These are all symptoms of burnout, which is becoming more common as our work lives become busier, more demanding, and more stressful.
Friday, March 03, 2017
A guide to burnout: what it is, and how to overcome it
These are all symptoms of burnout, which is becoming more common as our work lives become busier, more demanding, and more stressful.
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I really loved this article, mostly because of the adorable picture of the otter at the top. I think too often we find ourself burning out, and while I have never heard it in such a formal diagnosis, I really like that concept. Its not scary to hear that your burning out, it is something that is understandable with out all the medical jargon, but validates everything you've been feeling. I have made a huge shift in my daily life with choosing to focus on the things that I enjoy, choosing to sleep, and finding time to exercise and eat right. I didn't start because I was burnt out, it was wanting to get my mental health in check, and I have to say that I haven't felt as tapped out as I used to in general. With how prevalent mental health is, I think this is a really good way to approach it, that the times when your tired, disconnected, and sad are because of being burned out, and not a bigger bubble of medical terms. I really love eating clean (no wheat/diary/processed sugars) and it has helped me from feeling out of touch with myself, and I do think that everyone should make the changes in their lives that this article suggests, weather or not your feeling burnt out, but if you are, well then just stop making excuses and give it a try.
I loved this article, especially because of how greatly it applies to those who work in theatre. The jobs that we are taking on require a large amount of time and energy all of the time. There are not really any time for breaks, especially if you want to continue to work on shows. Most of the time, before I have even finished working on a show the next one has already begun. This is especially true in the School of Drama where there are three shows being performed at one time. And on top of these three shows, build has already started for the next ones that will move in. It becomes extremely difficult to make sure that you don't burn out, and I love that this article included ways to get over a burn out. One of the things that stood out to me was that you have to make sure you are taking care of yourself. I know when I consumed with a show, I tend to put the show before my own mental and physical health. I never really considered this that big of deal because I would just say oh I will take care of that when the show is over, but that doesn't really work when there is one following right after. People need to be able to put their overall health over what they do as their career, no matter what it is.
I think this has been the most useful self-help article that I have read on this blog in the short time that I have been a student in the Basic PTM class. I feel like it is also very much needed here within the school of drama. I personally have felt myself struggling with the symptoms of burnout and I was able to connect it to multiple stressors. I was worried because this is only the beginning of my time here at Carnegie Mellon University, so it is very important that I am able to starve out burnout much longer than this. I am grateful to see myself reflected within writing so I don’t feel like it is something only I have problems with. Being aware of the serious effects of burnout is something all young adults need to be aware of because it becomes a very prominent possibility when we hit adulthood. There is always going to be that period of time when we have to do things that we are not the most excited about, but keeping the end goal in sight, while also making time for ourselves, is extremely important to going through life happy.
I thought this article was really interesting, and although i think my attention was caught more by the picture of the otter than the title itself, i found this article helpful and informative. I know for sure that at some point or another, we have all experienced burnout, and i think its impossible not to when working in theater. we are always working on shows, whether it is currently running, or in build, and i think, often people forget that they need to take a break, I know i have. I love that this article not only gives an extremely accurate summary of burnout, but provides answers or solutions for people who are experiencing it. There will always come a time when we have to work as hard as we can on something, but making sure you work equally hard at taking care of yourself is the real goal in my opinion.
I love the otter. I think the other aspect for dealing with burnout that the article missed is simply acknowledging when you are burned out, and letting that be ok. Maybe you do not enjoy your work on the whole, or maybe it is the activity balance, or something about the workplace. The fact that burnout could be caused by so many different factors make it less scary, in my opinion. Feeling burnout does mean you need to quit your job or make major changes in every aspect of your life. Dealing with the problem does not have to be that extreme. I did appreciate the example given of adding something to your schedule you actually care about. I think that so often the suggestion for work related stresses is to slow down or drop something, which I know I immediately ignore because so much of my schedule is nonnegotiable.
I think that feeling burnt out is a given at Carnegie Mellon, especially in the School of Drama (from what I can tell). However, overcoming the overwhelming feeling of being “burnt out” is much easier said than done. While moving past feeling like this should be on one’s to do list, it’s definitely not at the top. The number one priority here, for me anyway, is to finish everything I have to finish to the best of my ability. And to be honest, I haven’t even done THAT every week (Dead David, sorry I haven’t written 5 comments every week. I promise I’m better than that). Taking on the amount of work we do here will take a toll on anyone’s mental health, and that’s just something you’re going to have to (though I strongly believe you shouldn’t have to and somehow there’s a way not to) put your mental or physical health second. The “work-life balance” often feels as attainable as “the rainbow unicorn of regional theatre.” I hope I figure out how to reach both somehow.
I honestly wish that I could've seen this article at the end of last semester given the subject matter. I feel as if that the points in this article would've been extremely beneficial to those nearing crits, many of whom described having these feelings to me, as well as including myself. I find that at Carnegie Mellon, and especially the School of Drama, this fear of becoming a "burnout" is an ever present obstacle that we're warned about (especially with majorly big projects such as Rube and Arcade quickly gaining speed), and I feel that fully understanding and getting an actual firm grasp on the situation associated with this burnout feeling is the best solution to solving it. I think that because of this lack of knowledge, people often let this feeling of burnout become an all consuming one, instead of a problem with a feasible solution. I know that in my case, when my fall semester went into a downward spiral of failure that it seemed like their wasn't any point or way of digging myself out, and that simply "getting over" or saying "I'll fix it" won't actually achieve anything. What's good about this article is that it gives actual points about this feeling and providing knowledge and understand to those may not know where to start.
