The thing I appreciate most about being “the boss” is that I don’t have to spend a ton of time worrying about what “the boss” wants.

Sure, I try to do good work for clients. But I get to decide what that “good work” looks like and feels like. If the client and I have a mismatch, that’s not the right client for me.

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Obviously, sleep well. Eat well. Get exercise. 

And if you’re doing all of that and you still feel awful, what then? 

My hypothesis is that burnout comes from a mismatch of our expectations and our choices. 

To fix that, we can adjust our expectations, or we can adjust our choices. 

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There's something tricky that happens when we transition from being given tasks or projects directly to learning how to manage ourselves.

In order to function successfully as a knowledge worker, we have to be able to prioritize. and if we’re not used to prioritizing, they will end up in a situation in which we feel guilty for picking one task over another. 

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One of the things you learn as a teacher is to hold back.

You can’t share everything you know, no matter how willing the student is. You have to slowly drip out the information over time. It’s even better when you can structure the student’s learning such that they are taking actions that lead to growth and insight without you having to explain anything.

For a student who is hesitant or uncomfortable, giving them everything you’ve got will be overwhelming and frustrating. You serve them better when you do less and give less.

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I worked with a leader, Evan, who was extremely humble and self-effacing.

Evan was constantly working to improve himself. Whenever anything went wrong, his first move was to look at his own behavior. His default assumption was, “the problem must be me.”

Often, though, Evan had already done what he needed to do. He had made a plan, communicated clearly, and followed through on his promises.

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