Post: #1

Here's a question for the RVF Crew: What do y'all do when burned out?

Go on vacation? Party like an animal? Hibernate?

Feel free to share your thoughts. I'll post my personal situation below:
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It seems like I'm finally burned out at my job after 5 months, it's not the 80 hour weeks...rather the constant red tape, unrealistic expectations, and throwing under the bus from managers/corporate. It's mainly the pressure and not being able to fix the issue because "we're going to lose money"....only to get bitched at for "not fixing the issue". Not to mention the whole management team at my branch has left or is about to leave (2 quit, 2 got promoted).

My plan was to stay there for two months until summer arrives and then quit so it won't look bad on my resume. However I've been messing up and forgetting simple things. The good thing is that I was able to keep almost everything hidden from management, but I know I can't hide stuff forever. My goal is to coast through the day for a month but even that is not manageable, in other words...I hate my job and I'm burned out.

Considering I saved a few grand and my necessary (phone+gas+internet) monthly expenses are around $250 I'm not worried about money. My plan is to work until the end of april at the latest, quit, go out and have time for myself. Hit the gym, go mountain biking, start learning web design, look for job, or grow my small side business (1300/month).

Post: #2

I purposely got out of the corporate world and took a lower level job to pay the bills. It's not the best job but low stress, great work/life balance, and I know when I leave at 5:00 I don't take any work home with me. This has given me the ability to take classes, workout, and work on my own hustles. Maybe get a 30 hour a week job thats stress free to keep some money comming in and spend some time working out, traveling, and learning a new skill.

If you just wannna get away take a few weeks/months off and go travel. Someone on this forum turned me on to the vandwelling thing, I may be going to buy a van this weekend to start building into a home as a project and maybe hit the road sumemrtime. Doesn't appeal to everyone but its a cheap way to take some time off, travel, see the US and not spend alot of money

Post: #3

(03-22-2014 05:39 PM)jamaicabound Wrote:  I purposely got out of the corporate world and took a lower level job to pay the bills. It's not the best job but low stress, great work/life balance, and I know when I leave at 5:00 I don't take any work home with me. This has given me the ability to take classes, workout, and work on my own hustles. Maybe get a 30 hour a week job thats stress free to keep some money comming in and spend some time working out, traveling, and learning a new skill.

If you just wannna get away take a few weeks/months off and go travel. Someone on this forum turned me on to the vandwelling thing, I may be going to buy a van this weekend to start building into a home as a project and maybe hit the road sumemrtime. Doesn't appeal to everyone but its a cheap way to take some time off, travel, see the US and not spend alot of money

That's what I've been thinking...do something to cover my expenses. There hasn't been a day where I went home without work on my head. If you don't mind me asking, what do you do? Your lifestyle is optimal, pay bills but with plenty of time to do other stuff, simple 9-5.

Post: #4

There's different types of vacationing. If you need to recharge, definitely go somewhere where people are friendly, speak English, it's cheap, and there's plenty of warm beaches with warm water and cheap drinks. Not the time to be backpacking, roughing it, or adventuring. When I need that type of comfortable vacation I head to Mexico.

Otherwise take off as much time as you can afford and just live. Remember what it's like to live a life without work. You might panic the first week or two, but it passes. It's nice placing greater significance on the mundane daily activities like going to the grocery store or the bank. Chat up your mail carrier. Work out like a mofo. Take a road trip and see some childhood friends. Visit your hometown.

I'm about due for a few months like this, probably going to leave my job this year and start working on my own place, with a few months in between of the lifestyle I've just posted above. Everyone needs a readjustment on occasion.

Post: #5

Vacations definitely help me. Just getting of the plane in a tropical country and seeing palm trees lifts up my mood big time.

Post: #6

While vacations are nice and give you a break, you still return to the same work situation. I bet a few days before the vacation is over your worries about work will start to enter your head.

Whatever wasn't working before you left for vacation will still be there.

You also mention you have been there only 5 months, I am not sure if you can get a vacation can you? Some organizations make you work for at least a year.

Also, if you are going to leave in a couple of months, I would just take money for the vacation days.

I think you need to pick a weekend. Give yourself 48 hours and get clear on how to get out of this situation.

