A short story from my previous life at Lloyds Bank:

Three or four years back, I found myself caught in the perfect storm of getting a promotion at work, followed by my role doubling in scope, followed by a small inconvenience you may have heard of called “Covid” which, save for the occasional trip to the loo roll emporium, meant being stuck in my flat 24/7.

And, not unlike a lot of other people, I found it tough.

My response to all this?

To work harder.  To put my foot on the pedal.

As I was newly promoted, I wanted to impress.  And, apart from the occasional Zoom magic lesson and six seasons of the spy show The Americans, there wasn’t much else to do.

As the work built further, my productivity soared to new heights and I got asked to take on even more work, my response stayed the same.

To push down even harder on the pedal.

And on it went.

I think at one point I started to pat myself on my back for the sacrifices I was making.  Kind of like the headaches and lack of sleep were trophies I could add to my trophy cabinet alongside my U15 chess club champion cup and a bronze statuette from a short-lived stint in the Edinburgh softball league.

Cue more stress, exhaustion and an increasing grumpiness & apathy about working life itself.

Those of you who have been on my email list since Day 1 will have spotted this apathy & aggression in these daily emails.

I tore into “the system” pretty hard.

What I see now is that, even after quitting my job, I was still burnt out.  And sticking two fingers up to corporate life and the so-called rat race was the ultimate symptom of that.

I’d like to think my view of working life is more balanced nowadays.

But I’ll let you be the judge.

Anyway, today’s email is a PSA of sorts.

See, my own experience of burnout is a bit like the proverbial frog in the boiling water.  It can sneak up on you without you realising.  And once it gets to a certain point, there’s no going back.

I’ve heard it described as like a rollercoaster reaching its apex (I can’t remember where now).

When the carriage starts to fall over the top, it’s too late.  You just have to ride it out.

But luckily it doesn’t have to get this far.

You can spot signs along the way if you keep your eyes open.

I’ve mentioned some of these already:

Stress.  Exhaustion.  Apathy.

And sure.  Maybe some of these are to be expected.

But if your tiredness has turned into exhaustion and is moving towards fatigue…

Or your usual cheery nature has given way to a lethargy & listlessness…

Then these could be (not saying they are, but they could be) signs that you’re nearing the top of the burnout rollercoaster.

And racing down the other side of this rollercoaster is not a fun place to be. 

Take that from me.

If you think this might be you, here’s my suggestion:

Talk to someone.

Doesn’t matter if it’s your boss, your partner, your friend or your parents.

But talk to someone. Someone you know cares for you.

And take it from there.

No link to click today.  I just wanted to share my thoughts on burnout in case it helps.

Catch you tomorrow.

 - Tom