I have for now, it took a pretty big shift in how I engage with work and it's proving pretty easy to slip into bad habits. But I now have the ability to spot when that's happening. I'm a software developer who has traditionally worked in digital agencies for context.
I worked very hard for a long time, whilst also trying to start my own SaaS products, and basically ended up not being able to do anything anymore. I couldn't bring myself to do any work. No amount of logic, rationale, money or anything was able to get me to care. I never took any leave, so I had something silly like 12 weeks of leave pay when I left. That plus savings, I took a 6 month break, and slowly got into freelancing as money was starting to run out.
Freelancing let me engage with work in a way that let me slowly build my enjoyment back up, and during this time I was able to build up new hobbies, start caring about old hobbies again, and start engaging with life properly. I did some cheap travel, I was always a gym nut but I got into mountain biking too, I was outdoors a lot.
I was fairly adamant I'd never work a 9-5 again. Then the pandemic happened, and work was good, but I was looooneley. I missed the hustle and bustle of the city, banter with workmates and after-work pints at the pub.
So this year I started another office job, I don't do a full week, and I clock in and out on the dot. I doubt I'll be in the office forever, but it is really great right now and I'm enjoying caring about the work again. Eventually I'll move on as everyone does, and hopefully it'll be to something not in an office.
It has also helped to have goals outside of work, during my time away from full time work I was able to dig deep and really consider what I wanted my work-life to look like in 10, 20, 30 years. Knowing what that could look like gives me a purpose to work toward, and I find that takes a lot of the FOMO/anxiety out of work. One burning question I always had during burnout was "Is this all life is?" and it was important to take the time to figure out that the answer is no.
I worked very hard for a long time, whilst also trying to start my own SaaS products, and basically ended up not being able to do anything anymore. I couldn't bring myself to do any work. No amount of logic, rationale, money or anything was able to get me to care. I never took any leave, so I had something silly like 12 weeks of leave pay when I left. That plus savings, I took a 6 month break, and slowly got into freelancing as money was starting to run out.
Freelancing let me engage with work in a way that let me slowly build my enjoyment back up, and during this time I was able to build up new hobbies, start caring about old hobbies again, and start engaging with life properly. I did some cheap travel, I was always a gym nut but I got into mountain biking too, I was outdoors a lot.
I was fairly adamant I'd never work a 9-5 again. Then the pandemic happened, and work was good, but I was looooneley. I missed the hustle and bustle of the city, banter with workmates and after-work pints at the pub.
So this year I started another office job, I don't do a full week, and I clock in and out on the dot. I doubt I'll be in the office forever, but it is really great right now and I'm enjoying caring about the work again. Eventually I'll move on as everyone does, and hopefully it'll be to something not in an office.
It has also helped to have goals outside of work, during my time away from full time work I was able to dig deep and really consider what I wanted my work-life to look like in 10, 20, 30 years. Knowing what that could look like gives me a purpose to work toward, and I find that takes a lot of the FOMO/anxiety out of work. One burning question I always had during burnout was "Is this all life is?" and it was important to take the time to figure out that the answer is no.