burnout

Avoid Burnout by Changing Your Work Environment

4:00AM Wendy Boswell | If you’re on the brink of being burned out creatively, the simplest solution could just be to change your environment in some way. Tech blogger Scott Berkun has more: What do you do at work when you feel stuck (not burnt out, but just stuck on a problem)? Are there things you can do to your cube or office to help you deal with those times? Posters of work that inspires you? Things that make you laugh? Music that helps you think through a problem? You spend 8 hours a day in that space: it’s worth taking a couple of hours to improve it by even 5 or 10%. What is your coping mechanism for getting through burnout? Let’s hear in the comments. How to survive creative burnout [Scott Berkun] More »

Ten Ways to Defeat Brain Drain

2:15AM Gina Trapani | “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” —John Bay Those of us who are busy all the time can experience burnout, exhaustion and fatigue from spending long periods of time in focused concentration. I call this syndrome “Brain Drain.” I used to call it “SAT head” because many students report after taking the SAT tests, they feel an odd mental exhaustion caused by too much focused thinking. Brain drain, if gone unchecked, can result in depression, stress and even anger if you push after the drain has set in. So even though you need to keep your project going nonstop, you would be much more productive if at the first sign of brain drain, you took a break and did something about it. More »