Between Hustle Culture, Work-From-Home, and other trends and changes in the work and business culture, we’ve seen a large rise in burnout within the community and so we’ve become very interested in hosting conversations around how folks can avoid or overcome burnout.
Daniel And Phillip Chaplygin
Burnout, in my experience, is very common among creatives. I find that burnout is something I constantly have to keep in my awareness. Over the years, I’ve learned to deal with burnout by mindfully resting and taking days off when stress levels are high. Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is nothing at all. Read more>>
Catie Crookshank
For artists, this is so hard. I truly believe that artists have to be more intune with their body than people in other professions. We use not only our bodies and brains but our souls too. It’s important for everyone to take breaks as their body and mind tells them, otherwise you can end up in a severe burn out. The body is so good at giving you clues but we have such a hard time hearing them. Not to mention, our society in the USA values hard work to the point of breaking and having a side hustle is expected. Living is getting harder because people think that resting is laziness.
As an artist, I’ve gone through a few burnout periods, especially after the Holiday season. Not to mention being a gifted kid in grade school, who now doesn’t really want to do anything. I make sure to take it easy in January. I really have to listen to my body and mind and make sure if I’m feeling down, depressed, or just tired, I stop. I can’t think about creating if all I hear in my head is how tired I am or how much everything sucks. Read more>>
Beth Mickens
As someone who has always been naturally prone to burnout – especially now as a business owner – learning how to overcome it is still quite new to me. Only within the past year have I learned how to balance my time and my expectations around production.
When I first started, like most new business owners, I was full of energy and ideas. I would set high expectations for myself, for how much I could produce and how many markets I could attend. I would work late nights, sometimes staying up until 1-2am in the morning, waking up around 6am to attend to my duties as a parent and partner, all while still working out daily to achieve my fitness goals. I would run on caffeine and protein bars, meeting every goal…until I couldn’t. Eventually I started losing motivation and my desire to work. Read more>>
Amy Stumpf
Burn-out can come in many forms whether it is that something becomes mundane, overwhelming, or too much of a struggle. If you love what you do, it is not a job. Finding yourself in a position that brings passion is an important first step. Getting stuck in the grind of going to “work” is not a career and will more likely bring on burnout. Take a deep dive into finding what brings you joy, purpose, and passion. Read more>>
Mark Mckowen
This is a really good question (no one has asked me this before).
My mindset is one of continued curiosity, as well as “constant-improvement”. A large part of this is “learning by failure.” In A good acronym that we use in the Quality world is “FAIL = First Attempt In Learning.” If I fail, then I’ve learned something about my environment (something didn’t work in the present environment). Read more>>
Brenda Gonzalez
Burnout is something I’ve had to navigate carefully, especially as a single mother and entrepreneur juggling multiple responsibilities. I’ve learned to prioritize taking breaks, even when it feels inconvenient or like it might set me back. Those moments of rest are non-negotiable—they’re what recharge me so I can show up fully for my clients, my kids, and my business.
Self-care is another key part of how I avoid burnout. I make space for things that restore my energy and joy. From bubble baths, to allowing myself to do nothing and watch TV for hours, I embrace that I’m not going to be productive every moment, or even everyday. Read more>>
Dr. Kimberly Vanburen
When I moved to San Antonio, I was brimming with excitement and ambition as a newly minted therapist. My energy seemed boundless, and I was ready to dive headfirst into every opportunity that came my way. The move itself was a significant life change I had left behind the life I knew to marry my active-duty boyfriend, embarking on a new chapter in a new city. Having served in the military myself a few years earlier, this transition felt familiar in some ways but entirely fresh in others. But the story of my military life is one for another time!
Once settled in San Antonio, I began working in neuropsychological testing at the VA. My days were spent assessing functional impairments due to brain injuries a role that was both fascinating and eye-opening. It was an entirely new domain for me, as my earlier experience had been rooted in office therapy with children and families. Neuropsychology was a different world, one that stretched my skills and broadened my perspective. Read more>>
Aaron Hageman
The short answer here, that will naturally beget a longer conversation, is by staying aligned with my “why.”
As an entrepreneur, I have owned many different businesses over the years… a large HR tech platform, a digital marketing firm, a soccer team in New Mexico, an events company, etc. And the common thing behind them all is the impact of entrepreneurialism.
As a little kid, I never had a dream of owning a Human Resources company (I wanted to be a fireman – true story). But I found alignment with my passion and drive around getting up every day and being a big rock in the pond, making a large ripple within my community. As a business owner, our key success markers became how many jobs we created, how much payroll we put into our community (wherever each business happened to be located – what a 20th century viewpoint lol). Read more>>
Dr. Caroline Iscovitz
Burnout was like a shadow I couldn’t shake, first in my days as a marriage and family therapist, then again as I pivoted into coaching. In those days, I was seeing 30 clients a week, pouring every ounce of myself into their sessions, ensuring I was fully present for each one. Yet, in this relentless cycle of giving, nothing was left for me as the pressure I felt wasn’t solely about helping others; it was magnified by the immense expectations I placed on myself. In private practice, the line between dedication and self-neglect had completely vanished. I didn’t know how to say “no,” but my need to prove my worth and pay my bills kept me saying “yes” until my energy and spirit were depleted. Read more>>
Makenzie Farley
For someone that works two jobs it’s definitely important to avoid burnout. For me it’s not always easy because im such a hard worker so i tend to work harder then i even notice sometimes. Once i do notice im burning myself out i have to take a step back. If i need to take a couple days off work i do just that, sometimes i even just call off for the day just to catch up on some sleep & to just rest my body . If something becomes too overwhelming for me & starts to affect my mental i just simply take a break from it until i feel my best self. Read more>>
Kara Swinney
I often hear of physical therapists who are looking to leave the field after a few or many years of practice due to burnout. The current health care system has many road blocks to being able to provide quality care while maintaining desired work-life balance. I have experienced this feeling of burnout myself in previous positions throughout my career. Usually it was related to feeling dissatisfied with current policies, leadership or work schedules within an organization. My burnout would become compounded when I would attempt to make changes to my situation by speaking up, which were usually met with resistance or lack of action. When improvements to my work life were beyond my control, I began to feel helpless which exacerbated the burnout. I knew I needed to make a change when my values no longer aligned with that of the organization. Read more>>
