Burnout really sneaked up on me. Would not recommend 0/10.
It took me a week into my 5-week break between jobs to realise that I was actually burnt out. And it took almost the entire break to feel energised again.
I had always read about burnout, and I had seen my peers go through it. I get it now. It totally freaking sucks. All I could do after work was stumble over to the couch and watch easy-to-digest TV. Side note: I’m pretty good at picking out the killer in crime shows now.
In hindsight, the signs were pretty obvious. But when you’re in it, it’s hard to tell what’s burnout or what’s fatigue. There are some great resources on burnout, this one on CodeSubmit is my fav.
I’m starting to feel more energised these days, and with that brings a whole lot of excitement about learning new things and engaging with my communities. I’m lucky that I had a chance to take a long break to recover. If you have that time, I recommend it. Especially, if you’re able to get out of a toxic work environment in the process. My goal is to take more time out of the day to be kind to oneself. I hope you’ll join me!