Lately I’ve been feeling burnt out. It’s tough because I am finally getting to do all the things that I have wanted to do, but I’m too exhausted to do them. What a win…

But instead of being sad and annoyed about it, I’ve been thinking about why this is happening and how I can improve upon it. Would you believe I’ve found some interesting surprises.

So why am I burned out? Why is anyone burned out?

WEBmMD – Burnout is exhaustion after experiencing ‘too much emotional, physical, and mental fatigue for too long.’ Unlike stress, which is where one feels too much anxiety or fear, burnout is characterised more by the lack of emotion involved.

Someone who is burned out will no longer be concerned or ‘stressed’ by upcoming deadlines or by the tasks on their to do list. Instead they may feel a sort of numbness about all that they need and want to do.

Countless studies have been published on this topic, though little progress has been made to combat this phenomenon.

One of my own theories about the cause of burnout is that we have too much to do. Now I am talking about our daily required job, chores and needs, but I also think we have too much entertainment and distractions too.

You see, I have thousands of films, tv shows, documentaries, vlogs, articles, journals, books and stories available to me every day. So does everyone with internet connection, and nowadays most people also have access to multiple streaming services and websites like YouTube. I recognise that this is a wonderful opportunity I have, and I do see the privilege in having access to all these things.

Yet, I worry that it has numbed me to any real joy or relaxation. Even the idea that I could be watching a show or film, reading a book or comic, or even listening to music while I’m tired, means that it becomes a sort of chore too. I struggle to properly relax and rest because I have so much that I could do!

I no longer get bored, but I do get tired. I find that I often turn to scrolling through social media on my phone because deciding to do anything else is too difficult. It’s such a sad reality and I absolutely despise it every time I catch myself doing it it. I can never get back the hours that I waste doing this, and the frustration that brings me is painfully annoying.

So, how do we break free of that? It became a mini mission for me to find a way to change this. I have always struggled to stay focused and disciplined in my work, so I needed something simple enough and structured enough that I would not be able to worm my way out.

It wasn’t until I saw an old clip of an Olympic skier Eileen Gu who is a full time college student, Olympian, and model. She described how being out on the snow was a break from her studies and the modelling could be a break from the snowboarding. Her passions and life all seem full on, but if they are each things that we can enjoy both around and as well as our other commitments, we may be able to achieve so much more.

I wondered if I could apply this to my own life, where each passion of mine could be a distraction from each of my commitments. Not in a bad way, but as a constant way to move through these things with joy rather than fatigue or a sense of obligation.

Normally I despise any sort of attempt to fall in line with hustle culture, but in all honesty I’m just not getting the things done that I want. So I’m going to try this, and hope that it inspires others to do something similar. For me, I had to split up the things I want and like to do by the mental energy they require. So, my plan looks a little like this:

MORE ENERGY

• read a university book which requires more focus and clarity
• editing my writing when I have more energy
• writing assignments and completing uni work

RELAXATION

• read a simpler fiction novel for relaxation
• creative writing and drafting my books can require more energy at times, but most of the time I like to keep it low-effort while I get it all onto the page
• blogging is more of a free writing exercise for me, so I like to just give myself an hour to write freely and see what I come up with – not foolproof but its fun too!

I like that they are divided into two separate ways of working on my hobbies so I can keep working on them no matter how much effort I can give. This way, I can alternate between them based on what my capacity is at the time. It will also help me to plan my days better so I can get the ‘harder’ items finished sooner and use the more easy ones as ‘breaks’ that help me to stay productive.

Lastly, I wanted to talk about how I’m going to try and allow more time for boredom. I think this is an especially important idea as a creative and author, because without time to let my mind wander, I will be unable to come up with new ideas for my writing. Some of my best ideas have come to me while waiting for a bus or sitting in my car at a red light on the way home from a long trip. It’s those moments of silence where the mind is free that we are able to come up with new possibilities.

Now I will leave it at that for today, but I hope this was both helpful and interesting for you. Please let me know what you think about this idea. Is it something you might want to try? Or do you have another strategy that you use to keep up with all your work?