Most people who arrive here depleted have already tried harder. They have reorganised the diary, bought the planner, got up earlier and stayed later. By the time they are sitting across from me, effort is not the thing that is missing.
The advice that caused the problem
Burnout rarely announces itself. It arrives so gradually that by the time you notice, you have already recalibrated what normal feels like — and the first strategies most of us reach for are precisely the ones that got us here.
So I do not say try harder. I say: let us slow down enough to see what is actually happening. That is usually the first genuinely useful thing.
You do not need a crisis to deserve a space to think.
- Rest that does not restore is information, not failure.
- Conscientiousness is a risk factor, not a protection.
- Naming it accurately is most of the early work.
If any of this sounds familiar, you are welcome to get in touch.