How to spot fatigue, prevent burnout and bounce back fast

RUNNING ON EMPTY?

- VUYILE MADWANTSI

THERE are ways to combat mid-year fatigue and prevent burnout.

(Pexels)

AROUND this time of the year, many of us feel like we're dragging ourselves across the finish line of each day.

The early-year momentum has faded, the deadlines are piling up, and what once felt exciting now feels heavy. If that sounds familiar, you're not alone.

Midyear fatigue is real and, if left unchecked, it can tip into full-blown burnout.

Fatigue isn’t just feeling a little tired. It’s a deep exhaustion, emotional, mental, and physical, that builds up after months of hard work, stress, and not enough rest.

You might notice you're less motivated, have trouble focusing, feel irritable, or wake up tired.

In busy workplaces, whether in business, government, nonprofits, or your own company, this kind of fatigue can slowly wear down your productivity, creativity and well-being.

On forums like Reddit, people describe “vegetating the entire weekend” because they’re too tired from work and life’s hassles. Others say their brain feels like “mashed potatoes” and they “can’t wait to hibernate in December”.

The world is unravelling all at once, technology changing at lightning speed, social awareness spreading faster than we can process. All of which can feel overwhelming because we are experiencing all of these things in real time.