Yep gotta agree. I thought I was burnt out from my executive job - trying hard to rediscover my mojo. Everyone said that after a cancer diagnosis and a bad (and I mean bad) marriage breakup, I needed to take some time off. Nope. Turns out I just needed a new focus and challenge. Nothing like starting a new business to rekindle the spark 😀
Thanks Tim. Still in start up so can’t say it is successful - yet. The company’s goal is supporting individuals, teams and organisations to build their capability for the future (including using AI tools to improve productivity). Feeling very positive about it!
1). I was a postdoc obsessed with solid-state physics. I'd work 7 days a week and loved it. Yes, I did feel tired on Monday on the way to work but I was looking forward to it. I did give a f*ck about what I was doing in the lab.
2). Your articles on Medium always have a clear message. But your pieces on Substack go even beyond that. Awesome writing. So clear. Not a single redundant word. Gotta learn from you.
Your articles for the last two weeks have been speaking directly to me. I have been feeling like this for quite some time and I have been trying different thing to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life. My current burnout symptoms of feeling empty or lacking in emotion, losing motivation in many aspects of your life, including your work, hobbies or relationships, feeling exhausted and unable to perform basic tasks.
I have been thinking continuously day in and day out about what do I want to do and still have yet to come up with much of anything so I have been trying new things to see what I like vs what I don't like. I'm not sure whats going on these past two weeks but, I'm thankful for your opening my eyes more. I always take away something from whatever you write. Thank you !
Sure options trading, sports gambling, LinkedIn learning courses, reading, searching for part time works, chatting with someone via text for coaching. I like being able to multiply a small amount of money with minimal risk so far out of everything the first two are the ones I like the most so far but I understand my risk.
Thank you so much. I thought about picking up part time work but, I realized that is not what I really want to do with my free time. I'm hoping to figure it out soon.
Jennifer, I never understand why people start with books. I feel like a book comes at the end of the journey not the start. Where do you currently write?
Fear is a liar when I am so passionate and obsessed with an activity that I would PAY someone else for allowing me to do it. I make time and find money automatically, when I'm excited about my goals and purposes. Kudos, Tim, for sharing another freeway to personal success.
Ironically, my activity is bringing in material possessions for needy seniors. Its not a sexy activity to most people, but it fulfills my passion to be of service to others.
Love it, I'm going to use your three things in my own substack about my life. I had the breaking through fear part but can use the other two as explainers. Thank you for this article.
My problem was I was obsessed with a certain project at my job. It lasted a couple years. When it was complete, I felt numb and exhausted. It took another couple of years to spread around the other things in my life that I set aside for it. I ended up quitting anyway. I gave too many f*cks about my job and (surprise!) it didn't give a f*ck about me.
Awesome Marla. The two things Todd and I do that have the most benefit are our Write 4/28 live cohort and our mastermind. Strongly recommend checking both out. Email me if you want to know more: tim@timdenning.com
I agree with this totally but with one small caveat. Some people experience burnout from their professional life and other people experience burnout from their life outside of work. I know plenty of people who love their jobs but hate their life which causes them to experience all the same symptoms of burnout described above. It’s hard to quit your job and career transition to a passion project but it’s equally hard if not harder (and yet occasionally necessary) to keep your job and quit your life. Thank you for posting.
I really needed to read this. I recently wrote about burnout on my Substack. As I wrote my article, I felt like I was lying to myself. I’m not currently following my obsession. I’ve started the process though and am moving toward it. This quote drive it home: “We either follow what we’re obsessed with and go all in, or we get distracted with fake goals attached to shiny objects and please others.”
I’m going to start my plan for growing my Substack audience for next year. I’m going to analyze the articles that performed the best and focus on those topics--as long as I enjoy writing about them.
I’m going to implement a paywall for a few articles a month to see what happens. I’m already in a much better financial position and will hit some big goals in the next 6 months. This should allow me to make bigger risks.
Thanks for sharing Cory. My advice is to focus on growth of your Substack. It's the #1 thing people avoid. They just publish and hope people will come, but they don't.
I gave your article a heart just by reading the title. Everything you say is 100% true. I am an actress, a writer, a theatrical director. Theatre is a hard job. But I never burnt out in my performance years. Never. It is my passion. After I landed on marketing and companies to pay the bills and survive, burn out and depression arrived... They say that theater is hard and dirty but compared to companies, trust me, it is a kindergarden... Reading your article is like I hear my inner voice talking to me. Thank you Tim 🙏
Salaries in theatre are a disaster but I am working on it in any way possible... It is such a shame if you think about it, that we have to struggle so hard just to do what makes us AND other people happy. Beacause when you do what you love, the others love it too. Your gift becomes a gift for them.
