Progress, Perspective, and Burnout – Vlog Sunday

by Josh Berridge · October 20, 2019

We are making progress, even if it seems we are not

The last couple of weeks have created some challenges for us as life demanded energy and time. Even though we may feel like we could not accomplish the tasks we needed, it doesn’t mean we didn’t make any progess forward.

Put time into perspective

This week we were reminded that Fiverr has been less than helpful to our cause. We again received a scam message about helping someone do business in the US. Fortunately for us, this is not the only source of work.

With that said, with the effort we’ve put out to get paying voice-over gigs, it can feel a little hopeless that we haven’t landed a job. That’s where perspective can help us overcome those feelings.

If we think about it, the voice-over effort sare really a month old. We have one pending offer on ACX for an audiobook and recently got invited to interview for another job on Upwork. So, even though we have made nothing, we are getting noticed and in a short time.

Breaks: Are they worth it?

We were forced to step away from our usual activities this week. It was a break of sorts, even though our energy was spent elsewhere. It made me question whether or not taking a short break would really be beneficial.

Taking a break to recharge the batteries is always a good idea, but if you are suffering from burnout, are you really going to feel better and more motivated?

I am not burnt out on the side hustles. I still am very motivated to put forward this effort, but I may be the victim of burnout because of everything else in life right now. Regardless of the source, burnout is burnout and the result is the same.

Taking a break or a vacation from those things can make the feeling even worse. You step away from your job or project and feel good. But what happens when it is time to go back to work? You don’t want to and now you have to struggle with the thought that you don’t even want to be there and doing this work.

Decide what your priorities really are could help

For most of us, if we take out all the complex thought, this should be easy. And by identifying the priorities, we might be able to identify what we really need a break from.

For me, it is my family and making sure we have electricity, water, and a house to sleep in. Not that they are the source of my burnout (which they are not), but some might jump to that first since family it a big target for time and energy. The last thing you or I want to do is to walk away from the biggest support group you have.

Once we know what does matter to us and the people around us, we can then take a break from those items that don’t so that we can conserve that mental energy, or use it in a way that isn’t sucking the joy out of everything else.

This can be easier said than done, and in my case, I’ll have to continue to spend that energy in order to get that break.

There is no science to back this up, but if I think about it really hard, this is what makes sense. Again, why would I leave the people who support me and depend on me because I “need a break” for a little bit?

There is also no easy answer to what to put away for a while. It all may seem very relevant to our efforts in all facets of life. This is where hard decisions need to happen.

Can I make those decisions? I think so. Will it solve the issue and send me on a trajectory of success? Maybe. Maybe not. If I don’t make the decisions, I do know that the effort and progress made will be wasted.