Most of us have to work. There are bills to pay. Kids to feed. Places to see. Food and wine to enjoy. Healthcare. Sometimes it’s because we love it (prior to starting my own financial advisory business, I believed this was mostly platitudes). Sometimes it can burn us out. A recent survey by millennials, found that work and finances were the 2 highest sources of burnout.

Do you wonder if its worth it? Is your job killing you a little bit every day? Are you feeling burned out?

A little of my own story

When I graduated from GA Tech, I already had a job. I worked at GE my final quarter of college, driving through traffic up to Windward Parkway during the week, learning about Cisco routers. And cramming in my final two courses in the hours between work. I then proceeded to work my tail off for the next 20 years, never really taking a major break. My tech career required that I always be plugged in. I worked with people in India, Israel, France, West coast … when I woke up in the morning, my inbox was filled. When I went to bed, if I was lucky, I had mostly cleared out the 400 emails that I received daily. Vacation was just another way of saying that I was working remotely from a desk with a cool view. By my early forties, I was making “good” money and making a difference at work, but I was feeling bogged down. A general feeling of malaise, that even fun travel destinations, could not shake.

I ended up taking a year off, to reevaluate and regroup. And came out of it in a much better situation.

What is burnout? Mental or physical exhaustion. There are 5 stages …

How do you know if you are entering that burn out stage? Are you currently burned out? Here are some things to look out for:

Are you constantly tired?
Are you not sleeping well?
Is your productivity slipping?
Are people you used to like at work, constantly irritating you?
Do you feel like you are constantly “on” and never get any time away?
Do you have a list of the 5 things you would prefer to be doing?
Do you dream about work and wake up in a cold sweat?
Are you self sabotaging?
Find yourself fantasizing about getting fired?

It is not an easy problem to solve. As is generally true, half the battle is realizing the situation. Are you talking to anyone about it? Are you mapping out a strategy to solve the problem?

Several things to consider:

Talk to your boss about it
Find a mentor and talk to them about it
Take a long vacation and completely unplug
Find a safe place to dream about what you really (realistically?) want to do
If finances cause you stress, wrap your arms around the problem. Is it debt? Keeping up with the Jones’? Expectations?
Buckle down and save 6 months worth of expenses. Then take a long break. Sometimes removing yourself from the situation will allow you to see more clearly.
Detach yourself from work. Set aside time during the day that you don’t check your email or Slack.
Make room in your day to meditate, work out, nap, play guitar … Rest is one of my favorite books on the topic.
Go easy on yourself

If you are feeling burned out, there are many ways to make forward progress. Know, that you only have one life, and it is up to you to solve the problem. Finances are a means to an end … your money is there to help you reach your goals. If you stash a huge pile of gold, it won’t add up to much if you are not using it for the things that make you happy.