On burnout and accepting that “I over-did it”
Having committed to a full-time academic/consulting career and a full-time social media life (and by that I mean, participating in events, providing exposure, organizing contests, etc.) was a decision I made 2 years ago and it was carefully calculated. I measured my own progress in taking care of myself and so on. I focused my holiday on writing a book around water governance in Mexico (and I *love* research and writing).
I should have just rested.
I figured I could come back in January with the same level of energy. I didn’t. January is a tough month by all measures, I am teaching 2 courses, and my consulting and research are full-fledged and blossoming. So I can’t really do everything I thought I was capable of doing, even if I am organized and wake up early. I overdid it. I accept it. I talked to JT this past weekend and said to him that I could easily see the signs of burnout. We had dinner on Saturday and the topic permeated throughout our conversation.
It’s a fact, I’m going to have to cut down, and I know I promise this to myself all the time, but the fact is, this time I can see the effects of overcommitting to things. I got sick on Thursday. I calculated how many contests I was running and I thought to myself “oops, I think I’m running way too many”. I love giving, and giving of myself, but if I am to keep my 2011 promise to take myself as a priority, I need to start doing that.
RIGHT NOW.
I’ve recently discovered your blog and love it.
I noticed how many entries you make a day…wow!
Us faithful followers would miss your contests but understand health is more important than us winning great prizes! Maybe you’ll do less entries so that you can still continue on with the contests:)
How come when I try and enter my website for the comment section, I always get a message saying there’s on error. When I copy and paste it into a new browser it shows up fine. Here’s my link, so you can try it:
http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/27397
Okay, having come to your realization, what is the first thing you are going to STOP doing so that you can cut down? What’s the second? Have you stopped them yet?