6 weeks to conquer potential burn out… help!

[WinchSparkle80]

Hi, I am after some advice as my brain seems to be in constant fog mode.

I currently work 55-65 hrs a week in a job I no longer enjoy. Majority of the extra time I spend is due to calls with west coast US. I have managed 2.5 years of this.

But now, I am absolutely exhausted and have no motivation for anything. I do have ADHD less hyper more distracted.

Good news is I have secured a new role due to start in approx 6-7 weeks. I have to work a months notice. They will be blindsided when I hand in my notice this week.

What can I do in the next 6 weeks to stop the demands, lose some weight, get back on an even keel. Anyone managed to do this before? (I will have to do a months handover so no going off sick)

Appreciate any advice.

Meditation sounds perfect for you. Even a three Minute breathing space meditation helps me. For me exercise helps a lot but it might not be an option with the hours you’re working. Maybe it will be an option in the next place.

Surely by setting yourself an unobtainable target over the period of your notice, you are just putting more pressure on yourself!

Instead, forget about what you have to achieve in the next six weeks. No, you don't.

For the next four weeks, you are going home on time.
You aren't going to log on in the evenings, you're going for a stroll round the local green space instead.
You're going to eat at the local pub twice a week, and not have to plan or cook or tidy up.
You're going to bed early with a book. And cocoa.

That should help 🙂

Stop attending meetings on new topics or ongoing ones that will now belong to someone else. Make your replacement attend. Try to only do your official hours, nothing extra. Walk an hour every day listening to music or podcast. Hand over as much as you can as fast as possible, don’t leave the doc and file handover to the end.

Work your notice and have two weeks off before starting your new role?

Will you even be allowed to work beyond your notice period?

Start doing your hours, no more. Set a timer so you can see what is left of the day. Stop handing over tasks and let the hand over person take the lead. Get in the mindset it’s not your problem anymore.

Do your hours, set boundaries. Forget about putting pressure on yourself in any way (e.g. weight loss). Go for some walks in nature, try out mindfulness techniques, make sure you’re getting all your vitamins and minerals.

I would focus not on trying to recover during your notice period but on putting strategies in place to ensure you will have strong boundaries in place for your next post. Coming back from burn out or close to it will be an extended process.

This was my thought too. Setting yourself a massive challenge/goal is going to add to your stress and burnout.

Do as little as possible. Although to be fair if you are an over achiever/workaholic this will be v.hard and it might make you feel worse not better. It's tricky!

@lifemakeover @Meadowfinch thank you for your insight and you are absolutely right…. adding more pressure will make the overwhelming feeling much worse.

Thanks @Emotionalsupporthamster I kinda of hoped there was a magic spell that could fix it, but logically absolutely not and boundary setting seems key. Thank you.

@MoreChocPls love the timer idea! Issue will be there won’t be anyone to really hand this over too, just my nasty boss 😢

@Crunchymum that is my hope, 4 weeks notice and 2 weeks off, one of those weeks will be May half term but will be fab to have non guilt time off with my teens.

Do the handover ASAP.

Hopefully there is someone to handover too (and let them do the work for the next month), but if not just start documenting what you do, deadlines etc, and share it with your manager.

@Yoheresthestory love your user name! Issue will be there is unlikely to be a replacement- any handover will be super high level to my nasty boss… who can’t do my job. This is why I am feeling overwhelmed.

Thanks for mentioning not attending meetings on new stuff, great plan! 😊

Crossposted - sorry there is no one to handover to and your boss is nasty, but as soon as you give notice, start handing it over to them, saying things like I won't be here to see this out etc. Do you have any annual leave you can take?

@vincettenoir meditation is not something have pursued before, but just downloaded headspace app so will give it a whirl, thank you

It's not your issue if your boss can't do the job or there's no one to take it on. Just cover yourself but don't take on responsibility for it - I.e. do what you can to pass over the stuff but it's not on you after that.