3153719f
i havent taken a real vacation in 2 years. i work 50-60 hour weeks. every morning i dread opening my laptop. i know im burned out but i also have 200k in student loans and im the sole earner for my family.
i cant quit. i cant take unpaid leave. i cant even take PTO without anxiety about falling behind.
how do you recover from burnout without actually stopping work. is that even possible
07496351
you recover by setting hard boundaries even while employed. 9 to 6, no weekend work, no slack after dinner. your output will drop 20% and NOBODY WILL NOTICE. i promise. the 50-60 hours are mostly wasted on context switching and meetings anyway
b74b74a5
take your PTO. all of it. back to back. the anxiety about falling behind is in your head. i took 2 weeks off, came back, and nothing had exploded. the company survived without me. humbling but also freeing
28777bc1
200k in student loans while being the sole earner... i genuinely feel for you. have you looked into income-driven repayment? PSLF if you work for a nonprofit? theres options to lower the monthly burden
3e5bb176
you cant recover from burnout without reducing the load. thats like asking how to heal a broken leg without stopping running. the answer is you cant. something has to give. either the hours, the job, or your health. pick which one you can afford to lose
ae24e5c6
switch to a lower-intensity company. go from a high-growth startup doing 55hrs to a big corp doing 35hrs. same or similar TC, way less stress. FAANG ICs coast all the time and nobody fires them