Burnout is a topic that has been and, I think, always will be relevant within the realm of studying/ working in art and theater. I think it’s interesting that the article debunks the idea of burnout being simply working too long for too hard, but rather frames it as when the deadlines and demands side of the scale outweights the reward and relaxation side of the scale. I think this makes a lot of sense, because we often wonder how successful designers and artists are able to make it so far and continue to produce such amazing work, and I think it’s because at a certain point in one’s career the recognition may become enough to justify all of the hard work that is happening. This is harder at the level that we are at, when criticism is part of our education and requires us to continue to challenge our beliefs of our standards while also balancing every other part of our lives outside of classes/ production. In reality I don’t think this is much different than the way that the “real world” works in that we continue to learn from our mistakes and that we need critique and, in a sense, a lack of recognition, in order to eventually succeed. I’ve talked with my peers about how sometimes feeling the need to enjoy what you are doing can sometimes put even more pressure on yourself to make your work perfect and, consequently, make you enjoy the process even less. While I think that the advice for avoiding burnout presented in this article is fairly generic, what’s helped me to stay focused in a fast-paced environment has been to remind myself how incredibly lucky I am to be surrounded by the people I am surrounded with and to be able to do the thing that so few people have the opportunity to do.
The fact that TD has a high likelihood of having burnout, I have work for as many as three in one year at the same company, is what first drew my attention to this article. I have what I perceive to be reasonable fear that I will experience major burnout again at some point further in my career and wish to see if this article could be of any use in both help my prevent it by catching it early, but also to help with it if I am ever in thick of the feeling of burnout. Honestly I can say that while the article didn't necessarily have a much information as I would wish it did have a good summary of the concepts that I feel is helpful and it also supplied me with other research sources I can investigate latter. In all a short and concise article that I feel will be helpful in keeping people from mopping around the work place going through the motions and not truly being involved in the process that, so good.
Even though it's not about theater directly I think it's highly appropriate that this article is on this blog. Because given the work we do at the School of Drama, I think burnout is a real and present possibility. I personally have been feeling a little burnt out this semester, and have been playing around with this idea of adding a little something outside of my work to help me feel motivated about what I am doing again. But when you have a very busy schedule, it can seem impossible, or like you are wasting valuable time, to try and add a little something extra into your week. However, we have a great opportunity in theatre because the hard work we all put in goes into producing something you can go experience with a large group of people, appreciate the experience you helped create for them as the audience laughs, or gasps, or shudders, and you can be reminded of why you do what you do in the first place. I know that seeing Ragtime certainly helped remind me what this is all about in the end. But I think it’s important to note that this article is not saying the solution to burnout is work harder, or faster, or better and then you will have the time and energy to include more things in your schedule because that is what it feels like the solution has to be most of the time, but that is you make time for important things in your schedule outside your work, then you will find the energy and motivate to work more efficiently.
I think this article is actually really helpful to a number of different professions outside the corporate world, especially to theatre. I think the usual response to people getting burned out is for others to say something like "Well, you just have to remember why you started doing this in the first place." And while this may help a little, it is important to really understand why the feelings happened in the first place, not look for a quick way to fix them. I do think that, while it is counterintuitive, the point at the end is very valid. Adding something that genuinely makes you happy, even if that means another scheduling item, goes a long way in making your overall mood better. I also think that the writing down of stressful things as they happen could be really helpful; that way you don't heave an overall feeling of stress and resentment towards work, but specific things that you might actually be able to help with or solve.
That is the thing that is funny about people who warn about theatrical burn out. This is what I love to do. Maybe I will become resentful or cynical towards those I am working with at that moment, but in theater is it very rare that one works with the same group of people for an extended period of time. I also think that people will originally have theater as their hobby and then make it their life, but in the process they lose having a hobby; therefore, that is something that they need to find a replacement for in their lives to avoid burnout. I do think that the “just say no” thing is hard for theater people to do — see Playground — and I know it is for me personally, but that just means that is something that needs to be learned either early on or the hard way.
I'm personally pretty terrified of burnout. Yes, this is what I love to do and I'm thankful everyday to be in a rigorous program but sometimes the exhaustion feels especially heavy one week, or after a week of late nights and new under eye circles and feeling hollowed out by the intensity and lack of good food I can completely understand how burnout is born, even when love for the craft never fades. I haven't experienced burnout like the article describes, but I've learned (but not always accepted) that amidst hard work you need to remember to take care of yourself, by sleeping in one day, walking off campus, or eating lunch in the cafe and not in the studio. While the studio is the source of a lot of anxiety and self loathing among freshman, the atmosphere of hard work is continually inspiring and we learn to be our own little community and to take care of each other through Vocelli's, naps on the floor, and aggressive slide-whistling. I wouldn't be surprised if I succumb to burnout one day, but for now I know I have a support system to help me avoid or survive it.
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