Living a full life without burning out: tips for dealing with peak workloads

Living a full life without burning out: tips for dealing with peak workloads

Hello dear ones!

Do not allow yourself to fall into the spiral of inevitable exhaustion. Today I wrote about peak workloads, how to support yourself during a crisis and not burn out. This is my favorite topic because I almost always work or study with peak workloads and don't know how to rest. Therefore, today's text is about living a full life, where there is success and pleasure in everyday moments, and not burning out.

I described the difference between everyday moments and the 2 types of peak workloads from the perspective of our brain, the algorithm that will help you cope when everything suddenly piles up, and what to do after peak workloads to help you recover and not fall into the spiral of exhaustion.

Our brain handles short-term peak workloads well. It does not like long-term stress, when everything is a bit bad and problematic, but not so much that it is very difficult for a long period of time. However, if difficulties arise over a short period of two weeks, after recovery, these peak workloads are even beneficial for the brain. They stimulate neuroplasticity and improve our ability to learn. But the two-week period is approximate, the actual one depends on individual psychic sensitivity and reaction to certain neurotransmitters. However, for most people, these peak workloads start and don't end. Therefore, I not only talk about how to deal with peak workloads, but also what to do afterward so they don't become the new norm. Otherwise, this leads to mental exhaustion, burnout, apathy, indifference, and loss of life purpose.

There are two (three) categories of peak workloads

The first is when we have a large amount of known and understandable tasks.

The second category is when there are not many tasks, but they are different from the usual ones. The brain does not like new tasks, so they are perceived as unpleasant and postponed for later. Usually, this happens until the deadline, when, under stress pressure, we start working with all our might, increasing stress and increasing peak workloads.

However, in reality, we live in a world where the mixed type of peak workloads prevails.

Therefore, in any of these 3 cases, you first need to unload all tasks for the next two or three weeks and evaluate the time budget for each of them. Usually, it seems like there are too many tasks, but when you start unloading them, you get a real idea of the quantity and volume of tasks. Then, from this list, we need to choose what we are going to work on.

The task management process consists of 3 stages

First - prioritization. All tasks are always important, but we live in conditions of limited resources and must learn to reasonably evaluate our strengths and eliminate the superfluous. For me, this is a difficult process, I am what is called a "scanner" from Barbara Sher's book "I Refuse to Choose." And besides this, I have ADHD. Therefore, I want everything at once, but that doesn't happen. We have a deficit of our mind.

Second - The Pareto rule (20% of efforts produce 80% of results). Example: You decided to clean the house. You could spend all day cleaning every corner thoroughly, but instead, you decide to spend 20% of that time cleaning the most notable and frequently used areas: the living room, kitchen, and bathroom. This improvement will be much more noticeable and useful than if you had spent 5 times more time cleaning every corner of the house. Probably, all these efforts would have given only a 20% improvement. And these 20% of effort gave an 80% result. During a crisis or peak workloads, it is important to control the percentage of task completion. I like the example of programming: you can create a condition under which the function can only give two values - true or false, done or not done. You specify a percentage for this condition, which can vary from 10% to 80%. By fulfilling the condition, the function will tell you that the task is done.

Third – delegation. It is a difficult task to let go of control. But if you think about the main rule of delegation - control, then it becomes easier, the main thing is to control either at the end or at key points.

Prioritizing, simplifying, and delegating are cognitively complex stages. A complex mechanism of many key factors is set in motion and our brain can deceive itself, although it is more likely to deceive us. Therefore, carefully examine your thoughts and feelings to not allow it to deceive you. It is difficult, but useful and over time and experience, it becomes easier.

Resource allocation

In my personal projects, the planning horizon is 7 years. Therefore, I can postpone the task for several months, and sometimes even a year. If the task becomes irrelevant at the time of its completion, I mark it with the label "irrelevant" and consider it an energy saving that I did not spend on the wrong path. For urgent personal tasks, I use two-segment planning. First, I set a completion deadline, and then reserve time for its completion in the first segment from the set deadline.

However, for work tasks, I use the deadline, divided into three stages. These are four moments in the timeline: today, after 30% of the allocated time, after 65%, and the deadline itself. In the first segment, the concept is approved, in the second the task is performed, in the third corrections are made.

I use a two- and three-segment time system to take into account Murphy's Law: "If something can go wrong, it will." Renovating an apartment usually costs 30% more than the initial budget, just as overestimating our abilities and unforeseen circumstances generally increase the allocated time for tasks and projects by 30% - 50%. Keep this in mind when planning. This is a safeguard against burnout and exhaustion.

The only thing that cannot be managed with task management is the sleep schedule. I can work 60 hours a day and divide tasks into categories considering the productivity curves of the day. Here is an article on this topic. But I can't take time away from sleep.

I work in Notion, where I mark tasks by priority and execution deadline, allocate time for them, and reserve the corresponding free spaces in the calendar. If there are not enough free spaces, I review all tasks again, and those that do not fit, I mark with the label "someday". These tasks stay with me with the current date, but already in another section and are perceived as completed, which gives me a small dose of serotonin.

I do not work on Fridays after lunch, as the second half of the workday is always filled with a task that repeats weekly. I use this time to track the progress of current affairs with the help of a Gantt chart in Notion, prepare a work plan for Monday for a quick start, adjust plans if necessary, and resolve urgent tasks that periodically arise on Fridays before the weekend.

The not so obvious problem of peak workloads

They start and do not end. If you do not provide quality recovery when you reduce the load after a period of peak workloads, this can lead to burnout.

Incorporate predictability, rituals, and usual rhythm into your life. Quality sleep and movements, such as walks and pilates. Or moderate physical efforts with additional weights. Recent research indicates that muscle training slows brain aging and improves its functions.

If peak workloads do not end, it is worth thinking about it. Remember that you are not the first nor the last to suffer from them, and we all come to similar reflections. You might consider changing jobs or activities, but remember that you will always take yourself to the new job, and there everything will repeat. Therefore, it is worth learning to manage your time in the new paradigm, knowing how to say no, thinking, and taking care of yourself. But that is a topic for another post.

Our brain handles short-term intensive loads well, but reacts poorly to long-term stress. This can have serious consequences for our psyche. We can allow ourselves peak workloads of two to three weeks from time to time, but only if they are accompanied by recovery.


  • Peak workloads can be beneficial for the brain, stimulating neuroplasticity and improving learning ability, but only if they act short-term.
  • Long-term stress and continuous peak workloads can lead to burnout and other psychological problems.
  • Time and task management, including prioritization, simplification, and delegation, is key to dealing with peak workloads.
  • After periods of peak workloads, quality recovery, including adequate sleep and physical activity, is important for brain health.

As always, I invite you to share your opinion in the comments

😽 🤗 😘