In this first video back in 2023, I thought I would share some of my journey of how long
does it take to recover from burnout. And this is a really tricky question because
burnout isn't just one thing. Burnout can be a relatively intense minor burnout or it can
be the kind of thing that actually takes years and years to to fully recover from.
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In answer to the question for myself, I find 'how long does it
take to recover?', the answer is always a lot longer than I think it does.
Last year, for example, I implemented strategies such as even from early in the year. I was
trying to take Fridays off so that I would have a three-day weekend every week and the reason I
tried to do that is because I find it takes me a little bit of time to wind down and fully relax
which means if I only have the two days of the weekend then my brain is still...you know going
at full speed all through Saturday and then only, just on Sundays, it is just trying to start slowing
down a little bit and then by the time I have to go back to work on Monday morning, then it didn't
actually have any downtime because it takes so long to actually wind down and fully relax.
So, that was one strategy and I thought that was enough and turns out that was not enough and it
was quite quick last year that it just built up the the fatigue and the executive dysfunction
of feeling as though every decision is just really hard to make. So, how else did I think
to try and tackle this burnout problem to make sure I didn't burn out. My goal last year was to
go 12 months burnout free and all I succeeded in doing is avoiding a major burnout and just
feeling lethargic and fried but not completely burnt out for most of the latter part of the
year. So, my other strategy was to make sure I take a significant break at the end of every year. So, I
take all of January off, for example, as I did this year, and to a degree that helps. That is
definitely necessary. Definitely I feel the benefit from that coming back from just having a couple of
weeks off now but at the same time, burnout always takes longer than we plan to recover from. So, I
feel as though, 'Yes I've had this break, but how long is it going to be if I keep up my current
lifestyle and my current working arrangements?,' and things like that before I start feeling it again.
So, sometimes we need even longer than that. So, I'm planning to take a couple of months
off this year...towards the middle of the year, which, the plan for that is to have a proper
decompression break where... I've been doing this for about seven or eight years now. Sort of
hustling with the YouTube thing and trying to make a living online and doing public speaking
and making resources and coaching and teaching emotional intelligence and just doing so many
different things that take tracking. And because most of it is online, it takes a lot of
admin effort on for my brain to keep track of everything that I'm doing. So, what I've realized
is I can work really hard and really intensely if I'm actually focusing on one thing at a time.
It's the same thing when I'm trying to relax. If I take a break from work, and that,
I'm still seeing friends and family, and doing this and that, and all of these other different
things that are common to do on a break, then I'm not really resting too much.
So, this year I am planning to walk the Camino de Santiago which I've actually done before
about 10 years ago. It was a 900 kilometer walk through Spain and one of the things that I really
appreciated about that time is there was nothing to think about. You literally get up, start walking,
stop when you're hungry, or tired. That's about the extent of the decisions that I had
to make during the day. So, I've found that unless I have something to do, then I get really fidgety
and my brain starts to try and find something to do and that's actually really draining. But at the
same time, things like people and noise and crowds and shopping centers and all of these other things
that we just come across in everyday life drain my mental and physical battery a lot more than I
originally thought it did. I'll actually save that for another video where I've learned how much
crowds actually deplete my resources and how I've tried to sort of navigate that and overcome
that. So, I might save that for a previous...save it for a previous video? That's a good idea. I'll
save that for another video later. But welcome back. To 2023, I'm curious to hear how
you like to recover? How do you recharge if you feel like you're getting burnt out? What can you
do and how long does it take you to start recovering from that? So, thanks for watching.
Please leave a comment sharing some of your story and I will see you again next week. Bye!