I quit my job with a day's notice. It improved my burnout immediately.

Last week, I told my manager I was leaving the company. I let her know that the following day would be my last. My burnout had become too much.

The next day, I signed out of slack channels that had been my home for the past four years. I boarded a flight out of town and took my first vacation since August.

That weekend away was the first time in over a year that I wasn’t worried about coming back to work.

I’m sure you’ve got a picture in your head of what my job looked like. Maybe I suffered verbal abuse from angry clients. Maybe I worked long, grueling hours for months at a time. Maybe the people I supervised were underperforming, leading to constant disciplinary meetings.

If that’s what you’re imagining, you’re wrong. I loved my job on most days. My coworkers were fantastic. The coaches I supervised were talented, kind, and responsible. I never worked more than eight hours a day.

However, I felt like nothing I did mattered anymore. I wasn’t valued or respected by my direct supervisor. Managers who’d left weren’t being replaced, so we were all pulling extra weight. I was in a position of having responsibility with no authority - upper management was handing down orders I didn’t agree with, yet I had no choice but to enforce them. 

My moral compass and my role were misaligned.

Despite all that, I thought I was managing well. Sure, I felt a little exhausted. I noticed some slips in my day-to-day routine, but I just figured I wasn’t managing my ADHD properly. My resilience had become a weakness: I was the proverbial frog in a boiling pot, not realizing the water had become too hot to bear.

It wasn’t until I quit that I realized: this was burnout. I was burnt out.

What is burnout?

If the term is new to you, the American Psychological Association defines burnout as “physical, emotional or mental exhaustion, accompanied by decreased motivation, lowered performance and negative attitudes towards oneself and others.” In other words, you’re so drained that your ability to function is nonexistent. Burnout can be caused by your home life, relationships, and in my case: work.

Burnout is exhaustion due to a chronically stressful environment.

Burnout symptoms can manifest differently, so I’ll share my experience with you in case it helps you recognize the symptoms in yourself. But before we talk about what burnout can look like, it’s important to note: burnout symptoms can mimic symptoms of depression and they can coincide. Please check in with your doctor if you think you might be dealing with depression - you deserve to make your mental health a priority.

What burnout looked like for me:

Nothing seemed interesting anymore.

I always have a piece of knitting going but I had unfinished projects sitting untouched for months. I didn’t even want to watch TV or engage in any other semi-brainless activity. My normally art-heavy bullet journal had blank pages. It all felt too effortful.

I became really cynical about my work.

Because I didn’t feel like my efforts mattered, were valued, or would ever be properly recognized, I adopted a “why bother” attitude. I still did my work, but I didn’t feel good about even my most fulfilling tasks.

My mental health medications seemed to stop working.

As a reminder - please talk to a professional any time you notice a shift in your health, including your mental health!
I take Adderall to help with my ADHD symptoms. My meds seemed to lose their potency, even with an increase in dosage. I kept asking myself why I couldn’t get anything done.
The reality was that I was using all of my energy to just get through my day.

I didn’t want to get out of bed.

I’m normally an early riser, up and working by 7:30 AM. At the height of my burnout, I was rolling out of bed at 9:30. No matter how much I slept, it never felt like enough. Yet, I didn’t have an issue getting up on time over the weekend. Looking back, it’s clear this was because the absence of work on the weekends meant I didn’t have anything to dread.

Because exhaustion is a hallmark sign of burnout, it’s typical to find yourself either sleeping more than normal or having a hard time sleeping.

I had no appetite.

I wasn’t hungry, and I didn’t want to cook. Nothing sounded good to me. I’d be so checked out that I’d notice the time and realize I’d gone hours without eating anything.

I didn’t feel like doing chores or running errands.

I’m not the world’s tidiest person, but there are some chores I always do. I never leave dishes in my sink and I always fold my laundry right after it’s done drying. When the plates started piling up, I knew something wasn’t right.

I withdrew socially.

I never felt like leaving the house. I didn’t want to go meet friends, I didn’t want to visit my family. I didn’t even want to have light conversations with the grocery store clerks. This isn’t typical for me - I’m usually outgoing and like to have a couple social events every week.

Any form of communication felt like work.

I didn’t want to call or text people I love, even those who’ve never felt draining to me. I’d have to give excuses for why I didn’t answer text messages for days on end or return calls. The people in my life are wonderful and understanding human beings, but I carried a lot of guilt about my behavior.

I became more forgetful.

It was hard for me to tell where my ADHD started and my burnout began. I would forget basic things, I would miss appointments. I abandoned a lot of the systems I had in place to help myself remember. After I quit, I haven’t had as much trouble remembering and I’ve had the energy to rebuild my memory safety nets.

Time away didn’t help.

Burnout won’t go away if you return to the environment that’s responsible for it. No matter how many sick days, vacation days, or “easy” workdays I had, I was still miserable.

How to reduce burnout

After reading about my experience, you might be wondering:
I think I’m experiencing burnout. What do I do?

Maybe you’re not able to quit your job with very little notice. I know that I’m privileged for being able to do so; I had another job lined up and a financial cushion to ease the transition. The good news is there are other ways you can ease your burnout. I’ll walk you through some options.

Improve your current situation.

If a job change isn’t possible, see if you can instead let go of the most draining aspects. Is there anything that’s outside the scope of your role? Have you taken on extra projects that could be handed off to someone else? What other responsibilities could you delegate?

Take a long break.

If you can’t change your environment, try to step away. Take a good amount of vacation or a leave of absence. Work with your employer on a plan that’ll accommodate both parties. 

Time away from the stressful environment can help your burnout symptoms, but a long weekend probably won’t cut it. How much time you need will depend on the severity of your symptoms.

Seek outside help.

Depending on the level of burnout you’re facing, it might be worth your while to speak with a mental health professional. They can help you develop systems and coping mechanisms to reduce how much your burnout is affecting you.

Preventing future bouts of burnout

The change in my burnout symptoms was near-instantaneous after I quit. I had more energy and motivation. My medication was effective again. My creativity came back.

I felt at peace for the first time in weeks.

That doesn’t mean I can forget it ever happened. In order to prevent my burnout from coming back, I’ll need to take a few precautions. Specifically, I’ll need to ensure I’m not creating or entering a work environment that drains my energy. For me, this will mean:
-Regularly taking time off.
-Unplugging when I’m not on the clock. No checking slack or emails.
-Saying no to projects that feel draining.
-Ensuring that my role and responsibilities align with my values.
-Leaning on loved ones when I need extra support.

Setting good boundaries is crucial for preventing future burnout. Do your best to limit exposure to your known stressors.

If you’re currently in a situation that’s causing burnout, I feel for you. I hope you can find something about my experience to help you, and I hope you recover soon.