What kind of burnout do you have?

Quiz Questions

• 1.
  On a typical Sunday night, you are...

  • A.
    Checking your email, so you'll be ahead in the morning. 
  • B.
    On the bathroom floor, crying like you're being murdered.
  • C.
    In total denial that the weekend is almost over. 
  • D.
    Repeating positive affirmations (that actually make you want to vom). 
  • E.
    Staunchly refusing to check your email but also brainstorming what you'll say in tomorrow's status meeting. 
• 2.
  On weekdays, your first thought is...

  • A.
    I’m not sure I can handle even one more day of this. 
  • B.
    How much longer could I sleep in and still have time to get ready? 
  • C.
    How many more days until I can finally sleep in?
  • D.
    Today will be terrific! (But you also don't believe that.)
  • E.
    All of the above, on rotation. 
• 3.
  When your boss says we need to talk, your initial reaction is…

  • A.
    What did I do wrong now?
  • B.
    I’m probably going to get fired or at least yelled at.
  • C.
    Quickly scan an article about how to have difficult conversations, just in case.
  • D.
    This isn’t necessarily bad (but you also scan your brain for any recent mistakes you've made).
  • E.
    All of the above, maybe even in this exact order. 
• 4.
  When you think about your workload, you feel...

  • A.
    Resigned to the fact that this is what the rest of your life will look like.
  • B.
    Completely overwhelmed and underwater. 
  • C.
    Like you can do it because you’re a badass (but you also wish you didn't have to keep proving it over and over). 
  • D.
    Excited and exhausted in turns, with a side of "what's the point?"
  • E.
    Like you can get it all done but it will require a lot of coffee. 
• 5.
  When people at work aren’t listening to your ideas, you...

  • A.
    Book a meeting with a colleague you trust to vent. 
  • B.
    Completely check out of the situation. 
  • C.
    Rage-cry in the bathroom.
  • D.
    Smile and stay composed (but only on the outside).
  • E.
    Roll your eyes, complain to your friends, and decide it doesn't matter. 
• 6.
  When you're on your phone, you are...

  • A.
    Writing a fanfic because it's easier than dealing with your own life. 
  • B.
    Creating a complex to-do list based on unread emails. 
  • C.
    Lamenting how many work apps you have to keep up.
  • D.
    Looking at pictures of baby animals.
  • E.
    Scrolling insta, sending work emails, buying shoes, and venting to your bestie, often all at once. 
• 7.
  When your commute takes a million years, you…

  • A.
    Spend hours researching new jobs you totally won't apply to. 
  • B.
    Feel despondent and like life is just stupid and unfair. 
  • C.
    Stew about it, drink too much wine, and go to bed later than you meant to (because your evenings are your time, dammit). 
  • D.
    Remind yourself that you have a lot to be grateful for (even though you don’t feel grateful at all in this moment).
  • E.
    All of the above, on repeat, for forever. 

Quiz Outcomes

• 1.
  The action-taker

  Image Source

  You are on the verge of burnout and you know it. You want to feel better. So you just keep taking action. You keep reading articles, you keep problem solving, you keep looking for ways to improve things. You even try to fix your morning routine by sleeping just a little longer. But. It’s not working. Even as you try to fix your burnout, you can feel it getting worse and fraying the edges of your last nerves. And sometimes, you know the actions you’re taking won’t fix things, but you can’t seem to stop trying. But there's good news, too. Check your email to learn about the bright side of being an action-taker and what you can do to unlearn your burnout ways.
• 2.
  The totally tapped-out

  Image Source

  You are at the point where you are almost ready to welcome burnout. You’re tired of trying, you’re tired of caring, and you’re definitely tired of trying to force yourself to have a better attitude. When you look out at the horizon of your life, you just see a lot of trouble and problems you’ll have to continue to deal with. It’s not even that you can’t deal with them. It’s that you’re just so tired of things being shitty and hard. And look, it’s not your fault. You’ve tried a lot of things and it maybe feels scary to even dream of a better life. You want things to be different than they are, but you feel like you don’t even know where to start. But there's good news, too. Check your email to learn about the bright side of being totally tapped-out and what you can do to unlearn your burnout ways.
• 3.
  The catastrophizer 

  Image Source

  For you, everything is a worst case scenario. You’re not even looking out at all the difficulties ahead. You’re just trying to get through this moment, and the whole time, it’s a street fight. You really do want so badly to feel better, but you also can’t seem to even get your head above water as things are right now, so improvements seem really out of reach. Every little thing that happens is a possible threat (How will I make it through this meeting? What if I get fired? What if my commute is always like this from now on?). The thing is, living this way isn’t actually helping you deal with all the things that keep you overwhelmed. It’s just a constant getting by. And you’re getting worn out. But there's good news, too. Check your email to learn about the bright side of being a catastrophizer and what you can do to unlearn your burnout ways.
• 4.
  The bright-sider

  Image Source

  You might not even realize how close you are to burnout. You are an optimist and always willing to see the bright side (hence your name), and that’s great. But. Sometimes, you are so ready and willing to see the bright side that you skim right past what isn’t working. You don’t want to focus on the negative, and you definitely don’t want to complain, but you’re also not admitting to yourself that some things need to change. Or that you’d simply like them to be different than they are. Right now, you are trying to create joy by plastering it on top of whatever is happening, but that doesn’t work (and it can make you feel a little crazy along the way). But there's good news, too. Check your email to learn about the benefits of being a bright-sider and what you can do to unlearn your burnout ways.
• 5.
  The mix & match 

  Image Source

  You dabble in multiple burnout arts. Maybe sometimes you're the most cheerful person in the room, and then sometimes you're muttering about burning the whole building down. Or sometimes, you're on fire, sending sixty-seven emails an hour, and then seconds later, you're walking down to the third floor bathrooms so you can cry in peace. Listen, I get it (because I’ve dabbled in ALL the burnout arts, and it’s no fun at all). Right now, you might feel annoyed or exhausted or overwhelmed, but one thing is for sure: you want to feel better. You want to fix things and you're ready to figure out how to do that. But there's good news, too. Check your email to learn about the benefits of being a mix & match and what you can do to unlearn your burnout ways.