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[SJRB]

 

[Blade2.0]

I don’t work for a corporation

well then quit working so fucking hard. lol. i'm browsing GAF right this second and then I'll go to my lunch break for "30 minutes" and then I'll come back and try my hardest to do nothing until the clock expires. In a year I'll find a WFH job (have to work at this particular company for a year before you can start looking internally) and then I'll do the bare minimum that doesn't get me fired. It's basically a soft retirement at 35.

 

[Mr Hyde]

I work 36 hours/4 days a week. Always have Friday, Saturday, Sunday and half Monday off. My salary is about 44K a year plus insurances and stuff. Been working like this now for about 12 years. I love the long weekends and the extra free time and wouldn't wanna trade it for any amount of extra money.

 

[ProudClod]

1. You keep grinding through it... But you'll have to deal with the mental and physical repercussions -- especially now that you're 40. You'll get sick more often. You'll likely start having serious anxiety and or depression. You'll either put on weight (or lose it, depending on your coping mechanism). You'll neglect things you know are important (like physical fitness, family obligations, keeping up with friends, your favorite hobbies etc.). And if you're one of the rare people that can keep doing this indefinitely, you'll do it until you die. Probably at a younger age than most from some disease related to chronic stress, chronic inflammation, lack of physical activity, etc.

2. You get pissed off / frustrated / depressed enough to quit. You wallow for a bit while half-assing a job search (because you really just don't want to work) for months. Eventually, you either get lucky with a job offer you probably don't deserve, or you get so disgusted with yourself that you'll take the necessary steps to improve yourself and find a good job. Then, unless you luck out and land a low-effort, high-wage job, you'll probably repeat the cycle until you die.

3. You reevaluate what is important in your life, you set goals for yourself, and you make the necessary changes to move towards those goals. Sometimes you will have to work very hard and make sacrifices to achieve those goals. Sometimes, you will force yourself to slow down, because not doing so will run counter to your goals. You will realize that the only thing that matters is your mission -- not the arbitrary whims of a boss at some shitty company. You will begin to understand that your value is not quantity of hours worked or arbitrary timelines hit -- it is solving real issues for real people. You will set boundaries for yourself, and you will not let others cross them. When they do, you will ensure there are repercussions. You will know your worth and you will do what is necessary for you.

 

[dr_octagon]

Imagine everyone is a killer robot like Battlestar Golfcart car and you have to blend in otherwise you get turned into a tuna can.

Scary stuff brow.

 

[Kenpachii]

What helps me activity's next to work, or something to look forwards too. U just feel like grinding towards it. Other then that, slow down during the day in order to keep up. I must say if you hit 40, u probably better of taking a career switch or do something else if it involves a lot of overwork like this. If its only a few times in a long period, just power through it with coffee and dextro, just keep eating healthy food all day long.

Also take plenty of breaks from work during the day, every 3-4 hours take a 15-30 minute break or something and basically do something else.

 

[Kimahri]

oh trust me, I question my life decisions regularly

I make really good money, and I really only have these crunches a few times a month. But yeah, I’ve definitely contemplated a career change.

Edit: I could switch jobs and have a fraction of the stress, but it would come with a significant pay decrease

Worth it.

I've done both well paid jobs and poorly paid jobs and the one thing that determines my overall level of happiness is how much I work, and how hard I work. The longer hours, the more stress, the less time to myself, the worse my life quality is.

Work less, it's better for you. Especially at your age. You can't do that shit forever, you'll burn up and end up one of those old people whose one big regret is working too much.

 

[GymWolf]

 

[jezhumphrey75]

rent your house out and live in a van travelling whatever country your in )

 

[Melon Husk]

Latest research points to glutamate build-up in the brain as a source of mental exhaustion.
The solution to mental exhaustion may counterintuitively be physical exercise.
You probably don't want to hear this

 

[Tieno]

Running, I run, I do lots of trailrunning during the weekends in nature. It's a great way to let off steam and decompress. No joke, it saved me from depression and burning out and kept me in a healthy lifestyle of eating, sleeping, working and working out/fitness.

