My Path to Burnout and Beyond
One night, I was burning the midnight oil as if someone's life was on the line if I didn't finish the strategy deck before my boss got in the next morning. Eyes bleary and brain foggy, I surprised myself by closing my laptop before it was done.
GASP.
At that time, work had seeped into nearly every moment of my day:
First thing in the morning, I checked my phone for emails and messages.
In transit, I was 'reachable' for a call as long as I had my headphones.
My husband worked at the same company, so there was plenty to catch up on at home and during our commute.
At the gym, I was scrolling Slack messages between sets.
Before I went to bed, there was a last check of messages and a confirmation of my calendar for the next day.
I was never NOT thinking about work.
The Innocent Beginning
The cycle started innocently enough. After business school, I came out with the mindset that work was important. And it was—so I put my nose down and focused (had to pay those loans back, y'all). I worked hard and started to get some recognition and more responsibility. More things to do meant more focus on work. The more time and energy I gave to work, the more my mindset shifted. I convinced myself that it HAD to be very important because why else would I be spending so much time, energy, and emotion on it, right?
And on and on. Until—cue the midnight-oil-deck-meltdown.
Welp, that escalated quickly. I know I'm not the only one who gets caught in this loop.
Recognizing the Problem
Noticing that I was at the top of this wild spiral was the easy part. Changing my patterns was tough. I created some pretty radical rules, like:
At 10pm, I would turn off my computer and not look at my email.
I turned off notifications on my phone. If people needed me, they could text.
When I took vacation, I 'hid' the work apps in a folder and only checked them occasionally.
These helped, but it was a scotch-tape solution for a problem that needed Phil Swift and his super-strong Flex TAPE.
The Epilogue
Eventually, I left and started my own business (and now work just as much, but I like it more). It's currently after 10pm and I'm up writing...
Feel free to adopt any of my bandaids. Results not guaranteed.
Your turn: Have you broken this pattern while in your day job? What worked (or didn't)? Share your experiences and tips—I’d love to hear from you!
PS. If you’re looking for a tribe to find your way to post-burnout life - check out the Rewire Collective, a new community for women!