What To Do When You Experience Burnout

I got burnt out last year. I knew I had but I didn't really consider how it would affect my decision making. I made some stupid mistakes but I'm recovering now.

Hopefully this sparks an interesting conversation here but here are the top three things I did to "restart" my fire:


1. I Stopped Running Campaigns That Were Stressing Me Out

I think this was the biggest factor in my burnout. As a professional media buyer, one of the things we all have in common is we want control. We want control over what our figures look like and we want control over what's running. This is hugely different to SEO or other traffic sources where you're really just focusing on good content.

Last year we were running campaigns in such a manner that I had lost control over what was running. I had no control over content because we were effectively trying to manipulate a traffic' source's compliance. 100% of my time was spent on figuring out new loopholes instead of focusing on what we did best - creatives and angles.

For whatever reason, it worked out that we stopped those campaigns from Feb onwards right around the time UK went into lockdown.

Now looking back, I realised I was effectively chasing my own tail for a solid year.

2. I Went Back To Basics - Where Do I See Myself In X Years

I realised part of my burnout cause was that my team was all over the fucking place. We didn't really have a clear direction and that really caused me to lose focus on what actually makes me happy.

My dream (for quite a number of years) has been to own an online casino (with my own magic) and nothing I have been doing (aside from building cashflow) has been getting me to this goal.

Now we re-aligned. The focus is casino traffic and campaigns only. It's tougher (in a different way), but at least I feel like I'm going somewhere.

3. I Moved Out Of My Old Apartment (Cliché)

I think this has helped more than I originally thought it would. Whilst we have a small office, I generally work from home and my old apartment made me lethargic as hell. My new one; I have a dedicated workstation and it's clean because I have the space.



I'm able to focus (at first I wasn't, but now a few months in I've really started to get focused) without getting distracted (too much).



I want to hear from others - how do you cope with burnout?

1. Sports (football/soccer, running, yoga, tabata) to refresh the mind

2. Coming to the realization not everything depends on you. There are many factors (especially in IM) which are playing a role. For example, if you do SEO you can be as good as possible, but in the end it depends on Google and what update they are releasing.

3. Taking it easy and not putting so much pressure on yourself

4. Being in control of the situation by being honest to yourself, no fake expectations or promises. If you do the best you can on a daily basis there is nothing you have to regret

5. Take a break when it is necessary. Once I worked on four different websites. It took me months to rank them. Just one week after they went to the Top 5 Google rolled out an update and they went straight to page 4 and 5. I had no idea how to fix it. All my expectations and motivation were destroyed. I turned off the fucking laptop, booked a hotel in Pattaya (I was in Thailand at this time) and relaxed at the swimming pool for a few days and got the motivation back. If I would have started to work again immediately I would go crazy.

6. The very basic characteristic to stay positive and hopeful. Without hope and positivity, it will be very difficult

Cold showers, meditation, gym, forest.

This thread/subject is golden, but since the details can vary a lot from person to person I'll keep it short.

Quit repetition (temp) from my own experience as I must do what I do.

We won't feel good every single day, and sometimes we should keep doing things that got us burned, but later.

kasher9 said:

I'm able to focus (at first I wasn't, but now a few months in I've really started to get focused) without getting distracted (too much).



I want to hear from others - how do you cope with burnout?

Click to expand...

id start by using a frigging coaster on for that drink look at water marks...





Normally I take a day or two off and just do something totally different.

Meditation helps me cop with stress on a continuous basis.

Also, I try to schedule small micro wins (like making my bed, tiding up my home, running x miles, drinking x litres of water et al.) throughout my day so it doesn't feel like a total disaster on bad days

@OP What is that white power beside your glass?

Burnout is normal, got to stop and take a breath of fresh air sometimes.

I've burnt out 3 times, and definitely never again, my time and life management is too good now.

Go to sleep earlier and wake up earlier. Move a bit maybe do some sports.

1/ Delegation, quit doing everything myself.
2/ Leave sm alone. Time suck and just a freakin' mindfeck.
3/ Focused on real projects rather than shiny objects.
4/ Be kind to myself.
5/ Sever ties with toxic people.
6/ Stop self medication.
7/ Take time for myself and family.

I'm coming to the realization that I've been so burnt out for so long that I don't realize how burnt out I am anymore. My productivity, decision making, and all other aspects of my life have been adversely affected.

I'm going to take the first vacation I've taken in a decade later this month. I'll have a week in a different environment to reshape my perspective.

I'm also pretty well set on the idea of trying Ayahuasca - some people need more of a reboot than others.

Then I'd like to get back to all the things I know make me a better, more efficient, "me". Yoga, meditation, exercise, and likely a better diet.

I like the idea of moving out of your apartment to find another one. It might seem odd to some people but it really sets you up for something new in life, like the next "Chapter" - You're ready for bigger and better things. I am sure this will help you out a lot. The best thing is that you have discovered it yourself and are actively changing it. There are so many people that work like theres no tomorrow and don't even end up realizing that they are wasting lots of time just sitting on the computer doing nothing.