I hope it all works out for you.

Post: #7

Work on your side business while on vacation.

Post: #8

It helps if you're not connected to the Internet at home and have no/few distractions.

When things get rough, meditation at home helps.

Cooking healthy food helps - the process of taking the time to do so as much as the nutritional benefits.

More generally - simply the process of traveling and going somewhere is therapeutic. Planning the trip helps.

A friend of mine said once - plan a murder out in advance, but don't do it in the end. Plan every detail. The planning and knowing that you hold someone's life in your hands has value. Plan your co-worker's/boss's murder if they're giving you trouble, but don't carry it out. You'll feel a certain power over them at work. That, and knowing that you can quit any time (if you have suffiient savings).

Post: #9

I've realized that I hate the job, despise it and don't want to be there. It probably due to my micromanaging boss who is going to leave on Friday. I'm even starting to have dreams about work and wake up at 4am. It's probably better for me to quit now, but I'll stick another 6 weeks to earn another 6K and use it as a cushion. The only thing that will stop me is if I get a promotion.

My plan is:
Put in my notice on the beginning of May.
Quit mid may, take a road trip.
Come back home, spend time with family during June, get back to basics (working out, learn new things), try to grow my business and job hunt here and there.
By Mid-July I should start job searching with more focus.

I'll hit the trades or get a job with a better work/life balance.

(03-22-2014 09:12 PM)thedude3737 Wrote:  Otherwise take off as much time as you can afford and just live. Remember what it's like to live a life without work. You might panic the first week or two, but it passes. It's nice placing greater significance on the mundane daily activities like going to the grocery store or the bank. Chat up your mail carrier. Work out like a mofo. Take a road trip and see some childhood friends. Visit your hometown.

I'm about due for a few months like this, probably going to leave my job this year and start working on my own place, with a few months in between of the lifestyle I've just posted above. Everyone needs a readjustment on occasion.

Doing random stuff like picking up the mail and going to the store seems fun nowadays, before it seemed like another chore. I'm thinking of quitting, taking a road trip, see a family member, and spend time with my family for a bit....all while working out.

There's nothing better than getting back to basics.

(03-22-2014 10:31 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  While vacations are nice and give you a break, you still return to the same work situation. I bet a few days before the vacation is over your worries about work will start to enter your head.

Whatever wasn't working before you left for vacation will still be there.

You also mention you have been there only 5 months, I am not sure if you can get a vacation can you? Some organizations make you work for at least a year.

Also, if you are going to leave in a couple of months, I would just take money for the vacation days.

I think you need to pick a weekend. Give yourself 48 hours and get clear on how to get out of this situation.

I hope it all works out for you.

You're right, before every weekend I still think about work...shit. I even dream about work weekends. It just gets to me.

We get 17 days off per year, and they accrue every 90 days, by the time I put in my two weeks notice in early May (6 months) I'll have 8.5 days...which I'll ask to get paid for the days.

(03-23-2014 04:27 PM)Jaysive Wrote:  Work on your side business while on vacation.

I'll probably go this route, work on my side business while on permanent vacation. The labor rate is really low, expenses are paid for, and it's been running for 6 years (clients include start-ups and a fortune 500 company).

Post: #10

CR,

I acknowledge you for setting up your plan.

The great thing, is as the date approaches I bet you get charged up. Excited looking forward to your new opportunities. There may be a little bit of pause/hesitation.

Even your discussion of your plan has positive energy!

Good job!

Post: #11

CR - you are working too many hours.

I do 35 hours a week - and even that leaves me feeling burned out.

Reading helps alot as well.

Post: #12

RSI, burnouts, stress, fybromyalgia, ADD,... I don't know guys. To me, it's all taken way too seriously.

Besides, recovering from someone dying on you or a real disease, I think we should all just get a little harder on ourselves or get some good sex.

If that doesn't help, fuck it, just quit. No job is worth it to get screwed up for.

Post: #13

In the short term, after a 16-hour workday or some such, I pour myself a glass of whiskey and read something.
In the long term, I've observed that setting some sort of target, unrelated to the job or whatever it is that burned me out, helps distract me. It could be quitting smoking or setting a weight-loss/muscle gain goal, or a novel-writing target.

