😫 Do you get easily tired and feel like spending all your time in bed not doing something? Do you dread the prospect of starting your work every morning? Does it feel like you’d rather do anything else that can keep you occupied and give you an excuse for not working on things you’re supposed to be working on?

🥱 Do you or people around you blame it on laziness? Did you know that what generally seems like just laziness might actually be burnout? Let’s talk about 4 signs you might be burnt out, not lazy.

⁉️ But First, What is burnout?

According to Mayo Clinic “Job burnout is a special type of work-related stress — a state of physical or emotional exhaustion that also involves a sense of reduced accomplishment and loss of personal identity.”

And according to WebMD “Burnout is a form of exhaustion caused by constantly feeling swamped. It’s a result of excessive and prolonged emotional, physical, and mental stress”.

Burnout happens when you’re overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to keep up with life’s incessant demands. It keeps you from being productive and reduces your energy, making you feel hopeless, cynical, and resentful.

5️⃣ Major reasons for burnout include:

1. Unmanageable workloads
2. Unfair treatment at work
3. Confusing work responsibilities
4. Lack of communication or support from managers
5. Immense deadline pressure

3️⃣ There are three common types of burnout:

A common misconception about burnout is that there is only one type of burnout. There are actually more.

🏋️‍♀️ Overload Burnout

This happens when you work harder and harder, becoming frantic in your pursuit of success. If you experience this, you may be willing to risk your health and personal life to feel successful in your job.

😴 Under-Challenged Burnout

This happens when you feel underappreciated and bored in your job. Maybe your job doesn’t provide learning opportunities or have room for professional growth. If you feel under-challenged, you may distance yourself from your job, become cynical, and avoid responsibilities.

😑 Neglect Burnout

This happens when you feel helpless at work. If things aren’t going right, you may believe you’re incompetent or unable to keep up with your responsibilities. Such burnout can be closely connected to imposter syndrome, a psychological pattern in which you doubt your skills, talents, or accomplishments.

⚠️ Signs of burnout

Here are 4 early warning signs that you might be burning out, instead of just considering yourself lazy.

🔌 Disconnection

You feel disconnected from yourself and your surroundings. Life feels like it's just going on auto-pilot. You feel numb. Your attitude towards most things is “I don’t care”. You often feel helpless and feel like nothing you do can or will make any difference.

🙅‍♀️ Loss of Motivation

Another differentiating factor between laziness and burnout is loss of motivation. If you used to be motivated and excited about your job, an upcoming vacation, family get-together but now don’t feel any of that anymore, you might be burning out. Remember laziness is a character trait, and character traits rarely change over a person’s life span. If you used to be motivated about life and its possibilities but don’t feel that anymore, you’re burning out.

😱 Loss of Control

Lazy people are pretty chill. They spend all day on the couch, feel pretty calm and relaxed, and have an overall chill vibe about them. Burnt-out people feel anxious when they can’t get something done. Burnout makes you feel anxious and out of control most of the time. You feel overwhelmed with fears and anxieties and have lost control of your emotional well-being. It’s a pretty accurate sign you’re burning out, not lazy.

💅 Neglect

You used to take care of yourself, do your hair and make-up, do your nails, wear nice clothes and feel good about them. Maybe you also used to take care of your diet and exercise. If you have now lost interest in self-care, you should consider burnout as a possible reason.

✅ How to deal with an incoming burnout?

1. Talk to a supervisor
2. Get enough sleep
3. Try Yoga, Meditation, and Mindfulness

Consider talking to a therapist if you think you might be burning out. Taking care of your well-being should be your prime priority. Stay well and take care.

Have a great weekend!

Sadia ❤️

❤My Favourite Things

📕Book:

I just started listening to “Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain. So far going good.

📝Quote:

We extend beyond our limits, not by revving our brains like a machine or bulking them up like a muscle—but by strewing our world with rich materials, and by weaving them into our thoughts. —Annie Murphy Paul, author of The Extended Mind

🔍I’m Learning:

Still learning touch typing. I have included capital letters and symbols now. I’m actually practicing it in public by posting my progress daily on Twitter. Click this Twitter hashtag.

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Sadia Khaf

A channel about higher education abroad, scholarships, and career advice. 

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