EntrepreneurshipProductivity | 4 Min Read
#18 - Feeling the Heat, Not Getting Burned...
Burnout is a serious thing and something we should all strive to avoid. For me, I came dangerously close this week; here's what I learned.
Hey Friends 👋
This week I learned a lesson the hard way...
I learned we're not machines and we can't work without breaks/rest.
Now, I realise when reading that sentence back it sounds crazy. Of course, we're not machines. After all, we're made of flesh and bone, not circuits and wires.
And, although it is completely obvious that we're not machines and need rest to survive and function at our peak. If creating content has taught me anything it's that it we will always feel like we're not doing enough.
We can always work harder, we can always push ourselves more. And, someone else is always doing better than us so we must try harder.
Content creation is the ultimate infinite game, there is no end to creating content, there is no final whistle, there is no eleventh hour. In this game, there is always something you can do, there is always more work to be done.
And, while in a sense this is reassuring, as it means there are plenty of opportunities, material to work from and an endless source of inspiration.
It undoubtedly has its negatives. Chief of which in my opinion is the endless stack of to-do list items which when coupled with a desire to avoid failure is the perfect storm of ingredients for burn-out.
To me, burn-out is one of those things that once it sets in, I don't think you ever fully recover from or if you do, not quickly. Like many other health issues, it's easier to prevent than it is to cure.
But, for me, this week I came perilously close to falling into the flames and getting burned out. This taught me something very valuable.
There is always tomorrow.
Admittedly not in all situations but in the vast majority of situations we always have the luxury of tomorrow, it will come and we can carry on working then.
But, this naturally yields the question, how do we know when to call it quits for the day?
As with many things, it depends. But, I've found the best way to know when to quit for the day is when something is no longer fun/enjoyable. If something starts to feel like a chore then it's time to take a break.
I feel this is even more important for content creation. If we want to see the benefits from creating content we have to be in it for the long run which means avoiding burn-out at all costs.
Now, of course, it's different for everyone how we do this. But, I believe we only find our limits by pushing ourselves to see where our breaking points are then mitigating them points being broken thus avoiding burn-out.
After this week one of the things I'm going to introduce is scheduling more time for activities I enjoy to allow me to destress. Being high-strung from work and side-projects isn't sustainable long term because as noted, we're not machines, we are humans and we need to rest.
So, with this in mind have you ever come close to burning out? Or, had the unfortunate experience of doing so? I'd love to hear your story and how you dealt with it. If you would like to share, drop a reply to this email and let's chat.
I hope you have an amazing week next week and I look forward to chatting with you again next week.
Coner x
🏃♂️ What I've Been Up To
The large priority for me this week has been progressing StatBase (my new Twitter Analytics SaaS).
Currently, it has working authentication and had its first successful deployment. In the coming weeks, I want to get it to an initial MVP stage and look at getting my first beta testers on board.
Exciting times are ahead for sure. And, I'll be sharing more news here as it develops. 😊
🎤 DevSpace
This week on DevSpace, we had another amazing interview with the awesome Francesco Ciulla. We talked about many things including his back story as a coach, becoming a developer and how he manages his time for everything he does from content creation, being a Docker Capitan and being a developer advocate among other things.
He is truly an amazing person and an inspiration to all of us, I highly recommend checking out the recording on Twitter at the link below.
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