This week I learned what burnout feels like.
I sort of thought I knew already, after lots of school and a few very intensely emotional jobs. But emotional burnout from other people’s tragedies is one thing, this was like good old fashioned “I don’t give a shit anymore, I’m ready to call in sick and I don’t care if they fire me” burnout.
It wasn’t my fault. We are working on a project that had a hard deadline, our office is understaffed, and we were wildly underprepared for what we were facing. We had new software, a new workflow, and a very short time frame. It had to get done. But last week I worked 57 very stressful hours, and when Monday rolled around after a non-weekend spent working…. I was totally burnt out.
And I was NOT DONE. I worked Monday, Tuesday, and until about 7 pm the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Because sometimes, shit just has to get done.
Now obviously, burnout is bad. There’s a million articles by people way smarter and more experienced than me about how to avoid it. (Apparently I should read some of them). But sometimes, you just have to push through for a few days before you can collapse into your bed. So here’s what I learned:
- Treat it like finals week. This might not be the right metaphor for everyone, but I always went into finals week with this mentality like “this is gonna suck but we just have to push hard for one week and then it’s over”. My whole sleep schedule would flip, I would stock up on caffeine and just like… lean into the messiness of it. I found that adopting the same mentality about this short term work project made it allllmost fun… like a very miserable adventure.
- Speaking of caffeine… Get yourself treats. For me it was those bottled Starbucks frappuccinos that are entirely sugar, yerba mate, and peach rings. Sometimes, you just have to bribe yourself.
- ADULTS CAN BE SO PETTY. This isn’t really a how-to thing I guess, but an observation. I work with real adults who are not young people, and oh my God they are so catty and petty when they are stressed. So much so that it made me laugh, and honestly I think that saved me. I usually take mean emails very personally, so being able to laugh at these ones (some of which were SO ridiculous) was surprising and so necessary.
- Phone a friend. Like, even if you don’t have time. Do it while you’re doing some mindless task. Rant to them about how stupid people can be. It will make you feel better.
Honestly, this week was terrible and I hope that none of you have to face this kind of misery any time soon… but if you do, it will suck. But if it’s truly temporary, then you got this. Treat it like an adventure for the adrenaline rush, stock up on snacks for the sugar rush, laugh at people’s pettiness for the endorphin rush, and phone a friend for… idk my pattern fell apart.
Whatever happens, just remember that you totally got this, and it’s just a job. You are more than your workplace contribution, no matter how it feels in the moment (and trust me, I felt like my whole world was falling apart for a good 72 hours this week).
If you need a friend to phone let me know, and as always thank you for being here.
xoxo,
