The Cure for Burnout: How to Find Balance and Reclaim Your Life

by Emily Ballesteros

Ansiedade é a primeira coisa que sentes quando acordas? Trabalhas regularmente à noite e aos fins de semana para recuperares o atraso? O burnout que venceste está de volta? Se respondeste ‘sim’ a qualquer uma destas perguntas, estás a precisar de ajuda.
Emily Ballesteros, coach de gestão de burnout e influencer do TikTok, alia a investigação científica e cultural à experiência em psicologia organizacional e às estratégias que testou e comprovou com clientes em todo o mundo para desmistificar o burnout e orientar-te para uma vida pessoal e profissional equilibrada.
Neste livro, Ballesteros identifica as áreas em que podes construir hábitos saudáveis para combater o burnout – mindset, autocuidado, gestão de tempo, limites e controlo de stress, e partilha ferramentas fáceis de usar para alcançares liberdade, energia e realização.

Aprende
quebrar hábitos que criam uma sensação permanente de esgotamento;
ser mais produtivo em menos tempo, criando uma vida com propósito;
definir limites pessoais e profissionais, sem sentimento de culpa;
dominar o stress e distanciar-te dos fatores que o causam.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Psychology, Mental Health, Audiobook, Health, Business

242 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2024

Reviews

[Hannah Holmgren · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Cure for Burnout by Emily Ballesteros is just about everything I hoped for from a book about burnout. Ballesteros dives into the different kinds of burnout a person can face and some strategies to help prevent, combat, and come back from burnout.

It was a nice experience to find words I could very easily relate to and walk away with action items to incorporate in my every day life. I’ve already started employing a few different techniques. As a high-performing individual with very high (if not unrealistic) expectations of myself, burnout is a thing that often feels inevitable and insurmountable. Ballesteros’ breakdown into why that doesn’t have to be the case anymore is much needed in a world that feels like it still praises hustle culture over health.

I read and watch a lot of content around productivity and burnout and, as I often wish for with personal development books, do think this book could be more succinct. The individual topics around setting boundaries felt a bit long for my taste and I found myself wishing we could just get to the point a bit more quickly. If you’re picking up this book, you’re likely familiar with many of the themes outlined here and don’t need full-scale synopses on the different kinds of stressors. You KNOW what triggers you — you need actionable feedback to overcome those triggers. No book will help you with that. Therapy will (and while were on the topic, YES, I do think everyone needs therapy).

All in all, I did enjoy reading this book. It was smart and fast-paced and I will certainly recommend it to anyone I know looking for some confirmation that their burnout is valid and deserves attention before it gets out of hand.

Important to note if you are struggling with burnout: while this book is a fantastic starting resource, I strongly recommend you work with medical and mental health professionals to ensure your physical and psychological safety during recovery. Burnout is NO JOKE and no one should try and overcome it in a vacuum.

Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for this review.

#TheCureforBurnout #NetGalley

[Lizzy Brannan · Rating 5 out of 5]

IF YOU ARE A BREATHING HUMAN, YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK

We all get burned out. Emily Ballesteros says there are several types of burnout. In her practical knowledge and experience, she provides much needed relief for those who are at the end of themselves with burnout by volume, social burnout, and burnout by boredom. She takes the reader through identifying burnout early, altering mindset, personal care, time management, boundaries, stress management, knowing when to walk away, and establishing a road map for creating a balanced lifestyle.

I highlighted so many things in this book that my pages looked like a leprechaun threw up lucky charms. Ballesteros isn't just practical, she is simplistic in her detailed solutions. After reading this, I felt I had a toolbelt I could use immediately. I wasn't overwhelmed with information to the point of feeling burnt out from reading a book called "The Cure for Burnout". I was relieved! I also felt that I wasn't alone. For instance, I'm not an introvert, yet I have had social burnout and didn't realize it. I thought it was just me! I also love her solutions for burnout in the workplace other than quitting or walking away. There is a solution to every problem. Her methods exhort the reader to really consider priorities and have courage to hold ground on them. We all know that life can't be perfect all the time. We know there will be busy seasons. But we can be more proactive in preparing for those busy seasons, not feeling ashamed of our limits, and having a more positive mindset in the workplace and at home.

A very special thank you to Emily Ballesteros, NetGalley, and Random House Publishing for this fabulous eARC in exchange for an honest, original review.

[Emma Ferrier · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really don't know how to review this book if I'm honest.

Speaking subjectively, most of this was just common sense to me and it did nothing to really encourage just doing the difficult things like setting boundaries except tell you that if you do it, it'll help your burnout.

Literally, this book did absolutely nothing for me. It was entirely focused on work/life balance and improving workplace experiences. I don't work. I knew work would come into the book but I really expected to get more general advice and information on burnout and how to handle it, instead I just got "decline the work event" "here's how to tell that person who stops by your desk for a chat to go away". I didn't need any of this. I'm not burnout because I work too much and I don't feel like the description truly conveys that this is a book for career folks who don't know how to set boundaries and are dealing with JOB burnout.