Post: #14

Update:

My group got fucked without lube this week, a lot of random stuff came up and some employees could not work (family passing away, accidents, random shit). On Thursday we were at a number that was the norm for Tuesday. I lost my first case and had all this random shit to deal with (picking up-dropping off employees). Between that, the situation, and my scatter brain (I forget about a lot of things)...I printed my 2-week letter on Wednesday and was about to turn it in but didn't do it for some strange reason. The good thing is that I'm able to cover a lot of my shit...but it's about to come out real soon as I can't hide it forever.

A marketing position in the company opened up and I applied, don't know if that was the right choice considering I wanted to leave....but I always wanted to work in marketing and they prefer internal candidates. Staying there to learn the ropes seems like a good thing. But who knows...

I'm just counting down....turn in my letter in three weeks and just cruise it from there. Then again, every day I keep telling myself....."why not turn it in now? Fuck this, just do it now". But having 4-5K extra seems like a good reason to stay for a month.

47K for 50-71 hours per week seems like bad ROI to me. Every day I go in....I feel miserable.

Edit: thanks to all of y'all for your suggestions.

Post: #15

I like to go wild camping, and get back to nature for a week.

Hate Fucking a few gorgeous pieces of meat never hurts though.

Post: #16

Start looking for a freelance lifestyle, you won't regret it once you get the hang of it.

Post: #17

(04-13-2014 12:02 AM)Andoran Wrote:  Start looking for a freelance lifestyle, you won't regret it once you get the hang of it.

I'm looking into that. Trying to do some stuff on the side but after being in the office for 13-15 hours my motivation is gone. I downloaded some videos on photoshop and books on programming/sales/translating.

What type of freelancing do you do? Networking in Mexico seems like a good idea too if you're from the US.

Post: #18

When I burned out at my job, I stopped trying, started manipulating my numbers, and spent most of my last two months drawing pictures, reading books, working on my flexibility, pushups, posting here more often, reading a ton of cracked and the onion.

The week before I quit, I started opening nsfw web pages on my computer and tested to see if anyone was even monitoring our browsing. I watched the video where the news casters dick is shown on tv on my work cpu, googled i age a few nipple slips, searched for Brittney spears' upskirt photo of her snatch. Noone said a word!

Post: #19

you said your small side business makes 1300/month.. if it is online then do it from SE Asia and live it up

Post: #20

This is a cool thread.

Speaking of which, I quit a few days ago.

I have a lot of responsibilities financially but I still did it.

My burnout wasn’t due to excessive labor but excessive idleness, if that’s even a word (aka. Not doing much and getting paid BUT crushing my soul in the process)

I decided that soul crushing is costing me.

I don’t have anything lined up….yet. Everyone is surprised; I guess I’m delusional.

I know I’m taking a risk. I’m just putting faith in the market for now and taking some time to reflect.

I’ve been in this profession for about 9 years now. It’s turned in to too many hours at a desk.

Recruiting people is an option but sales is not my forte...yet. We’ll see.

Post: #21

So there is a client whose mission is to make my life hell. Any little thing that happens, even if I'm minimally involved....she wants to speak to the branch director and let him know that it was my fault. Most clients would let me know that they are upset or call it a "we're all humans" thing.

Either way, I decided to put in my two weeks notice tomorrow. It will be two weeks sooner than thought and about $800 less but it's better than dealing with drama. The less time I give that client to complain about me, the less stress I receive. My piggy bank will be around 8-10K and that's enough to last me over the summer.

I found a great discount for a $120/month gym on groupon...considering they gym attracts wealthy MILFs and businessmen, I'll use it to game and network at the same time.

Schedule as follows:
6am-7am - Work out
8am-830am - Drop sisters at school
9am-noon - Learn photoshop/python/etc
noon-1pm - Watch movie/eat lunch with sister/read
1pm-3pm - Work on expanding my side business, discover new opportunities
3pm-4pm - Pick up sisters
4pm-6pm - Continue working
6pm-8pm - Learn a language/watch a show
8pm-830pm - Ride my bike
9pm-midnight - Kick it (relax) and probably go to the chatroom

It's not set in stone, but it's what I'll like it to be. In the summer the days will have mini field trips involved. My cousin is on vacation from high school so I'll probably have him help me with some stuff, he's into web design and such. I'll probably change some stuff around as I want to ride my bike during the morning or work out during business hours (the time when all the soccer moms are at the gym and almost no guys are around).

