Many of us feel like work takes up more space in our lives than it should. While it only makes up 33% of our waking hours, it often feels like it consumes 90-100% of our energy. Burnout and unhappiness creeps in when we allow work to dominate our thoughts and identity, leaving little room for the things that actually bring us joy and fulfilment.
Burnout: A Simple Equation
Burnout happens when more things in our life drain us than fill us up. It’s not just about the time we spend working, but the energy it takes from us. To avoid burnout, we need to balance what drains us with what recharges us.
One way to do this is by making two lists: one of things that drain your energy, and one of things that fill you up. Do certain tasks leave you exhausted, while activities outside of work leave you energised? The goal is to incorporate more of the energising activities into your week, not just waiting for the weekend or holidays. ‘Living for the weekend’ means by midweek, we’re already running on empty. We need to find ways to refill our cups regularly, not just in bursts of time off.
Work Isn’t Everything
A big reason work takes over our lives is that we’ve been taught to see it as central to who we are. Recently, I took five weeks off work, and people often asked how I was filling my time. They assumed I’d lost a sense of identity because I wasn’t going to a job every day. Even though I was still writing and working on my business, there was this belief that without a formal job, I must be lacking purpose.
Society tends to place too much value on job titles and salaries, which can lead us to feel that our worth is tied to our work. But when we think about our friends or loved ones, do we think about their jobs? Not really. We think about their passions, how they make us feel, or the fun we have together. If we don’t define others by their jobs, why do we let work define us?
Finding Balance in Life
To keep work in perspective, it helps to think about all the areas that make up your life: work, self, health, friends, family, and romantic relationships. These are the key parts of who we are. If one area falls too low, it can throw us off balance.
A useful exercise is to score each area out of 10. If any score is below a six, it’s time to think about what’s draining you in that area and how you can improve it. It’s important to keep this balance in mind when thinking about how much work takes up our energy. If we only focus on work, we risk letting it overshadow the other important areas of life.
Be Intentional with Your Time
Being intentional is the key to keeping work in check. It’s easy to let work creep into our thoughts when we have empty time, or when we’re passively going through the day. To avoid this, we need to consciously shift our focus to things outside of work. Making a commitment to something (e.g. a gym class, a sports team, a book club, even a dinner reservation) can allow you to maximise your time for refilling your cups. If a work thought pops up while you’re spending time with loved ones or relaxing, jot it down quickly and return to the moment. This way, you capture the thought without letting it steal your attention.
When we’re intentional about how we spend our time, we can better separate work from the rest of our lives. It’s not about ignoring work completely—it’s about ensuring that it doesn’t take up more of our mental space than it should. If we fill our non-work hours with activities that truly bring us joy and fulfilment, we can prevent work from draining our energy and stop burnout before it starts.