23 Worth the read

I can’t say enough positive things about this article. I have begun sharing it with my family and friends and I hope with support I can begin a conversation that brings about a lot of overdue personal healing. Thank you.

posted at 08:13 pm on May 26, 2009 by anykey

24 Just wow

I just registered to say that this is one of the best pieces I have seen written here.
Articles like this, more than the web, culture, are the reason I love ALA.
Congrats.

posted at 08:24 pm on May 26, 2009 by marze

25 Vacation Challenges

Great article Scott. I’m a freelance web designer that is burned out in Toronto. I should be saying to work but have a hard time doing so.

I tried taking a week off last summer. I was headed up to Lake Superior for a week of photography when a client called with an emergency as I was heading out the door. Stupid me, answered the phone and spent the day, “saving the day”.

You have to warn your clients weeks in advance when you are going to take a vacation and stick to your guns. Never answer your phone after 6 PM and if you are on vacation, don’t bring a laptop or anything that enables you to do work. If your clients call you, don’t answer. They need to be trained that when you are on a much needed vacation, that you are unavailable.

Don’t feed the pigeons and they won’t bother you when you want a peaceful lunch in the park.

posted at 10:05 pm on May 26, 2009 by Bombippy

26 New Interests

Thanks for a beatifully written, honest account of burnout. I descended into the darkness from 2007 – 2008 and it affected every facet of life (I moved city, moved back, closed my business then started again). Whilst things are still stressful I have found that by integrating completely different activities into life (eg Acting classes on Wednesday night) you can rediscover your passion for life and work. As difficult as it may seem to find the time, you will be grateful for the moments where you emerge from what can be an oppressive world of code and pixels and feel a connection to new people and the refreshment of new experiences.

posted at 12:10 am on May 27, 2009 by LucidSurf

28 The problem was never outside but inside

You write, “the last year has made it clear that we as an industry are facing increased levels of stress, illness, and exhaustion.”

Something about the human condition often makes us want to believe we are experiencing unprecedented things in unprecedented times. Sure, we have ever more technology thrown at us in society — but many of these technological advances are supposedly, and ironically, designed to give us more leisure time — not less. Furthermore, we no longer have to plow fields for 14-hours a day, including weekends.

So for one to complain that burnout is ever-increasing and somehow unique to “these times” rings hollow. People have been saying this for time eternal… though perhaps strangely less so before the advent of child labor laws, two-day weekends, and customary paid vacation time.

All of which suggests that you cannot place blame so much on external forces so much as internal ones. There, and only there, is a person able to address their failure to moderate themselves. Because failure of moderation might be the one thing we are experiencing at unprecedented levels: look at obesity rates and overeating, the proliferation of faux “addictions” (diet cola, coffee, shopping, sex…), consumerism and its effect on global warming, bloated mortgages, super-sized vehicles, people who negatively define themselves more by what they do not do (or consume) rather than by what they constructively do, going “cold turkey” on things out of desperation, etc.

If you want to find the enemy, the enemy is us.

posted at 05:05 am on May 27, 2009 by swag

29 Some additional tips

Great article, Scott.

In my job, I’ve tried (along with others) to move things ahead taking varied approaches, much to no avail. All that spent energy left me wondering why I should keep trying. As the situation remained after returning from a vacation (where I deliberatly avoided checking e-mail for once), the benefits of the time away seemed to quickly disappear.

I realized I’d been going through the list of signs that you mention near the beginning of your article, and I’m still in the midst of figuring out how to deal with burnout.

Since getting back from vacation, I’ve talked things out with a few people about my frustrations and challenges, and I’ve come across a few additional ideas that have helped me out. Maybe other will find them useful, too:

• Pick your battles, be patient: don’t try to change everything. Trying to fight for it all before people are ready will only push them further away and waste your energy that could be put to good use elsewhere. Introduce something, maybe provide small nudges here and there, but waiting until people are ready for change may often be your best option, even if it takes much, much longer than you’d like
• Look at changing yourself: in one discussion with my wife, she said to me, “You’ve tried changing how you’re doing things, but have you tried changing yourself?” This helped me see that changing my perspective internally is something I needed to do as well, not just look at other ways to make changes in the outside world. This one’s helped me a lot.
• Set goals and steps to accomplish them: we hear this one a lot, but working towards something tangible sometimes falls to the wayside when caught up in all the effects of burnout. Afer re-examining your goals, pick one or two to pursue, whether in work or personal life. Let others know about them to help make sure you keep working on them. This can help get you energized and re-engaged.
• Look for evidence of your influence: When not everything’s going the way you want, it’s hard to see where you have made a difference. You’ve likely affected someone’s thinking or the direction of some project. Recognize the important “I did that” elements that are around you, no matter how small.

• Set limits and a timeline: Instead of letting a situation drag out indefinitely, set a personal timeline for when you need a situation to change by, and what needs to be changed at each milestone/deadline. You can still try to influence a situation or make other changes in the meantime, but can help you prepare for larger change if it comes into play. As with a good process, it also provides focus, relieving you of needing to look at the “should I stay or go” decision on a constant basis.

As work is an important part of my life, and not separate from it, I’ve tried to take the approach of “work-life integration” over “work-life balance”. Yet I’ve come to realize that, as you mentioned, there still needs to be boundaries I have between my life at work and life in other aspects. It’s hard to do, especially when you’re passionate and interested in your work as many of us are.

As it’s 2:30 AM, I guess I should get to sleep now… still working on that part :)

posted at 06:49 am on May 27, 2009 by Murray Thompson

30 Thank you!

Thank you for this article. As I battle similar issues, it’s very comforting to know that there is a community of others like me.

posted at 11:22 am on May 27, 2009 by fildawg