A Gentle Burnout Check-In: On Time and Inner Pressure

If you’re feeling burnout — and wondering if you’re burned out — you probably are.

Trust yourself.

Burnout isn’t only about doing too much. It often lives in the context of time — the pressure of rushing, deadlines, and always being behind.

This way of living isn’t the only option.

Much of what we experience as urgency comes from systems and structures — calendars, rules, agreements — that do not have to be yours, at least not in entirety.

You may choose to align yourself with another rhythm,
including the schedule of nature.

Give yourself permission to change your mind — to slow down, to pause, and to do what you need to take care of you.

You can be responsible for how this lands for others, and your needs matter.

When we care for ourselves (as messy and imperfect as we do), it is a good indicator we are caring for the people in our lives.

Put it in perspective.
Have you paused lately to celebrate the sacred —
holidays, moments, or traditions that matter to you?
Not just because others are, or you were taught to,
but because they are important to you.

“Small is good. Small is all.” — adrienne maree brown

What we practice at a small scale, sets the patterns for the whole system.

For another perspective on understanding burnout and models for interrupting it, check out the Burnout as a Teacher: Not of Our Making, Yet Ours to Interrupt panel handout from the Good Business Colorado Level Up Academy Conference. Check out this PDF:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PABoKQuy6NteV0U9oN8VpXJeUu8_Zm35/view?usp=sharing

For folks whose burnout is tangled with stories about failure or not doing enough, I wrote more about forgiving ourselves on LinkedIn— and included a gentle practice for working with failures — here.

(If you’d like support navigating burnout with more care and capacity, reach out.)