I'm now at a point where after a bad/stressful day of work, where I'm too hyper or worked up, I really feel the need to go and do a run. Every time I'm better for it. It's a great way to cleanse and rest an overworked brain.

 

[Winter John]

What do I do? I listen to fuckin nerd blowouts like Jordan Peterson then ignore everything they say. It really helps.

 

[It's all in the wrist]

I fucking hate a 9-5, so I do that 3 days a week (or so, the work is irregular), and the rest is just eBay and some office work. I have to mix it up.

 

[Pasedo]

in my 20s I used to be able to work OT and not feel this burned out. I'm almost 40, and when I have to grind out a project/assignment I feel like I'm running on fumes by the time it hits 8pm. I just end up staring at the screen, completely braindead.

is there some secret vitamin or supplement I can take to not feel this way(outside of meth/amphetamines)? I just drank an energy drink and it feels like I had a glass of water.

not sure what I'm supposed to do in these situations. I feel completely worthless once I hit ~12 hour mark working. my work is mentally engaging/draining/exhausting, but there has to be a way around this.

only noticed this issue in the past year or so.

edit: I should add that I get plenty of sleep each night, so sleeping more isn't the solution I don't think

If you drink alot of coffee or caffeinated drinks daily this could be the problem. I find after a while of sustained high daily intake, that it will have the opposite effect of giving you an energy boost and makes you tired and frazzled instead. Try getting off coffee/caffeine for a week or two and then slowly bring it back in. Also I'd try and maintain lower intakes, like max two cups a day and don't take any on the weekend. This way you minimise building a tolerance so that when you do need it will work for you. Additionally when you minimise your caffeine intake, your body will also be better at using its natural energy boosting function. Like you'll notice more energy just from eating food or having a break.

 

[MikeM]

I ensure the deadlines I set are achievable. If I need to stress through it, then I chose wrong.

Maybe you need a career change?

 

[ForAcademicPurposes]

Ganja.

 

[Kenneth Haight]

Exercise. Quality time doing activities I enjoy, like hikes or kayaking. Doing something away from electronics usually but listening to records also does the trick.

And edibles to take the edge of reality, you know the score!

 

[Maiden Voyage]

And edibles to take the edge of reality, you know the score!

For sure. As long as it does not become necessary to the unwinding process. It should always only compliment the activity.

 

[Kenneth Haight]

It's funny cause it's true

For sure. As long as it does not become necessary to the unwinding process. It should always only compliment the activity.

Absolutely 100% agree, just getting in to nature is extremely important these days in the world of being always connected.

I work an IT job and mostly from home and it can sure get mundane, so it is very important OP to get outside when at all possible. And exercise as much as you can within reason, it definitely makes you feel better without a doubt.

All things people have already mentioned, I have no silver bullet at all, I wish I could not work so much but I have two young kids who need food and shelter so guess I need to

 

[Kenneth Haight]

edit: I should add that I get plenty of sleep each night, so sleeping more isn't the solution I don't think

Maybe you need to sleep less, I manage on approximately 6-7 hours and it's manageable. I am tired but I have young kids with no intention of having more.

You are in your twenties, you have no idea how idea how tired you will be later on man

edit: I am an idiot and misread your post...............that's how tired I am, just seen you are nearly 40. I am right here with you man, just trying to grind out each day lol

 

[Grildon Tundy]

Running, I run, I do lots of trailrunning during the weekends in nature. It's a great way to let off steam and decompress. No joke, it saved me from depression and burning out and kept me in a healthy lifestyle of eating, sleeping, working and working out/fitness.

I'm now at a point where after a bad/stressful day of work, where I'm too hyper or worked up, I really feel the need to go and do a run. Every time I'm better for it. It's a great way to cleanse and rest an overworked brain.

