If You’re Always Tired but Can’t Slow Down, You Might Be Burning Out
The Burnout Traps No One Warns You About
In my final years of college, I pushed my limits; late nights in the lab, back-to-back assignments, and projects that never seemed to end.
But, sleep deprivation has a sneaky way of catching up with you. I started missing weeks of classes and isolated myself from peers, and my motivation vanished.
I burned out before I even realized it.
Burnout isn’t always obvious. It disguises itself in ways we barely notice — through the people around us, how we work, and how we view rest. These days, I get just as much work done without sacrificing my health or my sanity. My secret?
I learned to spot the hidden causes of burnout before it was too late.
Here’s what I discovered.
1. Avoid Energy Vampires
Vampires are real, but they don’t lurk in castles or burn in the sunlight.
They sit next to you in class, slide into your DMs, and corner you at lunch.
Energy vampires don’t feed on blood. They feed on your time, attention, and mental bandwidth.
They talk endlessly. They vent constantly. And when they leave, they feel energized, while you feel drained.
Set Boundaries and Protect Your Energy:
- Define what behaviors you won’t tolerate.
- Learn to say “no” without feeling guilty.
- Limit your time with them.
- Emotionally detach from their drama.
- Recharge by walking, meditating, or spending time in nature.
- Stay self-aware so you don’t become one yourself. We all have the potential to drain others if we’re not careful with our energy.
2. When Productivity Becomes the Problem
Being busy isn’t the same as making progress.
We can create endless to-do lists, chase optimization hacks, and stay glued to our screens. But this doesn’t lead to meaningful outcomes, it just leads to procrastination and wasted effort.
Still, working sustainably and efficiently is crucial. Over-optimization isn’t the answer, but neither is doing nothing.
The solution?
Do the most important thing first. Sounds simple, right? But most of us don’t do it. It’s easy to assume that productivity is about getting more done in less time, but that’s often misunderstood.
Getting more done isn’t about ticking boxes. It’s about focusing on the things that will have the biggest impact. It’s about prioritizing the important tasks and doing them consistently. That’s why this strategy is so powerful.
When you tackle the most important task first, you guarantee progress, even on days when nothing else seems to get done.
3. The Myth of Earning Rest
Burnout comes from having no off-switch.
The most dangerous lie we tell ourselves is “I’ll rest when I’m done.”
But there’s always another deadline, another email, another thing we could be doing. When sleep becomes optional, it’s always the first to go. The less we rest, the worse we think, and the more we overwork to compensate.
In college, I pushed through sleepless nights and graduated with top grades. But I was exhausted every step of the way. It was a daily grind.
Meanwhile, a student in the year above me also finished at the top of his class. But unlike me, he never pulled all-nighters. He always had time for friends. For family. For rest.
I couldn’t understand it, until one day, I asked him.
Here’s what he knew about rest that I didn’t:
- Schedule your rest, or work will steal it. Rest isn’t a reward, it’s a strategy.
- It’s not wasted time, it’s what allows you to operate at your best.
- Real success isn’t about grinding endlessly. It’s about sustaining the work long enough to make an impact.
If you don’t make time for rest, burnout will force you to. The only question is whether you choose to stop or crash.
