One of the hardest parts of recognizing that you have burnout is that you now have to do something about it. While we’re writing off our low energy and motivation to just a temporary setback, we’re free to believe we can continue living our lives as they are. But once we know the real name of the problem, a sudden realization that we won’t be able to go on like this may really scare us.

The tricky thing about burnout is that it starts with feeling casually tired. You just have less energy than usual, less motivation for your favourite things, and less patience to handle things you don’t like.  None of this screams that you’re in a danger zone. Nothing makes you think deeper about the reasons behind this. So you do the usual to recuperate.  The first signal that you’re not simply tired is when rest doesn’t help. That's the first clue, because tired responds to rest. Done doesn't.