100% agreed. I run "crazy" miles by non-runners' estimation, but the thing is: if I don't do it, I go crazy.

 

[IntentionalPun]

Do drugs, turn my brain off.. have fun.

 

[PonyStation4]

It should be 30 hours a week if I'm being honest
Work should be the little side thing we attend for 5 days a week and not what defines our entire lives

You can find part time jobs that will give you 30 hours a week. You just have to cut back on your expenses, but that's what you're asking for if you want to work less.

 

[ForAcademicPurposes]

Seriously, I'm mostly high as a kite during workdays. Only way to cope with this crap.

 

[Trazyn the Infinite]

I think you misread my post. I'm not asking how to find workplace balance or anything like that. I'm asking how do people cope with the extreme mental exhaustion and manage to power through to hit a deadline.

unless you're telling me you whip out your Vita or bible to briefly power up & get back to working? because I can tell you that shit wouldn't work for me

I have never had this issue, nor have any of my colleagues who are 30-40 Years older and have been routinely working long hours for decades.

Get in physical shape, get a full, clear understanding of the basic information of your job/career and better chunk information so you can recall with very little effort. Utilize breaks when possible, ensure all “chores” are done before the work week (bills, cleaning, dry cleaning, etc) so you can just come home nad relax. Ensuring you don’t have anything else on the mind helps tremendously on focusing your attention at work.

If you are constantly fighting against a deadline, then you are failing to utilize your time wisely. Analyze why you are coming down to the wire, what you can do to prevent it from happening next time, and better manage your resources to ensure that you have leeway and extra time to look at and fixz any errors of your completed work vs just trying to “finish” said work before the deadline.

 

[Trazyn the Infinite]

Seriously, I'm mostly high as a kite during workdays. Only way to cope with this crap.

 

[Kenneth Haight]

Take your judgement elsewhere

 

[Slicker than your average]

Jerk off into an empty pot noodle cup; live free.

 

[Trazyn the Infinite]

Take your judgement elsewhere

Nah, mate. Not judging on enjoy a nice high. Judging that you are doing it *at work*. That is cringe as shit.

 

[Sosokrates]

What type of work is it?

The only computer work I do is financial and some creative writing.

For creative writing I find its like anything really, if you do to much you get bored and unispirerd, so I just do like 4hrs a day.
I guess if you have to do more then 4hrs you could break it up into smaller segmets, and inbetween take a walk and smell the autumn leaves, watch the creepy smoking lady who walks like 1mph or workout.

 

[Rockondevil]

Exercise does it for me. Cardio personally. Weights has always been boring.
Never have mental fatigue and I'm always bursting with energy.

Don't drink. Don't smoke. Maybe have a soda/soft drink once or twice a month. Otherwise water and chocolate milk it is.

Mid 30's. So relatively young on the grand scale, but not too young.

 

[Bragr]

There is something about modern life that makes work harder than it should be. No one should struggle to work 8 hours a day.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

Nah, mate. Not judging on enjoy a nice high. Judging that you are doing it *at work*. That is cringe as shit.

Maybe the guy tests various strains of weed for a living tho.

 

[Amiga]

Bring as much of your home comforts to work as you can. pack delicious food, socialize and keep thinking about the good money.

 

[nush]

I'm almost 40, and when I have to grind out a project/assignment I feel like I'm running on fumes by the time it hits 8pm

Time to accept reality rather than doubling or tripling down. You haven't made it and you're still trying to play the young mans game of getting noticed to get ahead. At your age the people that have made it hire young people to do this kind of grunt work. If you're not making actual bank right now, then your just a work cuck.

 

[FullMetalx117]

I actually have to deal with all nighters a lot - at least once a month, maybe a few times a month if I’m unlucky (consulting).

