Not sure I actually said it on here or not, but I had a burnout last year. It also am not sure if that will ever go away. Not that I can't feel energized or genuine happiness. Rather the effects/learnings will remain and with that more sensitive sensors which hopefully will continue to serve me.
Often burnout is not the result over overworking only. It's rather the feeling of not accomplishing enough. So while you are rushing through the day, checking of boxes, you feel like you are not checking off the right boxes. Meaning you might still go to bed unfulfilled because of you didn't check enough or what I mean the boxes you actually care about. You are just never getting to the important stuff.
An analogy that resonated with me: imagine you are on your bike and the chain came off, but you don't stop. You keep pushing. And because you are not making progress, you push even more. While still not going somewhere.
This could be seen as a weakness. And I certainly felt that way. Sometimes burnout also comes with his/her (idk which gender), depression. While I luckily had one, but feel like it was a mild one, that also doesn't bring you too much of a positive self talk.
However, you somehow can't fully grasp how you ended up there and while I believe in you are responsible and primary care taker of yourself, there is a couple of external things also potentially pushing you into this. Or maybe internal conflicts and beliefs.
Overall, what happened to me, I neglected my needs. When you check of boxes that you sorta find less important than other boxes, but still do them for whatever reason. Some needs remain unfulfilled. With that you basically tell yourself your needs are not important.
So you need to literally relearn to feel your needs. They however became so numbed down that they don't even show up, because why should they. You showed them often enough that they don't matter.
It's a process of trying to listen in and not punishing you, if you don't know what you need, but being gentle. And over time, your sensors will become better and on the other side, your needs will also show up.
This post was sparked by the interview of Bob Iger and Tim Ferriss. Bob Iger is the CEO of Disney. And while is could be considered wildly successful he seems fairly humble and at one point talked about the importance of his workout routine, choosing a positive mindset while knowing things might not work out and how he preps when he meets people (a simple Google search like everyone else).
I am not trying to diminish anything he said and he accomplished a lot of things not everyone can accomplish. I sorta took away from it: things can be simple. It's the techniques which are by now well documented. It's not a shortcoming of knowing the techniques. Just by simply applying them.
Be curious about your needs and values. Don't judge. Work out. Get fresh air. Move. Eat mostly healthy. Don't drink too much alcohol, if at all hard alcohol. Read. Let your mind wonder. Work on something you find meaningful. Make and nourish human connections. Respect and prioritize your needs.
Easier said than done.