I do my best to continue to push content and well-written, informative, articles out to my subscribers. You may, or may not, have noticed that no content goes out on the weekends. Aside from maybe the odd pre-scheduled post. The reason behind this is because, like many others, I too am susceptible to burn-out. So what is this burn-out? Well it’s basically a type of stress that leads to:
- Physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion
- Cynicism and detachment
- Feelings of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment
In other words, you will stop caring and lose all motivation. I have personally experienced burn-out many times. One of the worst times it got me lasted over a year. Probably one of the worst things about burn-out is while you may want to push forward and just “get through it”, that has the adverse effect. There are many well-written articles on this topic, and on how to combat it. I personally try to simply limit my work to weekdays and focus solely on Family and friends during the weekend.
Taking this approach helps me keep my priorities straight. This includes both my personal and professional life. Burn-out is a very serious threat, especially to those of us in IT. Quite frequently our hobby and our living coincide. This typically means that 8-5 we are working, 5-11 we are still working (just on personal projects), and 11-7 we are dreaming of work. I love what I do just as much as the rest but to say the human mind isn’t built for that is an understatement. Step back from work and find, completely unrelated, hobbies. Spend time with family, or outside.
This is exactly why I don’t post on the weekends. I stay away from any form of work and just enjoy life. This helps me step back into each Monday with a fresh and clear head.