OH AND BY THE WAY....I'm going to finish my Cougar/MILF datasheet! It's going to be detailed and will separate both groups, each with their own data sheet. If you would like to review it before it's published...PM me.

Every young man should at least experience a MILF once in their lifetime. Especially if it's their chump husband who pays for your dinner/motels/condoms. For some reason my tightest MILF/Cougar game was when I didn't have a car nor a job. Not that I needed one, but I was a confident approach machine and that was well received.

Post: #22

(04-13-2014 12:44 AM)Monty Brown Wrote:  When I burned out at my job, I stopped trying, started manipulating my numbers, and spent most of my last two months drawing pictures, reading books, working on my flexibility, pushups, posting here more often, reading a ton of cracked and the onion.

The week before I quit, I started opening nsfw web pages on my computer and tested to see if anyone was even monitoring our browsing. I watched the video where the news casters dick is shown on tv on my work cpu, googled i age a few nipple slips, searched for Brittney spears' upskirt photo of her snatch. Noone said a word!

Hahaha, I guess the Denton system taught us well...number manipulation is a good one. If someone finds out it's too late. It's surprising you didn't get a promotion like Ted from the movie. How did people not notice you watch all that?

I came up with business opportunities while day dreaming 9-5.

(04-13-2014 01:15 AM)2014 Wrote:  you said your small side business makes 1300/month.. if it is online then do it from SE Asia and live it up

It could be run online but I need to supervise my people every once in a while and see the client in person in case of a complaint.

(04-14-2014 04:30 PM)Cobra Wrote:  This is a cool thread.

Speaking of which, I quit a few days ago.

I have a lot of responsibilities financially but I still did it.

My burnout wasn’t due to excessive labor but excessive idleness, if that’s even a word (aka. Not doing much and getting paid BUT crushing my soul in the process)

I decided that soul crushing is costing me.

I don’t have anything lined up….yet. Everyone is surprised; I guess I’m delusional.

I know I’m taking a risk. I’m just putting faith in the market for now and taking some time to reflect.

I’ve been in this profession for about 9 years now. It’s turned in to too many hours at a desk.

Recruiting people is an option but sales is not my forte...yet. We’ll see.

Ah, so you took the vacation and told the Irish midget to fuck himself? Someone should have youtube'd his facial expression. When one is bored and unmotivated, work seems dull and soul-sucking.

What are your plans now? If you're good at game, you'll be good at sales too. Game IS sales.

¿Qué paso con la colombiana en tu trabajo?

Post: #23

I finally put in my notice today. My boss was very grateful I gave him 3 weeks notice since there have been a lot of changes, he offered me a promotion but I turned it down since I knew I dislike the company and didn't find it fulfilling. He tried to work things out with me but in the end he knew it was better for me to leave and respected my decision. I respect him for trying to keep me in and letting me know I was one his favorite employees since I got shit done and kept my cool at all times when others were losing it. He's the new branch director, the dude is awesome but I'm still burned out and nothing would change that.

When I first thought about quitting, it felt awesome. Just before doing it I kept thinking twice about it a million times, then after doing it I regretted it because I have a great team. For some reason, I'm sad. All the good times there and all the stuff that I learned. The first time I ate sushi, got drunk in America, drove on the highway, drove on ice, and much more happened there in just 6 months! I'm drunk at the moment after gaming a MILF, well she's a cougar since she's childless but whatever. My team nor workers know about my resignation but they will know about it tomorrow. Part of me wishes I wouldn't have quit but part of me knows it's for the best, better to know your limits than get fired.

Here's to a summer with my family, traveling, and fucking MILFS. I'll make sure to make my team happy while they're slaving away 60 hours a week for 50-60K.

Post: #24

Also, right after May 9th.....expect my MILF/Cougar datasheet to come out!

Post: #25

watching a good movie or listen to music for hours..