Ask HN: How are you getting through (and back from) burning out?

I would recommend if your problem is overplanning, how have you responded to spontaniety? e.g. Attending figure drawing sessions where you don't know who you'll be sketching and the distinct and sudden social change around viewing nakedness. Or roller blading or dancing or jazz, all of which hold spontaneity or the appearance of such as part of the enjoyment of the activity.

I've started a bullet journal, and I track things to do, habits, and mood. Crossing things off as done is silly rewarding, and it helps me be more aware about what's going on. No more, "what happened in January? I don't remember that month..."

Reading and writing has also helped. I've started up a small medium account for fun, and try to get through a book every few months.

Another big thing is finding a goal for the month and accomplishing it. This month is car repairs. Last month was getting the cat through his first vet visits. Next month will likely be spring cleaning.

All of this is little details. My friends and my church family are far more significant.

Several years ago, I got over my burnout by changing my work environment. I left a demanding job with equally demanding coworkers for a job which I was slightly overqualified for with coworkers who appreciated me and what I do. Completing simple tasks that I could do quickly resulted in positive reinforcement which reconditioned my brain to associate work with positive outcomes. Getting things done felt good again.

There's a lot of different kinds of burnout, so this might not apply to every case, but going through this episode taught me the value of positive reinforcement.

For me, it was getting into martial arts. Quit my last job due to burn out, started martial arts a few weeks after and I reckon it is probably one of the best things I've done in my life.

I took six months off last year after spending six and a half years at a startup, from beginning through acquisition and eventual decline. I went from front-end developer to director of engineering, and completely burned out by the end.

I read "Ego is the Enemy", which helped me a lot in identifying why I stayed so long in a position that was bad for me (I was addicted to the title). When I quit, I established all these rules on how I was going to spend my day: out by 9am, back no earlier than 6pm, walk all day, take photos, become a better person.

Terrible idea.

I'd substituted one form of stress (imposter syndrome) for another (impossible goals). Pretty quickly I realized my mistake and accepted I actually had some baggage I needed to let go.

For the first month, I let myself do nothing. I could sleep late, watch movies, walk, or do anything else as long as I wasn't pressuring myself to succeed. In doing so, I was able to jettison my identity (I was a DIRECTOR after all..yeesh), and begin to identify what I actually wanted in life. It took me a full month until one morning I woke up without dread.

After that day I set a simple good: take one good photo a day. I eased back into a creative lifestyle, making sure I enjoyed the work every step of the way. My wife, through quitting coffee, inspired me to build an app that helped track my lesser addictions: coffee, chocolate, sugar, gaming. Now I was being creative and improving myself.

Through all this I learned what I really wanted, what was hurting me in and out of work, and with this knowledge I was able to rebuild my persona into someone who was happy and energized.

tl;dr Take it slow, don't pressure yourself.