What to do when you're easily burned out?

Cailyn Yong
9 replies
What are some tips when you're easily burned out? I'm currently running my startup and there are soooo many tasks that I have to do. I love the process but my body gets easily tired. Would love to hear how you guys manage all your workload and stay ahead!!

Replies

I've gotten burnt out only a few times in my life but when it's happened, it's taught me some valuable lessons. The major thing I tried to implement was scheduling "free time" everyday. Initially it might seem impossible given there are so many things to do, but it truly can become part of your routine. I use a calendar with various colours, but a bright green is assigned to "me time", whether that be doing some self-care or meeting some friends/family. My advice is to make your free time more of a task you need to complete in your calendar that is on-par in importance with other tasks so you're more inclined to take it seriously and not brush it away. Hope this helps :)
Cailyn Yong
@maxine_buchert Hey! Great to know you. Thank you for this advice. I'm really trying to slot a separate time for myself, but it always seems to get out of the way because of other priorities. I should prioritize this time as well..
@cailyn_yong It can absolutely be a challenge but for me, it was equally worthwhile. Now it comes naturally to me! I hope the same can happen for you :)
Ng Fang Kiang
Take a break, pomodoro technique, exercising, meditation and so on.
Cailyn Yong
@jorcus Thanks! I should try doing these activities more from now on
Bogomil Shopov - Бого
Ah welcome to my world: 1) Create daily goals - for example - prepare a mailing campaign. It should be something small you can finish in a day. 2) Reward yourself - after finishing the goal - get something that makes you happy. 3) Take a walk. Go out (if you can) and walk for say 15 min. You will get relaxed and in the same time you will get some new ideas. 4) Meditate. I know most of the people don't like this technique, but even a very basic prana breathing exercise helps a lot. There are a lot of videos to help you get started It's really hard to change your way of working - start small and then see what works for you and do more of it. Good luck!
Cailyn Yong
@bogomep Hey! Thank you so much for these tips. I realized I've not been rewarding myself, which was why I was easily burned out.
David J. Kim
Recently found this excellent article that helps me: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/... TL;DR: Instead of following the rigidness of Pomodero, work for as long as you want and when you need a break take a break the length of 1/3rd or 1/4th of your time worked. i.e if you worked for 60 minutes, take a 20 min or 15 min break.
Cailyn Yong
@between_team Hi! This is a great article. I've realized I've been working nonstop without breaks. Thanks for the advice!!