How to Stop Yourself From Suffering Burnout

It may be difficult to stop doing work and take some time to relax. Once you do attempt to relax, you might find yourself scrolling ceaselessly through Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. Then when you try to sleep, all you can think about is work, crossing off items on your to-do list and how much more productive everyone else seems to be. You feel like you can’t do this anymore, and yet you keep doing it.

This is what Anne Helen Petersen, author of Can’t Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation, defines as “burnout”. According to Petersen, burnout is a societal problem, not an individual problem. Because so many Millennials started their careers at the height of the recession, they are at a disadvantage work-wise, money-wise and trajectory-wise, and are collectively feeling the strain.

According to Petersen, capitalism forces workers to stay online as long as possible. Add in social media and the the blurred boundaries involved in working from home, and the problem only gets worse.

So how can you combat feeling burnt out? Petersen suggests working less. As long as you can still get your work done, close your computer and turn off your phone whenever you can. Maybe you need to let your boss or teammates know that you’ll be offline for certain hours — because working longer doesn’t necessarily mean you’re working better.

For all of Petersen’s advice, check out the video below.