enough already.

burnout, and what i'm doing about it.

Burnout. It doesn’t show up with a dramatic entrance. No flashing neon sign, no loud klaxon. It just… creeps in. An eye strain headache here, a little brain fog there. One day you’re on top of your to-do list, the next you’re staring at your laptop like it personally wronged you. Coffee does nothing. Breaks don’t help. Even the fun stuff feels like a chore.

For a long time, i thought burnout was simply the cost of living. Literally a crisis in and of itself. The necessary evil of being a corporate bunny.

Proof i was working hard (inevitably into the ground), that i was somehow pulling it all off (alone), before recovering (just enough) on the weekend to carry on and do it all over again.

i’ve been here before and, to be honest, it wasn’t pretty then either. Trying to work like you don’t have children while trying to (solo) parent like you don’t have a job? A terrible system, 0/10, would not recommend.

Sometimes it takes teetering close to the edge to recognise you need to make changes. To recognise the way you’re rolling through life isn’t sustainable, or healthy, or the least bit disciplined. Admittedly, my car blowing up on top of a super stressy time at work was not on my bingo card for the start of 2025 but here we are.

So what gives? What exactly am i doing about it? Funny you should ask.

At the beginning of last year, similarly but less dramatically, i also decided i needed to prioritise myself. Work wasn’t everything, it couldn’t be. It shouldn’t be.

i carved out a bunch of new habits that improved not only my physical health but my mental health too. By summer, i felt lighter and more resilient; full of perk and sass.

So good.

Then, incrementally, the wheels fell off. Deadlines and pressure crept back in and one fallen habit led to another. Before i knew it, i was right back where i started. Except this time i was overwhelmed, exhausted and downright tearful.

Enough is enough, as i’m pretty sure Kylie Perkins would shout in my face.

The thing is, i’m not a fan of tough love. i would rather treat myself, and everyone else around me, gently. But, love is needed all the same.

Not only from me to me, but i’m allowing other people to love me too. Sometimes, that’s the harder of the two.

Anyway, here’s what i’ve decided to do about it.

Lyss 2.0, as it were:

• take daily vitamins again (B, for energy, and D, because the grey skies might actually kill my winter soul)

• drink fresh lemon water before coffee (begrudgingly, but it really helps)

• drink water water and not just in coffee (there’s a theme here)

• think about what goes in my mouth - whatever happened to my zero sugar life?… looking directly at you Toffee Poppets 👀

• meditate for a couple of minutes every morning - not in any mind twisting way, just enough to feel the deep exhale

• sweat at the gym again (hiking on a treadmill and rowing a boat is sufficient)

• stomp the track every day (at least every day it’s not a gym day)

• get bendy on the mat with Adriene

• hike in the wild more, because blustery fresh air fixes everything, am i right?

• read more books*

• even better, read a book in front of the happy lamp (at least until the spring sun blasts through)

• watch (good) television and movies*

• rediscover favourite podcasts*

• dance it out, as Cristina would say

Burnout isn’t a badge of honour. It’s a sign that something is out of balance. The world isn’t going to slow down. Work and life aren’t going to magically disappear. But we can decide how we move through it—what we say yes to, what we let go of, and how we take care of ourselves in between. That’s what keeps us alive.

Let’s go (again).

Love,

Lyss. x

*recommendations would be ace, please and thank you.