In the the middle of night when I’m the only one in the office and brain dead, I think about what my parents, specifically what my mom had to go through just to get me here. She immigrated to the U.S., gave up professional career as the license doesn’t transfer to U.S., lost her husband and had to basically take care of 3 kids under 12 years old with a low paying job, always paying lawyers/dealing with constant stress with immigration (citizenship issues), language barrier, learning to drive (she never got good). etc. I remember as a kid my mom would work 7 days straight just to put food on the table as me and my younger 2 siblings waited for her to come home on the weekend. She would leave for work at 5am and not come back until 8pm (sometimes later) for most of my young life.

So thinking about all that in the middle of the night, I tell myself “stop being a pussy, you think you’re burned out/dealing with stress? You don’t even know what real stress is.” And then I get this fire and go back to work

 

[Trazyn the Infinite]

Maybe the guy tests various strains of weed for a living tho.

We all know he doesn’t. If you want to get high, do it on your own time. Don’t go to work and screw over others because you lack self-control.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

We all know he doesn’t. If you want to get high, do it on your own time. Don’t go to work and screw over others because you lack self-control.

What if I work from home and my workload is clear?

 

[Putonahappyface]

I masturbate.

 

[Trazyn the Infinite]

What if I work from home and my workload is clear?

If you work from home and have zero coworkers or interactions with others - then that would be admittedly a different story. Get as high as you like.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

If you work from home and have zero coworkers or interactions with others - then that would be admittedly a different story. Get as high as you like.

Thanks, dad!

 

[Trazyn the Infinite]

Thanks, dad!

 

[StreetsofBeige]

What mental fatigue? With hybrid WFH, it's even easier to coast through life. The commute is cut in half, I can literally get up 10-15 minutes before logging in at 9 am. Then I quit at 4:30 pm.

For anyone getting burned out, find a different job.

If you like numbers and finance, do what I do and take a finance path. I'm not talking about boiler room wall street stuff. Just your typical finance department job. Even as a new low level finance analyst you'll probably be paid $60,000 CDN right off the bat. Your hours are normal, sometimes you work a bit more crunching end of month or end of quarter submissions, and as long as you can sit at a desk, talk to different departments, can use a spreadsheet and pull data from SAP databases (which you'll learn on the job or have formal training if your company is big), your job is already half done.

All you need to do is have some experience and intuition how to organize and analyze all the data that comes out. And then you send it to people saying follow my reco. And if they dont, keep your email because if they fuck up then you can pull out your reco saying "dont blame me, I told them so"

Then if you see some company deficiencies like it's unorganized, you create some policies and process about making things more standard (regular meetings and reports). Get that green lit and the execs will think you're the smartest person on Earth when in reality you'll think to yourself why couldnt any of these other morons in the office think of this the past 10 years.

You'd be amazed in office life how many people are bad at numbers and hate data. It's like they are allergic to information. To you, it's the easiest shit ever, but to some people they will be amazed as if you're a Nobel prize winner in profitability analysis. If you want, you can play it up like it was a tough slog do it all asap, but you know it only took you an hour to put it all together. As long as you do a decent job, it's pretty hard to get fired from this kind of career. On the other hand sales and marketing are the people who often get fired first for screwing up sales and product launches.

 

[Sidney Prescott]

Just try and enjoy my free time as much as I can. Problem is I spend a lot of time worrying about the next work day. That's my biggest problem.

Love to relax with some video games or music.

 

[Mexen]

I do my work in three sessions.
In total I spend 7 hours spread out. Typically start work at 9am and I’m in bed my 11 to midnight.
Various other activities in between. Business reading, client engagement and meetings, family time and pleasure reading so my mind is pretty engaged all day but I guess context keeps me from exhaustion? Idk

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Shitpost on gaf more. It'll lighten you right up.

 

[dr_octagon]

Shitpost on gaf more. It'll lighten you right up.

 

[BossLackey]

Humans did not evolve to work like this. It's that simple.

Your body has limits. Your brain has limits. You can't go over those limits and expect some magic technique or food or supplement to change that.

You already know the answer. Stop working so much. After a certain point, you aren't nearly as effective. It's significantly better for you and your work if you rest more often.