How I Handle Burnout
When I am really burnt out, it takes me a year or two to crash and burn fully after it all becomes unsustainable and another year or so to recover.
My priority becomes energy preservation. As such, recovery looks like this for me:
I stop taking on extra responsibilities and make sure to stop over-giving when I am burnt out. Volunteering goes out the window as I am neurodivergent, so dealing with other people's implicit expectations and reactions is not something I need when I am burnt out.
Also, I avoid having draining back-and-forth interactions with my immediate family. I make sure to see my local friends for very casual and low-key get-togethers like dinner and watching a movie or playing easy card games or board games or watching YouTube together.
I spend more time walking in nature. Walking in metro parks and hiking in state parks help me gradually forget about all human stressors as I get to breathe fresh air, don't have to interact with people for several hours, and move my body as I enjoy the landscapes, the plants, and the wildlife.
I focus on making enough money to pay my immediate bills, and I stop pushing myself to do more. I put lofty projects that are time sinks, require me to interact with random people constantly, or drain my finances on hold until I have recovered some more.
I don't look at other people's timelines and stop asking for advice from those who have different biorhythms and don't face the same issues I do.
I allow myself to be with myself through the discomfort of wanting to do more and feeling exhausted and overwhelmed when nothing goes to plan in a timely fashion.
Outside of work, I rest more and allow myself to sleep when I am feeling run down, especially from seasonal allergies, rather than pushing through to do more.
I also aim to eat more home-cooked meals to save money, eat more whole foods, and just focus on cooking and eating without being overstimulated by driving, traffic, waiting to be seated, the noise of a crowded restaurant, having to triple check orders with servers, checking bills to see if there was a gratuity already included, etc. Eating at home also reduces the number of spices I consume that give me strong reactions, e.g. cumin, cardamom, etc.
I give myself permission to slow down so that I can meditate more and not worry about all that I "should" be doing.
I also shake off the expectations of others who are not paying my bills. I stop quickly getting back to people who are not in my immediate circles and who are not related to work; they can wait a few hours.
I also promptly shut down solicitors that knock at my door, screen calls to avoid telemarketers and spammers, disable notifications on my phone from apps that spam me, unsubscribe from unread email newsletters that clog up my inbox, and curate my social media feeds carefully.
I stop watching the news altogether. People will always tell me about random stuff going on in the world, but if it doesn't immediately impact me, I don't need any of that when I'm recovering from burnout.