Burning Out?

[The Monk]

Hey guys, I'm a student, and I tell my teachers how hard I wish to work. I want to work 7 days a week and take a mini vacation every 3 months. But, my teachers say don't do this or you will burn out ( feel tired, and unmotivated, which will result in me failing) to be honest I did burnout before my exams last term and resorted to simply playing video games. However, as I now know have an amazing life purpose and intrinsic motivation in order to change the world, as well as a habit to inspire myself everyday, I doubt my motivation will fade away and I will get 'burnt out'. It seems to me like this is just simply a myth created by the lazy or unmotivated individuals with no life purpose. Is this true?

If I love doing what I do I won't 'burnout' will I? (I want to be the very best I potentially could, as I want to accomplish big things, and change the world for the better)

 

What would you recommend? 

Edited December 5, 2016 by Aamir King

[Arman]

Some people love running. Can they run forever?

You must rest. It is incredibly important to have down time to rest the body and the mind and allow things to integrate. There is no way around it. Don't believe it? Discover it for yourself, but make sure you are very self aware and keep track about how you're really feeling and how productive you are, lest you trick yourself. Your mind will eventually wear and you'll be producing a lot of cortisol. Buzzing back and forth and running on this cortisol stress high, people feel like they're getting a lot done and think they're constantly hustling, but it is haphazard and ineffective. It will never compare to the man who understands the balance and rhythms of the body and life. Your body, your mind, your energetic system, your immune system, your relationships and your goals will suffer. That's what happens to people who don't create downtime. 

Working non stop is not sustainable.  

This means you have to create balance. Different temperaments require difference balances. Some people think they can get away with not sleeping, not resting and not taking downtime. They lack awareness and it'll cost them eventually.

So cover the basics: Sleep enough hours every day, don't pull all nighters unless they are very necessary, make sure you are hydrated and getting proper nutrition and eating well.

On top of that, the most critical things are to meditate regularly and/or create time for true rest. Watching TV, listening to the radio and talking with friends don't count. I mean truly relaxing the mind and laying down doing nothing. Set aside time for it every day.

3 hours ago, Aamir King said:

(I want to be the very best I potentially could, as I want to accomplish big things, and change the world for the better)

goooooood

discover the importance of balancing the yang with yin 

[Leo Gura]

@Aamir King It's definitely possible to burn out, even if you're doing the greatest thing in the world. Life purpose is best achieved with a steady consistent pace, rather than at break-neck pace. Consistency is the key! You gotta pace yourself like for a double-marathon, not a sprint.

If you're working more than 40 hours per week, you're probably doing it wrong. And you will be LESS productive in the end.

Create downtime to meditate, introspect, read, listen to music, hang with friends, cook, go outdoors, relax, etc.

Creativity is maximized when you are relaxed, not frenzied and overwhelmed with work.

Download and read this PDF presentation about productivity:

http://www.lostgarden.com/2008/09/rules-of-productivity-presentation.html

[Mercy]

@Leo Gura Leo is amazing

[The Monk]

@Leo Gura Leo, I'm already doing 42 hours a week, just by going to school. Does this mean I don't have time to study for exams when I get home? What do I do? I definitely need to work more in order to improve my grades. 

Edited December 6, 2016 by Aamir King

[The Monk]

wait a second, calculated that wrong I'm already doing 30 hours a week by going to school

[The Monk]

@Leo Gura Chinese students who academically achieve the highest nationally usually do 50-60 hours a week of studying. Can't I do that?

[The Monk]

Is self actualisation work also considering as work? @Leo Gura If so I might have to give up my meditation habit. 

Barrack Obama used to work 91 hours a week? He seems amazingly productive.

Edited December 6, 2016 by Aamir King

[Elisabeth]

21 hours ago, Aamir King said:

However, as I now know have an amazing life purpose and intrinsic motivation in order to change the world, as well as a habit to inspire myself everyday, I doubt my motivation will fade away and I will get 'burnt out'. It seems to me like this is just simply a myth created by the lazy or unmotivated individuals with no life purpose. Is this true?

Reading your newer answers too, I would say, do what you're compelled to if you must, but listen very carefully to your body and mind. It is great that you have motivation, but don't crash and burn simply because of ignoring warning signals of being overstressed and overwhelmed. Even if you don't burn out psychologically, intense and stressful studying is very easy to fuck up your health. Just to illustrat this: after first year of university I met with my classmates and each of us could list one or two chronic diseases that have developped or significantly worsened over the last year (usually stress-related) . And that's the wrong way to do it. So, be attentive to your body's needs, and don't neglect excercise, self-care and relaxation. 

[The Monk]

@Elisabeth Don't worry I've figured out how to do 40 hours a week only. In order to ensure I stay productive and don't burn out . Besides, I don't get stressed working, I love it, as long as it's not heaped upon me, and its fun to learn.

[Beyond Words]

@Leo Gura Do you know how long it could take to recover from working 80+ hrs/wk for 1 year (and another year before that with around 3 months of break in between)? Every hour was spent very intensely studying very hard topics at a very quick pace.

What would you do for the rest of your day? What about tasks such as meditation which involve diffused thinking? Do they count towards those hours? How can one possibly rest while knowing that they're only working 40hrs/wk? What about Elon Musk who works 80hrs/wk and successfully manages Tesla and SpaceX?

[Beyond Words]

@Leo Gura Great resource!

What day / week structure have you found works best for you? E.g. working 90m resting 30m or 45m/15m etc?

If I'm not mistaken you've discussed working over 60hrs/wk to undertake your business while working. There are certainly times when opportunities / circumstances require a workload above 40hrs/wk (for example, working, attending uni and trying to launch a business simultaneously). What insights do you have in that regard?

I find meditation to be the best form of rest. Stimulus often requires focus and tends to not rest the mind too well however.