If you dread Mondays, it's too late.
If you feel grumpy about work, it's too late.
You're already burning out.
You're already not taking care of yourself enough.
Most people don't realize burnout comes in layers. It doesn't hit you all at once - it creeps in slowly. It starts when your mood changes. You feel less motivated, more irritable. You start "powering through."
But on the far end of that spectrum lies something far more serious: cognitive decline, which can lead to even neurodegenerative disease. Burnout doesn't just make you tired; it changes your brain.
The myth of "just take a vacation"
Throughout my career, I've heard the same advice on repeat: "You just need a vacation."
But here's the truth: taking a vacation won't fix you.
Because burnout isn't about needing rest once - it's about living in a system that constantly depletes you. When you come back from time off, you're stepping right back into the same environment, habits, and expectations that drained you in the first place.
A vacation is a band-aid, not a cure.
Yes, it can help if you truly disconnect, but it won't change the system that burned you out to begin with.
What you actually need
You need to know your limits.
You need to define what sustainability looks like for you.
Put your rest and recovery on the same level as your project deadlines. Your vacation shouldn't be an afterthought; it should be a quarterly goal.
And if you're a knowledge worker, remember: your brain is your main workstation.
There's a quote by Warren Buffett I love that encourages you to compare your body to being given just one car to drive for your whole life.
Your brain is that car.
It's "the laptop" that lets you earn your living. Lose your cognitive sharpness, and you lose your ability to do your job or enjoy anything else.
Burnout isn't a weakness.
It's your body saying, "You're failing to take care of me."
The missing skills no one taught us
As a manager working with tech professionals, I've learned this firsthand: most of us have the technical skills we need to do our jobs.
What we lack are the foundational skills like communication, organization, self-care, and self-management.
No one taught us those.
They weren't critical in older work cultures where boundaries existed by default, when "after hours" actually meant something.
Now we live in a world where everyone is "reachable." Always on. Always present. Always performing.
The result? Our brains never get a true reset.
The three levels of burnout
Nobody talks about this, but burnout has three stages of severity.
Mild burnout is when you feel irritable, tired, and unfocused. Recovery can take weeks to months if you start addressing it now.
Moderate burnout is when you’re emotionally detached, anxious, and your focus is gone. A long weekend won’t fix this. You need emotional support, better habits, and real lifestyle adjustments.
But the real beast is severe burnout. At this point, you’ve lost all interest in your work. You’re dealing with migraines, chronic fatigue, maybe even depression. At this stage, you need professional help and a structured recovery plan. It might take years to fully recover, and sometimes, a complete career change is part of the healing.
The good news
I know it sounds scary, but it's not hopeless.
You already have the tools to rebuild yourself.
- Pause. Reflect on what led you here. The longer you ignore burnout, the longer it takes to heal.
- Set clear boundaries.
- Build a personal and professional support system.
- Create healthy coping strategies for tough days.
- And most importantly, take care of yourself every single day like it's your main job on this planet.
Because it is.