Check your temperature

In this blog I’ll give you my Burnout temperature gauge to help you identify if you’re dancing with Burnout. They say ‘forewarned is forearmed’ so here’s my three warning signs of Burnout.*

 Burnout is a sneaky beast. It creeps up when you least expect it and it preys on anyone. In fact, you can’t always tell you’re burning out until it’s too late. What you thought was peak productivity was actually the cusp of Burnout and that one extra thing tipped you unexpectedly over the edge.  

By knowing the warning signs and how to identify when you’re creeping towards the border with Burnout you can keep just the right side of it.

Three warning signs of Burnout

 1.     Change in energy (physical and mental)

Three o’clock slump is normal. Tired at the end of a long day is normal. What I’m talking about is a persistent underlying fatigue that you just can’t shift. 

 I found myself having to have a nap after meetings from the exertion of talking to people. The only thing I wanted to do was hide in my bed away from people, pull the covers over and sleep. Yet no amount of sleep could satiate this gnawing fatigue.

I learnt that the latest I could get up for an 8:30am call without being late was 8:27 and that became the norm. I tried to wake up earlier, I really tried. But it wasn’t happening. 

Mentally I was exhausted too. A simple task felt like a herculean effort. I had to relearn basic tasks that I’d spent four years doing every day. And yet the next day it felt like I’d forgotten them all over again. I started watching kid’s cartoons but even Thomas the Tank Engine was too advanced for me. 

Peaks and troughs in mental and physical energy are normal but if you’re feeling a persistent, underlying fatigue don’t ignore it.

2.     Mood swings

Once Burnout really took grip I felt complete apathy but the journey to nothingness was a real emotional rollercoaster. 

Angry. Sad. Arbitrary crying: I once cried in Sainsburies because they didn’t have yoghurt. Then I cried immediately again in Tesco because they did have yoghurt. Interspersed with periods of hysterical laughing. Then crying again. Once I sat under my desk crying because I’d made a typo in a Powerpoint presentation. 

Looking back, I can laugh now but at the time it felt like I couldn’t control my emotions however hard I tried. If you’re experiencing mood swings that are out of character for you, your brain might be trying to tell you something…

3.     Looking through a goldfish bowl

 If you think riding the emotional rollercoaster is bad, try feeling nothing. The only thing worse than feeling everything is feeling nothing. It was like going to an aquarium: you can see the fish, you can put your hand on the glass to touch the fish, but you can’t actually reach the fish. It all looks a bit distorted and sounds a bit funny. 

It can manifest in a few ways:

·       Brain fog – when your brain takes longer to load and feels a bit ‘fuzzy’

·       Emotional apathy

·       Inability to connect with the world around you. Things don’t feel real.

You could, like me, hit the jackpot and have all of these. But even if you have just one of these mildly it’s a warning sign that you might need to step back and hit the reset button. 

This isn’t a comprehensive list but it’s the key early warning signs that, if acknowledged, can help you steer clear of Burnout. 

Why should you care?

Burnout is real. If you ignore the warning signals it can quickly spiral out of control and become a debilitating situation. By regularly taking your Burnout temperature, you can take early action to avert a painful course that takes a long time to recover from.  

If you really want to hear the raw, honest, truth about my experience of Burnout you can watch my video here. 

I share these warning signs because Burnout isn’t a one-off. Having one Burnout doesn’t give you immunity to having another. The only way is to vaccinate yourself with the warning signs and act when you spot them. If any of this sounds like you, consider taking a step back to recharge and reset. 

*I’m not a medical professional, this is just my experience. If you’re concerned, please seek trained medical help, this is not intended as a substitute.