I was in this situation a couple of times already and travelling always gave me a little bit of free mind to know what to focus on when i get back to work and try out new things. Also sports on a daily basis can really help you relieve stress. I don't know if you are a morning guy but i always wake up at 4 AM to do 2 hours of cardio. Do that for a couple of months and you will feel so refreshed, i'm tellin ya.

Anyways, great suggestion by the other members above me as well. Just hang in there kasher, you'll get out of eventually if you keep on applying the things that you're doing right now.

Never get completely settled or comfortable with what you’re doing now; always be looking for improvements and start out every day at 0. Might sound counter-intuitive in some regard but this is the case for me.

I think having short breaks is healthy, being stressed for a long period of time will lead to some serious issues.

Personally I try to find a balanced regime so I can work as much without feeling stressed or too tired by night, you know having a clear and thoughtful is really important for such a business.

# Daily
1. Wakeup early, even 4am is decent time, while others are sleeping you work. ( early morning works are better than late night works, just my view )
2. Squeeze some exercise into schedule, the extra dopamine from exercise helps you throughout the day. Just simple pushups or pullups is enough if you got busy schedule. dont burn out with reps, keep things simple, you want ur arms active for work, or just run in street or park or threadmill.
3. Freshup. ( make some oats + toast + coffee or whatever u like to eat early morning ).
4. Meditate, Just close ur eyes & monitor ur breathing for 10min.
5. Make a schedule for everyone in ur team n for u for the day.
6. Stop thinking & follow the list .
- Most important thing that worded for to not get into such situations, i just follow whatever i decide to do in the schedule, if some extra work arises in the middle i place it for finishing after end of current schedule or tomorrow if its not important to the current work.
7. Spend some time with your family, in evenings, after meals, in sundays, etc. Keep the wife happy whenever possible .
8. In the end of the day, review what ur team did for the day, update it in ur project goals.
9. Sleep & Repeat. Get atleast 7hrs sleep. ( if possible squeeze in 1 hr sleep in afternoon ).



# Target.
- Write down all ur projects & thoughts in a notepad, prioritise them & use them to manage ur daily goals.
- Make a notepad for longterm goals too.

EG :

Current Projects.txt

- project 1
- project 2
- project 3
........

||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

- Project 1
- step 1
- step 2
- step 3
- step 4
# refrence docs, resources & insights - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

- Project 2
- step 1
- step 2
- step 3
- step 4
# refrence docs, resources & insights sofar - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

........................

Have been in a similiar situation where I burnt out last year and made a bad business decision.

What really helps me to unwind is:
- doing sports on a regular basis
- a nice car ride at night
- hanging out with people that are not business oriented
- taking a short trip into a developing country to put things into perspective.

And I totally agree with the 2nd point. Often times we get such a tunnel vision and forget to zoom out and see the bigger picture. It might end up with us asking ourselves: "what the fuck am I really doing here".

Been there myself.
1. Take a break, relax, lower the amount of work you do. If you can, stop completely for a period.
2. Relax, meditate, have more of quality sleep.
3. Socialize, go out with friends, chat and talk about new ideas, talk with family.
4. Add a workout schedule to your day - this also helps a lot.

i burnt out 2019 after 11 years of daily selling on bhw
i was done. im still here, just not every single day
theres a world out there, but my selling days are done.

Thanks everyone. Let's keep this going as an encouragement for all those burnt out.

Luckily I'm all good now. And yeah to those who suggested yoga/sports, yep that really helped center me.


I think for me what really worked is realigning my goals and for my team too.

kasher9 said:

As a professional media buyer, one of the things we all have in common is we want control. We want control over what our figures look like and we want control over what's running. This is hugely different to SEO or other traffic sources where you're really just focusing on good content.

Click to expand...

Hey, we want control in SEO. It's just that the search engines don't give a crap about our desire for control.
*Google be like...*
"Ah, so you wrote a meta description? We like ours more, even if it makes no sense."

Heiko said:

I like the idea of moving out of your apartment to find another one. It might seem odd to some people but it really sets you up for something new in life, like the next "Chapter" - You're ready for bigger and better things.

Click to expand...

I second this notion. Sometimes a change of scenery can do wonders.

When I have burnout, what tends to help me are Audible audio books on personal development topics.
"Start With Why" was a helpful book, as it challenges me to focus on why I started whatever it was that I started, to begin with. Sometimes it's the simple act of focusing my mind back on my "why", that gives me that extra push to get myself back on track.

Other things work well, in addition to this "reboot" of mental clarity, such as supplements such as nootropics, daily multivitamins, etc, and perhaps a good sativa (YMMV). Sometimes, I may just go for a walk. No music or audio or dog or anything else. Only silence -- me and my thoughts.

Burnout is hard, but it's really just mind over matter.

One of my dreams is to own a profitable online casino. While you may just see cashflow as being the only thing you've been doing to help you achieve this goal, I'm here to disagree with you. Your expertise in both media buying and building a team, are also helping you to achieve this goal. When I'm ready to start my casino, I'm going to have to figure out media buying, but you won't. You already have that experience.