Olga, I predict there will be a digital renaissance caused by the AI revolution, where creativity and the arts will be valuable once more. I think this because in the information age it was all about information. But with the cost of info going to $0 creativity should be priced at a premium.
I thought a lot about what you said. My first thoughts were "Nah, AI will only make things worse…" But the more I think about it the more I see it as something possible. So I hope it will be like this, like you said. Let's see!
Tim, you are on point as usual. I don't feel burnt out though, I just want to write more than I want to work. Its crazy how we just stay in the same job for years and years. we all have dreams but never do something about it. thanks to you and many other great people on here, I have started to follow mine.
myself I guess, I just need to sit down and write . I started my substack earlier this month, have done 3 posts so far, I have committed myself to 1 newsletter a week but from next month I want to do two. My twitter is also back up and running, started doing 1 post a day and now at least 1 post and 1 reply. got that from a podcast that you did a while back.
Sounds like you're taking some action Jaun-Pierre. Would be worth looking into one of our courses to get things growing a little faster. Just publishing isn't enough.
Yep gotta agree. I thought I was burnt out from my executive job - trying hard to rediscover my mojo. Everyone said that after a cancer diagnosis and a bad (and I mean bad) marriage breakup, I needed to take some time off. Nope. Turns out I just needed a new focus and challenge. Nothing like starting a new business to rekindle the spark 😀
What an epic story Karen. What sort of business did you start? Has it become successful?
Thanks Tim. Still in start up so can’t say it is successful - yet. The company’s goal is supporting individuals, teams and organisations to build their capability for the future (including using AI tools to improve productivity). Feeling very positive about it!
Sounds cool Karen.
Tim, excellent message. Two comments from me:
1). I was a postdoc obsessed with solid-state physics. I'd work 7 days a week and loved it. Yes, I did feel tired on Monday on the way to work but I was looking forward to it. I did give a f*ck about what I was doing in the lab.
2). Your articles on Medium always have a clear message. But your pieces on Substack go even beyond that. Awesome writing. So clear. Not a single redundant word. Gotta learn from you.
Denis I've never had this feedback. It's so damn helpful to me and I love it. Thank you mate. Made my day.
Your articles for the last two weeks have been speaking directly to me. I have been feeling like this for quite some time and I have been trying different thing to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life. My current burnout symptoms of feeling empty or lacking in emotion, losing motivation in many aspects of your life, including your work, hobbies or relationships, feeling exhausted and unable to perform basic tasks.
I have been thinking continuously day in and day out about what do I want to do and still have yet to come up with much of anything so I have been trying new things to see what I like vs what I don't like. I'm not sure whats going on these past two weeks but, I'm thankful for your opening my eyes more. I always take away something from whatever you write. Thank you !
The answer Samuel is to keep doing more experiments. It takes time. Would you be willing to share what you've tried so far?
Sure options trading, sports gambling, LinkedIn learning courses, reading, searching for part time works, chatting with someone via text for coaching. I like being able to multiply a small amount of money with minimal risk so far out of everything the first two are the ones I like the most so far but I understand my risk.
Love these small bets Samuel.
Thank you so much. I thought about picking up part time work but, I realized that is not what I really want to do with my free time. I'm hoping to figure it out soon.
Sounds like another revelation Samuel. Keep going.
Jennifer, I never understand why people start with books. I feel like a book comes at the end of the journey not the start. Where do you currently write?
Fear is a liar when I am so passionate and obsessed with an activity that I would PAY someone else for allowing me to do it. I make time and find money automatically, when I'm excited about my goals and purposes. Kudos, Tim, for sharing another freeway to personal success.
Pete you got the message perfectly. The wrong question is "how do I make money?" When you choose the right work the money part is obvious.
What activity are you obsessed with Pete?
Ironically, my activity is bringing in material possessions for needy seniors. Its not a sexy activity to most people, but it fulfills my passion to be of service to others.
What a great niche. One of the most read topics on Medium is actually aging. Why not write about that topic?
I love it and I agree. This touched deep, meaning, that's all we need in this tumultuous world after a certain age.
There's a crisis of meaning right now Arleys. Burnout is a distraction.
"people mostly hate their jobs" - so true!
In my former work group, so many people would say they liked or even loved their jobs, the place we worked, etc., etc.
One day the local lottery had a high payout and someone organized a group entry with multiple tickets. And then the discussions started:
If we win, we can't all retire at once, we should stagger it.
Therefore, X, Y, and Z have seniority in work years or age or both, so they will retire first; then A and B, and so on.
And no one,
I mean no one,
said, "Oh not, I like my job, and where I work, and I will stay on voluntarily."
Because deep down they hated their jobs and would rather be doing something else.
Not a surprise to me, but it did lay bare the self-delusions.
OMG...there's no hope for lottery people. They just need to do the math LOL. Agree Elephile?
