Is this Burnout?
5 symptoms that I had when I was buring out
As someone who has gone through severe burnout recently, I want to tell you why you shouldn't ignore the signs and act fast.
Burnout does not happen because of overworking, Burnout happens because tof loss of feedback and lack of fulfillment your current work
1. Sudden Drop in Focus
Around December 2020, I noticed a sudden drop in my Focus. What used to be an hour-long Pomodoro became glitchy and messy. I could no longer hold my Focus for extended periods.
This sudden drop in Focus can be stressful. When I informed my peers about this, most of them discarded it as something temporary. After all, you can't be productive 24 x 7. What I didn't know was this was the first domino of what was ahead of me.
2. Fake Productivity
Fake productivity is when you focus on unimportant tasks to feel productive. These trivial tasks often have an inverse effect. It robs you of meaningful work, leaving you unmotivated and drained.
3. Depressed all the time
If you are sad over an extensive period, questioning your existence or the meaning of life, and losing hope, give yourself a burnout check before labeling it depression. Depression and burnout have similar symptoms; you might take one for another.
4. Escapism
If you are directing your energy into something that was never a part of life before probably going to ask yourself why are you suddenly so invested in the new hobby. Trust me. Lockdown is not the answer.
5. Self Feeding Symptoms
If you notice the above symptoms, one common pattern emerges that they feed on themselves. Loss of Focus -> Fake productivity -> Escapism - > Sad ness -> Loss of focus.
The only way out is to get out of these patterns. Remember, only you know what you are going through. Only you can help yourself out of it. Don't wait for circumstances to change. Sometimes, you have to take big leaps to change the circumstance to work for you.
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