UX IRL Ep. 38: Dealing with burnout

Hello! Here are our show notes for episode 38 of UX IRL: Dealing with burnout. We hit the highlights in this article, but get the full context by listening to the episode:

Burnout in tech is real. And it’s important to talk about it and normalize it rather than feel ashamed. We talk about what burnout has been like for us, what you can do when you’re feeling burnt out, and most importantly — ways to prevent it. We’d love to hear how you’ve navigated burnout and what you do to avoid it. Talk to us on the zeroheight Slack community! (bit.ly/zheroes-signup), comment below or reply on Twitter @uxinreallife or Instagram @ux.inreallife.

Why we’re talking about it

We wanted to have a healthy conversation about it because it can be difficult to talk about. And we definitely know burnout is a thing, having suffered from it, and we’ve had several friends suffer from it, too.

We wanted to shed light on the topic so people know it’s OK to talk about it and there are resources to help. Sometimes we can be a lot more burnt out than we realize. Sometimes it’s hard to admit, too. It can feel like you’re incapable of doing your job when that’s not the case!

By the way, this isn’t medical advice. We’re talking from our experiences and recommend speaking to a professional about anything you may be struggling with.

UX IRL Takeaway: Burnout is more common than you think it is.

What can burnout look like?

Burnout can take many forms, from something mild to something physical. For Mary Fran, it could be as mild as struggling to get out of bed to something more physical like acid reflux. She’s also characterized her burnout as not being her best self and struggling to accomplish things she wanted.

Michelle’s had a range of burnout experiences. Even though she loves her job and work, she still got burnt out at the end of last year. She didn’t realize it until she couldn’t unwind easily at the start of her holiday break. Things weren’t bad at work, but she was pushing herself. For her, the burnout signal is not sleeping well or not sleeping through the night. She’ll wake up and think of everything she could be doing.

Michelle also struggled with everything from 2020 but didn’t recognize how bad her burnout was until she had stomach ulcers and was physically unable to work. Hopefully, people recognize signals earlier than this and don’t wait till it becomes physically detrimental.

A good metric to see if you’re burnt out is to compare your current self to what a healthy version of yourself feels like. If you feel differently than that consistently, maybe look into things.

UX IRL Takeaway: Burnout can take many different forms. Keep a pulse on things, and don’t wait until you’re in physical pain!

What you can do if you’re feeling burnt out

We both recommend taking a break and unapologetically taking that time off to care for yourself. That break can help you reset, take stock of things, and help you feel less burnt out.

We think there are short-term things you can do for temporary relief, but there’s probably also a root cause that needs addressing.

For shorter-term things, Michelle’s used a stress chart. The chart goes from stress levels 1 to 10 (10 being the highest), and for various stress levels, you note things you can do to reset or alleviate your feelings of stress and burnout. Mary Fran also uses drawing to get away from screens and reflect more introspectively.

For longer-term situations, consider going to therapy. Therapists are great resources who you can speak with candidly, and they can offer objective feedback. It’s also helpful to have a good support network at work. When we’ve been able to speak candidly with our bosses about our mental health, they’ve been able to help us navigate to make things better.

UX IRL Takeaway: Find what works for you. If possible, plan ahead to be prepared if it happens.

Supportive and unsupportive networks

We both agree having supportive managers at work is hugely helpful in preventing and navigating burnout in a healthy way. When we’ve felt like we haven’t been doing enough, our managers have provided a different perspective, which has helped set our minds at ease.

Great managers look after your well-being so you can continue to be your best at work. Additionally, check to see what resources your job may offer. Some companies have mental health services or provide mental health leaves of absence.

If you’re looking for a job, it’s a great time to ask how the team, managers, or company supports mental health and burnout. During the interview process, Michelle was looking for a company that supported mental health wellness because she didn’t want to get into another stomach ulcer situation.

Unsupportive networks can vary. You could be in a situation where your immediate manager is supportive, but the levels above don’t quite understand. In a previous role, Michelle and one of her teammates went to the hospital the same week for stress-related issues. Later on, Michelle was in a meeting where everyone confessed how they were on medication or in therapy to manage work. She then realized how the team wasn’t in an OK space.

In an unsupportive network, you might feel like you can’t share information freely with people, or you fear how others might perceive you. If that’s the case, finding people who are supportive of you is a great alternative.

UX IRL Takeaway: Recognize where your supportive networks are and leverage them when possible.

Preventing burnout

The best way around burnout is not to get burnt out in the first place. We have a few tips on how you can prevent it. Some of it we’ve tried, and some of it we’re still working on. It does take some effort to get into some good preventative habits.

• Get a sense of your burnout signs. This way, you can catch things sooner than later.
• Identify what contributes to burnout. For Mary Fran, it’s doing too many things. So she’ll track her workload in a kanban or other visual tool to see how much she’s taking in. It’s also a great tool to help her managers visualize the work and figure out how to negotiate if things should be deprioritized or shifted.
• Try a tool like Sunsama. It combines a to-do list and a scheduler, which works well. For those with endless to-do lists, Sunsama helps you recognize you can’t get through all those items with the time you have.
• Build a self-care menu. Michelle attended a Creative Mornings Field Trip where the facilitator walked people through creating a self-care menu. Similar to a restaurant menu, it had different groups of self-care. For example, appetizers were short 10-minute self-care actions you could take. Like a restaurant menu, you would just pick a few things to do to take care of yourself (and not order one of everything!), which made self-care more approachable.
• Be open with your manager. We encourage you to share how you’re doing with your manager if you feel comfortable enough. At least articulate what you’re trying to do (e.g., say “no” to things, so you don’t take on too much and burn out.) so they can help support you.
• Celebrate moments. When you do something to prevent burnout, celebrate it!
• Remember this awesome quote: “Make sure if you’re saying yes to someone, that you’re not saying no to yourself.” As UXers, we’re often really empathetic people, taking care of others before ourselves. This quote might help remind you that you shouldn’t feel obligated to do something if you don’t want to. It’s an excellent way to ensure you’re taking care of yourself.

UX IRL Takeaway: You can do several things to prevent burnout, and we hope you found some of these tips helpful. Don’t forget to celebrate the moments when you look out for yourself!

We’d love to hear from you!

How have you navigated burnout? What are some things you do to safeguard yourself from it? Please share in the comments below so others can get ideas for something they can try.