micro-burnouts

Hey — it’s James

Have you ever felt super excited about a project, only to find yourself, five days later, completely burned out and disinterested?

It happens to me. A LOT.

I like to call them micro-burnouts.

Sprints

First, let me set it straight — I’m far from being a workaholic. Sometimes, I even feel like I’m on the opposite end of the spectrum.

But occasionally, something strange happens.

I’ll hear something in a podcast, get a sudden idea, or start on a random new project. And my brain immediately wants to SPRINT. I dedicate all my time and energy to this new thing.

Everything else vanishes, and I find it super hard to do my usual day-to-day stuff. By the end of the day, I’m usually exhausted, mostly from decision fatigue. Deciding what to eat for dinner drains whatever energy I have left.

Working with cycles

Don’t get me wrong — I don’t hate cycles.

I actually think the standard 9-5 is counterproductive because it doesn’t account for the fact that people have natural cycles. You might be super energized in April and completely wiped out by September, yet you’re still expected to work the same.

It took me a while to accept this, especially since I’m a routine person. But not every day, week, or month can be the same. The more in tune I am with my cycles, the better I am at deciding whether I should hit the gas or the brakes.

Sometimes, though, these sprints are too intense. As someone who values work/life balance (I hate that term now that we hear it everywhere), it doesn’t feel right, and I know I’m doing harm.

Mount Rush-No-More

When I pay close attention to my body in this state, I notice that all day long, my heart is racing. My body is tense, my mind is foggy.

Basically, I feel like I’m in a constant rush.

But when I take five minutes to zoom out, the urgency fades. I realize nothing I’m doing is actually urgent. There’s no deadline — it’s just me, thinking I need to move as fast as possible.

What helps

A lot of things help. But I’ve found one thing in particular that’s been super effective. It might seem obvious, but sometimes it’s the most obvious things that work best.

I slow down. And when I say I slow down, I literally slow down. I wake up slower, wash the dishes slower, move slower.

None of this is directly related to work, but when I sit down at my laptop, this slower state carries over to “work-James.”

It’s super easy and works wonders.

Of course, you can also meditate, journal, or go for walks — all of that helps too. But these are just different ways of slowing down. For me, being consciously aware that I need to slow down is more powerful than meditating with the hope of feeling better afterward.

Cheers!

Bits

• This is one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a while. No offense, LinkedIn.

• I just finished reading Dark Matter. If you’re into dystopian, mind-bending stuff — you’ll love it.