Hyperfocus can lead to burnout. Here's how to know what's at stake for you

We spend a huge part of our time at work, which is why various experts insist: do what you sincerely enjoy. But even loving our profession, we can lose interest and just sit out the required hours in a chair. Elena Rezanova, an expert in the field of career strategies, in her book “Work That Charges” reflects on what prevents us from enjoying the work of life and how to avoid these traps.

The book was published by the MIF publishing house. Lifehacker publishes an excerpt from the eighth chapter on hyperfocus.

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There is another way to block the internal source of energy and pleasure in work. And he is always the last to come to mind, he is so unexpected.

I'm talking about endless mode employment, maximum concentration and high tension.

This is the mode we associate with productivity. And in general we are proud of them. And we try to discipline ourselves as much as possible so that not a single precious minute of working time is wasted.

But scientists claim the paradoxical thing is that constantly being in a mode of intense concentration reduces our cognitive abilities and leads to excessive stress.

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It turns out, working for wear and tear, you can go stupid?

Alas, yes.

Who would have thought, right?

We are overheating, our resources are depleted, productivity is slowly starting to fall, and the diminishing returns regime that I wrote about in “This is the norm!».

Decreasing returns are when we put in more and more effort to stay efficient, but this does not improve the quality of the result.

The energy in work falls more and more, the pleasure comes to naught.

This is how the source is blocked.

[…] Efficiency and pleasure in such a cycle look like this:

Here is the news! Our discipline and dedication can turn against us!

And now the test - are you prone to hyperfocus?

How big is your risk of falling into a cycle of diminishing returns and cutting off your source of flow? Just answer yes or no.

• When there is no strength and the head is already thinking poorly, you are not thinking about a break and recovery, but about how to force yourself to push even harder (and then a little more).
• You think that the task is always more important than you, than your rest, which can only be afforded if the work is done (and in general, rest is for wimps).
• In the evening and on weekends, you are always in the mode of immediate reaction to incoming work messages (and they jingle for you), and in the morning the first thing you do is look through them and respond promptly.
• The main energy replenishment tools that you use - sweets, coffee, energy drinks - that you can swallow without leaving your workplace.
• Productivity books that come to your attention are full of keywords like “force yourself”, “tough discipline”, “fight with yourself”, “defeat laziness”, “achieve”, “overtake”, “break through” and so on.

As you can see, all the “yes” points point to approaches that are destructive for you.

To what, step by step, undermines you, eats up energy and resources and blocks your source of flow.

Decreasing returns are the fast lane to burnout.

It may be unpleasant to realize this, but it is certainly useful. burnout It is better to prevent than to get out of it without strength.

What to do if you are in hyperfocus all the time?

The good news is that doing nothing is best. Don't be afraid, I'll explain. Scientists advise to disconnect from tasks for at least a few minutes during the day at the first sign of fatigue. This is the most difficult thing - to allow yourself to pause in the middle of a working time pressure.

If you do not learn how to do this, sooner or later your source will not only be blocked, but completely concreted. And once again you will start to wonder: “And where is the work that charges me?”

"Work That Charges" is part of the "Change Your Life" series. This practice book will help you better understand yourself and “customize” work tasks to suit your characteristics. Inside you will find tests, exercises and scientific research. And also - cute illustrations from the author.

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