Getting rid of burnout permanently

I'm pretty sure burnout is endemic to this industry, if not most of society. It's a good idea to be on the lookout. Don't underestimate the dangers of burning out (they may include losing your passion entirely).

Thanks for taking the time to write this article.

The human body is generally well-adapted to maintaining homeostasis, in the absence of extreme illness and disease, i.e. feeling thirsty when you need fluids, hunger when you need calories and needing sleep when you're tired.

However, sometimes external and internal factors can cause us to ignore these basic needs/warning signs. The need to meet a deadline, the need to not let down your coworkers or the need to demonstrate "passions" for your line of work. The first two apply pretty much to any job nowadays, while the latter applies groups that are often expected to show a "portfolio" of their work, such as artists, musicians, graphic designers and increasingly, software developers.

All of these demands can easily lead to burnout and a lack of passion, not just tiredness. Feeling tired is one thing, as one usually ascribe that physical causes. But having a feeling of lacking passion can be soul-crushing, as it leads one to question whether one is in the right field of work. This is perhaps the one of the worst effects of burnout and must be avoided. Burnout is the cause and a lack of passion is merely a symptom.

Realizing there is much more to life than work-related goals, as the article suggests, is a good solution.

I agree with the majority of the article, but one thing leapt out - the first question that the author suggests might 'help you to pinpoint your resentment';

Why do you want to take a break, go on holiday? What are you really running away from?

Taking a break and going on holiday is not running away from things. Even if you're working on something that you absolutely love, with an amazing team of people, doing something that will change the world - it's still a good idea to take a break. Experiencing different cultures, seeing new things, getting out of your comfort zone, and looking at things from a different perspective is fantastically useful. It makes you see things differently. Going on holiday is a good thing in itself; it isn't merely a cure for the bad things.

I don't think this article really says anything that isn't obvious. We all know that serious cases of burnout happen because you don't like what you're doing. We all only have so much patience and tolerance for things we dislike. The answer is to stop doing things you don't like doing so much, and do things you do like doing more, and make this a permanent change, not just a two week break before you jump back into the things you hate; that may prolong your tolerance, but you'll eventually run out again. We have to find an equilibrium between the enjoyable and the necessary that allows us to be productive but doesn't make us hate our lives. That's no secret.

The problem is that most people don't have many options to change their situation in a significant way -- all they can do, if they're lucky, is take a short vacation and hope that re-energizes them enough to go into another grueling year without having a breakdown. Some of us have to try to manage a constantly ongoing breakdown without disrupting the work that brings in the bacon.

If your version of "burnout" is completely resolved by taking a vacation, you weren't burning out, you just needed a short break. In my mind, burnout refers to a larger state of mental exhaustion.

My take was that the author was talking about situations where people say "I _need_ to take a holiday" with the implication that work is too much for them right now. E.g. a holiday for the sake of getting away from a burnout work situation as opposed to a holiday for the sake of experiencing different cultures, seeing new things etc. The former is good and healthy, but in the former you are running away from something.