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Burnout


rulesguy

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I find out by feeling unhappy and enjoying nothing. Having no ambitions and listening to shitty music. And self sorrow, but I've sworn to never feel sorry for myself, it's unconstructive and puts you into "victim" mentality.

Countering burnouts (or pretty much anything): 

  1. I maintain the bare minimum and lower my expectations and try to hang in there.
  2. If I got a job, I need to be sure that my duties, responsibilities and competences are clearly defined. The frame of my tasks needs to be very clear, to not get pushed around by other people into stuff I don't need doing. I'd take that to my boss, and if he doesn't understand, I'd start looking for a new job. But most of the time, I'd look for a new job, cause when shit has crept that far without me noticing it's often FUBAR and I wouldn't have the psychological integrity in a burnout situation to untangle that mess. Maybe taking a holiday would be necessary to attempt untangling - to reset my perspective.
  3. Therapy and telling other people is a necessary step, before things get out of hand. Tell my boss of course. If he doesn't care, I will be sure to look for a new job because I wouldn't risk shit for such a person. And if I gotta be a waitress, I don't care.
  4. I would maybe hire a housekeeper. I would in fact spend all my money, to ensure that I have as much time for myself as possible. I don't want to worry about anything stupid during a burnout.
  5. I would only sleep, eat and do sports besides working, to ensure that my body gets what he needs. The body is just as important as the mind. I wouldn't even watch TV or some crap like that. I always sleep 8-10 hours during critical times. And I always do sports at least twice a week for 2 hours. In a working week, I thus have never more than 2 hours to "bullshit around". If I gotta do sports I eat something meaty during work, to ensure I'm not "drained" when coming home.
  6. I would write a journal "I can't do this I  can't do this My life is so terrible, mommy, mommy", would be its contents. After 2 weeks its contents would be "%§$%&/%"§$%-\### hate hate hate". Aggression is always good.
  7. I would try to find out which person at work raises my heartrate or which material and do everything to avoid them/that.
  8. Maybe I'd meditate, but I'd probably listen to heavy metal. The sickest I can find. I had a time when I listened to death metal quietly while sleeping. It was brutal and cool!

Preventing burnouts:

  • choose your job carefully
  • talk to other people about it, find out "whats normal"
  • talk to colleagues
  • maintain a sense of humor at all times, or be rude to people (being rude usually means you have to work less)
  • work less, consider getting a job with shorter hours
  • work less
  • you can't lift things since the "incident"
  • if you can, delegate stupid tasks to trainees, and if they're dumb, teach them
  • maintain a healthy relationship with people that got your back and do shit for you (trainees)
  • try to be interested in their boring shit. If they talk about a movie - go watch it, and tell them it sucks, or something. They'll be happy because you "care". If they have a hobby, try it for yourself. Invite them to dinner if... well if you got a place and can cook. Otherwise: Alcohol (I don't drink tho)
  • don't get persuaded by women to do favors for them (forget it!!). never fish at the companies dock.
  • put a plant in the office and change your desktop background
  • organize office to be more efficient, don't spend 10 hrs searching crap
  • If you don't know whats up - throw it in the bin. You'd be surprised how little problems get back from there. I'm serious.
  • try out new outfits
  • every time there is stress, start by drinking coffee
  • if the telephone rings, count down 10 seconds. If they hang up before, it wasn't important. Nice bonus: people think you're busy.
  • never look into your mailbox fridays and saturdays, bills stress you out over the weekend
  • unsuspiciously find out what can get you fired. do all sortsa crazy shit except that.
  • if someone talks to a whole room, look like you're doing something extremely important
  • in fact: always look like you're doing something extremely important
  • wear fucked up clothes and listen to heavy metal, if you can. But never tell anyone what bands you really listen to, you got band shirts for that. I often wear my slayer shirt to the office. It's rad.
  • never blame other people for your fuck ups, just conceal them and pretend it wasn't you. Even if there's proof, pretend like you don't know or completely forgot.
  • in fact: always forget things
  • study samurai codices and ancient chinese philosophy on trainrides
  • don't marry
  • I got many more

Just some tips from a pro-slacker.

Oh and remember: getting fired is OK, getting crazy is not!

And: You always have a choice.

Edited by destoroyah
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What do you guys do to prevent the dreaded "burnout"?

How do you know if you are pushing yourself too hard?

What do you do if you feel burnout coming?

Prevent burnout:  Everyone goes through a burnout now and then. If you don't, you don't have a real job.  Sorry, but truth hurts.  

Pushing too hard:  You should push yourself too hard, it shows you your limits and then hopefully you raise those limits and then look back later and laugh at your previous, weaker self.

