| Taking a couple of weeks off isn't likely to cure burnout, as you're probably realizing. There seems to be a few common trends in burning out: 1. A sense of being trapped. You can't, for whatever reason, decide to stop going to work. You have limited options where work and finances are concerned, or you think you do. 2. A job that is too demanding. Stress, bad management, too many work hours, or a seemingly endless stream of dreary monotonous tasks. 3. The job is not rewarding enough. It either demands too much time or doesn't offer enough money for you to maintain a healthy work/life balance, which IMO is the root cause of burnout and why you see so many suggestions for changing diet or taking up a new hobby or getting more exercise (not that those are bad suggestions). I don't know if it's reasonable to tell someone that's truly burnt-out to start a gym routine or change their diet or spend less time on gaming or whatever. All of those things require some amount of willpower which is in short supply when you've been pushed to the limits of the stress levels you can tolerate. (Although they're all good habits to develop and should become a routine part of your life when you're not so stressed out that getting out of bed in the morning seems like a chore.) Realistically the only thing you can do to cure burnout is to change your job situation. It's the cause, you have to address it. Take a look at your finances and see if there really isn't any way to change your working situation somehow. Start looking for a new job. Ask for a change of responsibilities at your current job. Ask for a temporary reduction in hours. It may be different in your part of the world, but in many places, management will be motivated to try to help an employee be more productive. Odds are pretty good that your co-workers and/or supervisors have already noticed that your performance is suffering. If you think you can approach management and find a way to change your work situation, you should try. Alternatively, you can take some vacation time and then spend that time with equal parts rest & relaxation, doing whatever makes you feel better, and aggressively looking for new work. |