Published on 12, July, 2020
Does anyone get to the end of the working day and find you just have nothing left in the tank and no motivation for your special interests? Over the past few months, I have found that when i try to do my special interests, they just give me no pleasure. I was in in online flight simulation with a community group on discord, but I have found that when i tried to fly, I would just make a hash of things, get frustrated and give up. I have now removed myself from the community as I don't see the point of trying any more. No one appears to have noticed that I left the community (or at least no one has asked where I have gone) so I guess I haven't been missed!
I was burned out last year and I am really concerned that I am going the same way again. Equally, I don't know if I am just losing interest in my special interest. Either way, it makes me feel bad that I can't spend the time to do my special interests properly. Work is exhausting me, but I am trying to take the time to go and do some exercise when I have finished, which helps with my mood - but still doesn't give me the energy to give my special interests the time they need.
I would be interested in hearing if anyone has had any similar experiences.
I am burnt out all the time from having a full time job, it really sucks. And that's despite working from home. I don't have the energy to do anything, so housework doesn't get done, and I don't look after myself properly. I really want to pursue my special interests but don't have the energy.
I mainly need to sleep. When I have time off work I spend a lot of time sleeping, it takes me 4-5 days to recover from burnout, and then my intense interests reappear and I love it.
Paper said:I am burnt out all the time from having a full time job,
Which aspects are difficult for you?
If we can find ways to reduce the anxiety / stress from these then it should take a real load off.
It is the social interaction, even if it's only via a messaging program and occasional video calls. I also have a high workload and have to do a lot of context switching, which I find draining - I get continually interrupted with people asking me questions or asking me to do something. And then have to go back to what I was doing before, for some reason I find that difficult.
Years ago Ii used to get days where I work on coding one thing with no distractions, and those days are fine. I get totally absorbed in it. But I haven't had a day like that for over a year because I have more seniority now, so I have to be on hand to advise people or sort things out, and proactively managing my time and switching tasks so that everything gets done.
Paper said:Years ago Ii used to get days where I work on coding one thing with no distractions, and those days are fine. I get totally absorbed in it. But I haven't had a day like that for over a year
I feel that one - it was the same for me when I moved from techie to manager.
I eventually found the way to control it was to block out time for specific tasks. Say you need to get some coding done that would take 3 hours of your day. You have also got 2 hours of meetings and another 3 hours of assorted shizzle that goes with your position, including interruptions.
My approach would be to use the first hour on my day to deal with as much shizzle as I can and tell the team I will be in a meeting from 10-12 and to either ask me something now of after the meeting.
Then change your status in Teams or whatever you use at 10am to "in a meeting" and ignore emails and phone calls until after 12 unless it comes from your boss.
Now do a quick catch up with the team and have lunch before getting on with the other meetings, blocking out time for your remaining hour of coding later on in the afternoon.
Those time blocks can be whatever works for you - all in one go or spread through the day. Move them around to fit your other meetings to find the right balance.
You get less changes in focus, the team gets to know when you can be approached (maybe give them some sort of 911 type code to send if there is an emergency) and stick to it.
I would also switch off at lunchtime and be uncontactable - you are entitled to your break for stand up for this right and encourage your team to do the same to earn some respect from them too.
It was only be being a bit rigid with my availability that I was able to find the space to relax mentally while doing mundane tasks (eg running audit reports).
Hopefully something like this may offer an improvement for you.