the situation by leading by example and pushing back on the bad energy your coworkers and boss are creating by juxtaposing it with an opposing vibe. I did this in tandem with my coworkers when we all shared an awful boss who was terrorizing us - it definitely helped to lessen the effect of her actions because we essentially reflected a different reality back at her. If she was frantic, we stayed calm, etc. Peer pressure can work both ways.
posted by amycup at 5:39 PM on September 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
Hi, I'm burned out permanently. But I can recommend the book Burnout by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski.
I also nth not working during non-work hours, but I have an 8-5 job so i can't advise you on how not to.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:13 PM on September 23, 2020 [3 favorites]
I also nth not working during non-work hours, but I have an 8-5 job so i can't advise you on how not to.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:13 PM on September 23, 2020 [3 favorites]
This is really tough. I'm sorry to hear you're going through this. I was super burned out a few years ago... and it is a tough spiral to be in. A few things I might recommend:
- Watching Aggretsuko on Netflix - it's a great show about a burned out young woman in a terrible office culture with a terrible boss and how she finds release by singing death metal karaoke. This is the show I wish I could have watched when I was just in her shoes
- Attempt to accept that you cannot control your boss/coworkers's reactions/praise/criticism of you if they are inherently unreasonable people. It's not fair. It's terrible. But, sometimes *knowing* that it's totally THEIR beef that has nothing to do with you, or your worth as a worker, or your worth as a human. It's THEM, not you.
- Hide your computer/phone when you're done. Give it to a friend, roommate if you can. When I was having issues with not checking work during vacation, I gave my phone to my husband.
- I read this Sick System's essay and I feel somewhat less alone, and with a promise to myself to leave before I become to defeated to leave at the next job. I've added "Grey Rock" as another strategy if you can attempt to deploy it
- Do something frivolous and lovely for yourself. Maybe a nice bottle of wine and a bubble bath?
posted by ellerhodes at 7:11 PM on September 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
- Watching Aggretsuko on Netflix - it's a great show about a burned out young woman in a terrible office culture with a terrible boss and how she finds release by singing death metal karaoke. This is the show I wish I could have watched when I was just in her shoes
- Attempt to accept that you cannot control your boss/coworkers's reactions/praise/criticism of you if they are inherently unreasonable people. It's not fair. It's terrible. But, sometimes *knowing* that it's totally THEIR beef that has nothing to do with you, or your worth as a worker, or your worth as a human. It's THEM, not you.
- Hide your computer/phone when you're done. Give it to a friend, roommate if you can. When I was having issues with not checking work during vacation, I gave my phone to my husband.
- I read this Sick System's essay and I feel somewhat less alone, and with a promise to myself to leave before I become to defeated to leave at the next job. I've added "Grey Rock" as another strategy if you can attempt to deploy it
- Do something frivolous and lovely for yourself. Maybe a nice bottle of wine and a bubble bath?
posted by ellerhodes at 7:11 PM on September 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
Do you live within walking distance of open countryside? Until something happened to spoil it(*), a daily morning walk through the nearby fields, made possible by pandemic WFH, was really helping me. It made me want to get up and go straight out rather than check my email or sit down at my desk; it kept me away from that desk till the time I was expected to start; it meant I was starting my day with birdsong and peace and beautiful views rather than stress; and it gave me a reason to go to bed at a sensible time, so that I'd be able to get up and go out again the next day. I had a decently long route (four miles or so), took a camera with me, and gave myself the best part of two hours so that I could take my time watching the birds or taking close-ups of the hawthorn blossom without feeling under pressure to race back.
(*) I do not recommend becoming emotionally dependent on a walking route that takes in fields under threat of massive industrial development.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 6:26 AM on September 24, 2020
(*) I do not recommend becoming emotionally dependent on a walking route that takes in fields under threat of massive industrial development.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 6:26 AM on September 24, 2020
Highly recommend the Nagoski sisters' book "Burnout." It contains some really helpful, concrete exercises to do, and also helps to place burnout within a broader social context in a way that I found to be really validating and helpful. Hang in there, I hope it gets easier soon.
posted by soonertbone at 1:36 PM on September 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by soonertbone at 1:36 PM on September 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
Oof. My therapist recommended I start by reclaiming 15 minutes a day of my own time... it seems pitiful until I realized most days I can't even do it. I set a timer on my phone for 15 minutes, switch it into airplane mode and go stare at a tree or candle. It is so surprisingly hard but the cumulative effect seems to be really positive.
posted by athirstforsalt at 1:53 AM on September 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by athirstforsalt at 1:53 AM on September 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
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posted by unicorn chaser at 10:25 AM on September 23, 2020