What if the way you work is what is burning you out? [Diagnostic experience]

A diagnostic for high performers who keep running out of fuel and cannot figure out why.

Introduction

You are tired, right? But not the kind of tired that a weekend fixes. The kind that sits underneath everything. You have probably tried resting. Maybe you took a holiday or a long break, came back and within a few weeks you were right back in the same place.

That is because the problem is not how much you are working but how you are working. Specifically it is what is fuelling you. Most high performers are running on some combination of urgency, obligation and low-grade fear. They do not notice it because it has been there so long it just feels like normal. But it is not normal, it is adrenaline. And adrenaline runs out.

This experience is a short set of questions with a video from me before each one. It will not tell you to work less or take more breaks. It will help you see what is actually draining you and what would need to change about the way you work for the energy to come back. There are no right answers. Just honesty.

At the end you can share your answers with me and I will send you a personal reflection. Or you can keep them private.

Questions

Q1: On a scale of 1 to 10, how burned out do you feel right now? And how long have you been at or above that level?

Q2: Make two lists. First, the parts of your work that drain you. Second, the parts that give you energy. Be specific about tasks, not categories.