The warning signs are there, I am burned out.
Notes:
- It has been a few weeks now since my last podcast, and my topic today will explain why.
- Recently I have been feeling tired, grumpy, and sick with a cold.
- I have also been sleeping long hours, even falling asleep on the sofa after work.
- In the morning, I open my work cellphone with sense of dread for what new escalations I will have to face today.
- Basically I am burned out.
- My work-related stress is at an all-time high, in the past few weeks I have had to deal with the following:
- Getting a new manager (my fourth in 2 years).
- Hiring two more senior people into my team and on-boarding them.
- Conducting many annual performance reviews, some of which were difficult.
- Launching two new products into production.
- Multiple production issues across several products.
- Closing an external audit of one major product.
- Dealing with a new peer who seems quite hostile.
- Reorganizing my teams to get them ready for expansion next year.
- Getting budgets approved for that expansion.
- Getting vendor contracts signed off for 2025.
- Etc etc etc...
- Stop the train, I want to get off!
- Leadership is difficult, and you rarely (if ever) get thanked for any of it.
- You team, you peers, your manager, and your stakeholders are quick to point out issues, but rarely offer praise for successes.
- Frankly speaking, at this stage I am doing it for the money to support my family, and would happily quit and do a start-up full-time if I could secure the funding.
- In the interim, I have taken a few weeks off to recharge my batteries, when I will play games, read books, and watch TV series.
- The gym and my karate training also helps to manage the stress.
- But if 2024 was anything to go by, 2025 will be brutal.
- Take care of yourselves my dudes, talk to you next time for my yearly wrap!
- Happy Christmas.
Notes and subscription links are here: https://techleader.pro/a/670-Burnout-(TLP-2024w51)