Oncoming burnout:  Plan.  Have something planned and in the works.  Vacation, working out, hanging with friends, exercise.  Me, I fish.

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Pushing too hard:  You should push yourself too hard, it shows you your limits and then hopefully you raise those limits and then look back later and laugh at your previous, weaker self.

That's one of those things that might sound nice, but it IS possible to push one's self too hard. And too hard is just that: Too hard. An eighty hour work week (as an extreme example) might be sustainable for .5% of the population, but for every other person it will exact a toll more significant than the benefits.

But you're right in that preparing for occupational stresses and hazards should be seen as an inevitability and planned for. Lots of people wait until it hits them (or well after that point) to do something about it.

Edited by rulesguy
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Slacking off is one way to deal with it, I suppose.

Uhm.

Let me refrain:

shit.thumb.jpg.d873bb8a5de0e0875da8f4ac0

You see, if they aren't weighed right, you are screwed. If you don't have the power to buy something for 200$ without talking to 5 people how can you fulfill the responsibility to ensure that every worker is wearing safety equipment? You become a scapegoat.

Maybe you understand now, it isn't just about "slacking", sorry if I made my points to humerous, they were rather real. And I do apply some of them at work.

 

 

Everyone goes through a burnout now and then. If you don't, you don't have a real job.  Sorry, but truth hurts.  

I disagree, this is exactly the type of thinking that will get you unhappily stuck with a shitty job.

Also, what is a "real" job? I'd rather be a chilled janitor than a stressed business man any day. And people that  then tell me that "I don't have a real job" I'd tell them to go fuck themselves and plan out how I graffiti their garage. Judge mentality only creates reasonless conflict and in this day and age, everyone has to look out not to work too much.

No offense, but that made me kind of mad.

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Some people like getting burned out and some dont. The guy i worship Elon Musk works 80 to 100 hours a week, and he is a real life superhero but he divorced multiple times so yeah. I wish i could work 80 hours a week while maintaining mh health and everything else 

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Some people like getting burned out and some dont. The guy i worship Elon Musk works 80 to 100 hours a week, and he is a real life superhero but he divorced multiple times so yeah. I wish i could work 80 hours a week while maintaining mh health and everything else 

SMART targets might help as well. Keep your goals within possible reach. Destoroyah's triangle (or a variation thereof) is also frequently mentioned in management literature, I second this!
S = strategic (it should be a goal that boosts you in any way)
M = measureable (ability to quantify the goal, to weigh it)
A = achieveable (possible within all levels of the group)
R = realistic (can be achieved)
T = time-bound (manageable within a feasible timeframe

I manage 60 hrs/week. If you go for 80hrs, you need to slowly train resilience over years, work overtime and find something you truly have passion for. I call the 80hrs "overdrive" as I manage to do it for three weeks/month at max and then I need a "cooldown" period. The question is "is it really worth it?"

Excessive work often comes with bad habits to make it bearable, i.e. overindulgence of any form - smoking, fatty food, heavy drinking, lack of exercise, you name it. I'm perfectionist in my endeavours, so I tend to put my all into them. I learned the hard way that one needs qualitative recreation (no screen/gaming), otherwise one works like a capacitor (max power - recharge - max power - recharge...). Constant output is better than spikes however, that's why I think it is quite important to take it easy and be more enduring if that makes sense. Marathon runner vs. sprinter. Unfortunately, we don't work like batteries. Don't push yourself too hard!

(I'm not a doc, Taken from a psychology lecture) There is "eustress" (positive stress that motivates) and "distress" (negative stress that impairs, sickens). If you keep up crazy work weeks for prolonged periods, eustress turns to distress and it will often also have negative implications on the body (impact on heart or arteries, irregular sleeping patterns, psychosomatic issues etc.). The body is in fight or flight mode and anticipates danger, therefore produces fibrin. Moreover, it also tends to absorb high-density lipids (HDL), the "bad type of fat" such as cholesterol. This combination is like a time bomb if stress prevails.

Edited by Granitwelle
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  • 2 weeks later...

As a healthcare professional working with work related injuries and psycho emotional issues daily, I see burnout all the time. 

Unfortunately, preventing burnout is easier said than done, and comes with a lot of wisdom. 

The essential components are recognizing early signs, prioritizing self care, and stress management.

Self care comes in many forms but generally it means getting enough sleep every night, good nutrition, drinking enough water, exercising, and learning were to set your boundaries with stress-producing sources (could be friends, work, family, etc.) 

People do improve their lifestyles, but with any habit change, it goes back and forth while on a general rate of improvement. So patience is key. 

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