| As a person whose been there, I can say that it is temporary. Drift for a couple of months, even a couple of years if you can afford to. You will eventually find balance in your life and be much more prepared for the future. I always thought to myself when I felt bad that it was actually fortunate for me to have lived this kind of extreme burnout earlier in life where I didn't have serious obligations and had time to overcome it. Now when I think back at the times when I worked crazy hard, I think the root of that problem was my insecurity. I thought if I had good grades, it would lead me to a good university. A good university would lead me to a good job. And a good job would lead me to a good life. It was a pretty hard blow when I realized that the cycle of work never stops. There is always something to do and what I got left with after high school was poor social skills and a massive burnout. At Uni I stayed away from ambitious people, hanged around with slackers and misfits. I joined a band, became the go-to guy for making party posters/concert posters by leveraging my computer skills. At the same time my grades didn't suffer that much considering I studied considerably less. I can't buy the tales of self-discipline anymore. If my body is actively fighting me on the work I think I'm supposed to do, I don't do it. I try to organize my work so that I don't lose track of the essentials. If I can't get myself to work more at least I get these covered. Most of the times, the work that I think that needs to be done turns out to be unnecessary. Unfortunately ambition is a two edged sword: on one side you work yourself to the bone for a period of time exceeding all expectations, but on the other side once you depleted your energy, you can't get yourself to work at all. That's why after many years of trial and error, I now manage the essential work in my life in org-files. I schedule a maximum of 6-7 essential items for my week. These tasks also include life-obligations such as getting a haircut, sending out job applications, going to the doctor etc. I usually try to do these tasks to avoid drastic outcomes in the future. My org-agenda works like a security rope for me. I cannot foresee my mental state or outside factors affecting my life, but at least I always know the few tasks that absolutely need to be done beforehand to sustain my living. |