How do I do a burnout on my kx250?

What are the symptoms of burnout? How do you know that you are facing a burnout? How do you come out of it?

• I have been running a startup with my husband. The second year was fairly stressful, particularly the last few months where I was sleeping about 3 hours a day. Now that the intensity of the activity is over, I feel physically slow, tired, depressed and unable to focus more than a certain number of hours a day. I have also started to revive my research, writing and teaching career. While doing so, I feel I will perish if I continue at the rate at which I am going. I am not sure whether this is a sign of burnout. How do people realize that they are going through a burnout? What are the ways to come out of a burnout? What insights have folks gathered from their burnout experiences?

• Answer:

  Burnout feels like being sapped of energy and motivation, as if there is some internal resource needed to actually do things that you have run out of. This is usually a sign that you have been "making yourself work" for too long.  Certain aspects of work are inherently rewarding: Having a mission or purpose; a sense of progress; doing work we feel suited for; and working with collaborators.  The raw energy that keeps us going comes from these sources and also the things that make us happy and boost our morale in general: friends and loved ones; food and sleep; and appreciating the simple joys of life.  Anything that is stressful or pushes the boundaries of your comfort zone will draw against the balance. Sometimes work feels effortless when it checks all the boxes -- a good collaboration, a strong mission, fast progress, and just enough pushing the envelope.  The energy flows freely.  Then, things might slowly shift.  The mission seems less sure, or the work less suited to you, or progress slows, or you are just stretched thinner and thinner, doing more outside-the-box work on less sleep.  Energy becomes scarcer, and you rush to spend it when you have it.  You may even go into debt. To continue the metaphor of money as energy or motivation, when you have lots coming in and lots to spend it on, you have the exhilarating job of writing big checks!  This itself can be scary at first and take some adjustment.  At other times, your job is to come up with a plan and seek new sources of income.  In this climate, big checks will only bounce. To deal with burnout, then, don't focus on what you're putting out, focus on what you're taking in.  Take care of your poor creative self, that deepest, most productive and original part of you that has been subjugated to meet arbitrary demands.  It may already know what your next big creation is to be.  Let go of images of what this phase of your career should be, because those images may have been formed a while ago, and you are different now.  Figure out what work you are inherently driven to do, and what purpose you are inherently driven to strive for.  Find collaborators.  Or, just take a walk.  Listen to yourself.  Listen to others, and listen for opportunities that resonate with you. You may have some "habits" left over from such an intense period of work, like wanting to be busy all the time, expecting a certain rate of progress, and not taking care of yourself.  Recognize when they aren't serving you. Above all, don't be impatient or scared at your apparent lack of energy.  Your body may be trying to tell you something, to remind you of something you've forgotten.  Use the energy you have in high-leverage ways:  make connections with people.  Establish routines.  Get some exercise.  Set some goals that feel both worthy and achievable. Give it time.  If you are financially able, give yourself a free pass on your career goals for the next 6 months, and see where your heart takes you.