Productivity burnout

Burnout lurks around us every day.

It sneaks between appointments on the calendar, creeps in when there are too many tasks, creeps in when there is a need to be productive.

It got me a few times.

At first, I denied it, pushed on—and the results were very bad. The more I pushed, the more it cost me.

And the recipe is simple:

When just sitting at your desk makes you physically uncomfortable, and the thought of writing an email makes you gag – just don't do it.

Rest. Do only the absolute minimum. It's crucial to do this at the first symptoms, even mild ones. Otherwise, recovery will be much longer and more difficult.

But here comes another trap, typical of "productive people"—trying to optimize absolutely every moment. You start to relax, and after ten minutes you think, "Maybe I should read something intelligent? Or jot down a new idea?" For years, I jumped from activity to activity because I wanted every minute to be worthwhile.

To the road to nowhere.

This wasn't making me more productive. It was leading to burnout.

Because humans are not machines, we need breathing space, relaxation, and a bit of purposeless pleasure. That's why I'm learning today not to optimize my rest. Not to do "something useful" all the time.

"Doing nothing" is the most effective recovery strategy. You don't have to squeeze productivity out of every minute of your life.

Besides, why would anyone want such a life?

The photos come from the exhibition "Traces of Existence" by Wolfgang Stiller, which I saw at the Craft Museum in Krosno.

The Matchstickmen series, in which human heads replace matchstick heads, speaks to the fragility of life and the experience of burning out. These monumental figures remind us that our existence—though powerful in the moment of flame—is fleeting and vulnerable to destruction. The heads trapped in the mesh become a metaphor for individuals caught in a web of dependencies, pressures, and social systems from which escape is difficult.