Love it, I'm going to use your three things in my own substack about my life. I had the breaking through fear part but can use the other two as explainers. Thank you for this article.
My problem was I was obsessed with a certain project at my job. It lasted a couple years. When it was complete, I felt numb and exhausted. It took another couple of years to spread around the other things in my life that I set aside for it. I ended up quitting anyway. I gave too many f*cks about my job and (surprise!) it didn't give a f*ck about me.
This story is far too common Marla. It's why I am a business owner.
I'm workin' that part out out with you, Todd & Ayo 😉
Awesome Marla. The two things Todd and I do that have the most benefit are our Write 4/28 live cohort and our mastermind. Strongly recommend checking both out. Email me if you want to know more: tim@timdenning.com
All good if not.
Thank you again Tim. By “time” I was referring to time left! You see I’m late career, middle age, old (!) however, you want to define it.
It seems I just have to get off my arse and get on with it.
Every day we are slowly dying. Don't focus on age as all it does is hold you back. We're never to old to do anything Simon. Agree?
Agree!
Yes!
Do you think you could make a living as a self published author of fiction?
I know a few people who do but it's not my speciality.
Well-said: The feeling people call burnout isn’t exhaustion at all. It’s a sign you’re doing work you don’t give a f*ck about.
Cheers Eugene.
Thanks. I can't find you on Telegram using this handle.
I agree with this totally but with one small caveat. Some people experience burnout from their professional life and other people experience burnout from their life outside of work. I know plenty of people who love their jobs but hate their life which causes them to experience all the same symptoms of burnout described above. It’s hard to quit your job and career transition to a passion project but it’s equally hard if not harder (and yet occasionally necessary) to keep your job and quit your life. Thank you for posting.
Thanks for the additional thoughts Joseph.
I really needed to read this. I recently wrote about burnout on my Substack. As I wrote my article, I felt like I was lying to myself. I’m not currently following my obsession. I’ve started the process though and am moving toward it. This quote drive it home: “We either follow what we’re obsessed with and go all in, or we get distracted with fake goals attached to shiny objects and please others.”
Thanks! Instant sub.
Glad it helped Cory. So what are you going to do differently from now on?
I’m going to start my plan for growing my Substack audience for next year. I’m going to analyze the articles that performed the best and focus on those topics--as long as I enjoy writing about them.
I’m going to implement a paywall for a few articles a month to see what happens. I’m already in a much better financial position and will hit some big goals in the next 6 months. This should allow me to make bigger risks.
Thanks for sharing Cory. My advice is to focus on growth of your Substack. It's the #1 thing people avoid. They just publish and hope people will come, but they don't.
I appreciate the advice. I haven’t seen the growth I expected this year. Gotta double down.
No probs Cory.
I gave your article a heart just by reading the title. Everything you say is 100% true. I am an actress, a writer, a theatrical director. Theatre is a hard job. But I never burnt out in my performance years. Never. It is my passion. After I landed on marketing and companies to pay the bills and survive, burn out and depression arrived... They say that theater is hard and dirty but compared to companies, trust me, it is a kindergarden... Reading your article is like I hear my inner voice talking to me. Thank you Tim 🙏
Wow what a story Olga. Will theatre ever become your main income source?
Salaries in theatre are a disaster but I am working on it in any way possible... It is such a shame if you think about it, that we have to struggle so hard just to do what makes us AND other people happy. Beacause when you do what you love, the others love it too. Your gift becomes a gift for them.
Olga, I predict there will be a digital renaissance caused by the AI revolution, where creativity and the arts will be valuable once more. I think this because in the information age it was all about information. But with the cost of info going to $0 creativity should be priced at a premium.
What do you think?
I thought a lot about what you said. My first thoughts were "Nah, AI will only make things worse…" But the more I think about it the more I see it as something possible. So I hope it will be like this, like you said. Let's see!
The beautiful thing Olga is we have no choice.
This is encouraging. Thank you, Tim.
No probs Thamayi.
Tim, you are on point as usual. I don't feel burnt out though, I just want to write more than I want to work. Its crazy how we just stay in the same job for years and years. we all have dreams but never do something about it. thanks to you and many other great people on here, I have started to follow mine.
What's stopping you writing more Jaun-Pierre? And where do you currently write?
myself I guess, I just need to sit down and write . I started my substack earlier this month, have done 3 posts so far, I have committed myself to 1 newsletter a week but from next month I want to do two. My twitter is also back up and running, started doing 1 post a day and now at least 1 post and 1 reply. got that from a podcast that you did a while back.
Sounds like you're taking some action Jaun-Pierre. Would be worth looking into one of our courses to get things growing a little faster. Just publishing isn't enough.
Ive signed up to one, the one on the 13th. Trying to save as much as i can
though
Ahhh awesome. Appreciate the heads up and welcome :)