And as I say, even if I look at it subjectively and consider how this book would have helped me when I was working, I don't think it would have helped. It told me nothing new and didn't actually tell me HOW to manage to do certain things. It was just telling people to do things I'd be very surprised they didn't already know they needed to. Perhaps for some, having someone tell you "hey, you need to decline that socialiser" or "stop responding to work emails after 5pm" helps, but for me it feels patronising and it would have just made me feel silly for not being able to do it, and frustrate me that it gave no helpful tips on how to do those things if you were stressed or anxious about it.

My biggest issue is that this is very neurotypial centred.
There was a brief touch on neurodivergent people (as in, I recall a passing sentence I believe saying how it's different for us) but really this book is not catered to us, and as burnout is so heavily connected with autism in particular, I feel like this book would do better if the title was "the cure for workplace burnout" so it's obvious from the get-go if it's relevant (which would also help the unemployed NT's avoid it).
I'm sure this may be of use to some ND's (we are all different of course!) but ultimately, I feel like I wasted my time on a book that barely considered my experiences with burnout and never really admitted to itself it was dealing with workplace/job burnout, not just burnout.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had legit so many books ahead in my "need to read list" and when I saw I got approved on this one, I ...accidentally? Shoved everything else aside and read it. I think I've read about every book about burnout, habit tracking, figuring out your goals that have been trending, but something about this one was really quite a joy to get through.

The writing was easy, relatable, and dare I say, easily consumable. Most of the information wasn't "new" to me, but I enjoyed reading it through the author's voice. Never heard of her platform before, but I would definitely check it out.

If you're new to the productivity sphere/looking for ways to fix your burnout, this book is truly a great one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Press for a copy to read and review.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The introduction was me to a T so naturally I had to read it. Definitely some good tips on how to identify burnout and prevent it in the future. Some things the author said hit a little too close to home 😭…. In a good way tho. Didn’t think i actually have ever felt burnout until reading this book (although other ppl probably knew i had burnout before i knew lol)

[Caitlin DeGrave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone should read or listen to this book! It's like a warm hug while being real with you. There are actual recommendations for things to do to help with stress and burnout which I've already used to help prevent burnout in my new job. This book is free therapy and made me feel great...I even missed my exit while driving I was so invested!

[Alexis Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're a recovering people-pleaser and/or have spent years in "fight or flight" mode, this is the one for you. I found her first on social media, and Emily's suggestions have already helped me so much in terms of not making rash decisions without trying other solutions first and also how to navigate when to leave a situation.

[Ellen Wetzel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read for anyone that answers every “how are you!?” with “busy!” I’ll be reading this one again soon.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I wasn't even halfway through the audiobook when I realized that I was going to need to buy the book. This is a book meant for active engagement (highlight, write notes, etc). This is a no bullshit guide to identifying and reducing burnout, full of highly practical suggestions, tools, and step-by-step strategies to help readers create a more balanced life.

The only reason this isn't 5 stars is because it is tailored to office workers with financial stability. If your burnout is non-workplace related (i.e. caregiving) or you don't have the ability/means to delegate responsibilities then not all of her advice will be relevant. However the majority of her strategies are applicable and can be tailored to various scenarios so I think most will get something out of reading this.

[Josephine Jarman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a high quality audio book that despite tge totle ahould be a must listen for wveryone.
The subject matter and techniques are so relatable to any areas in life. The mizture of real life case studies and honest commonsense gave me a strong full. The narrator did a good job of keepibg me entertained. With what in times was a very decripituve long winded txt. I understand why it needed to be.
I understand that this was previously released as a book the audio has mire effect.
I highly recommend this 5 star liayen to anyone who wants better life balance or self belief.
Thank you netgallery and publisher and author and narrator.

[Любен Спасов · Rating 5 out of 5]

„The cure for burnout” е втората най-полезна и практически насочена книга, която съм чел, след „Заобиколени от идиоти“ на Томас Ериксон. И двете книги се отличават с конкретни съвети, които може да се приложат на практика и които лично на мен ми помогнаха.

Книгата на Емили Байестерос е наръчник за това как може да предотвратим бърнаут и колко важно е да вземем тези мерки навреме, за да не станат нещата по-зле отколкото са всъщност. Книгата буквално може да се чете като наръчник, а тъй като Емили е супер популярна в Тик Ток и е преживяла бърнаут, книгата е написана на много достъпен език, който разчита на кратки ударни изречения, точно в целта, които могат да те ориентират до каква степен си натоварен в работата и имаш ли нужда от смяна на мястото.

В тази книга авторката ни показва различните типове бърнаъут, симптомите, които ни дават знак, че нещо не е наред, различни практики за самопомощ и грижа за себе си, различни типове агресори око��о нас, които да избягваме. Емили говори освен през личната си призма и преживявано, през тази и на своите клиенти, като в книгата е вплела много техни истории от работната, но и лична среда, които ме втрещиха на моменти, но и ми показа мои грешки в поведението на работното ми място.

В „The cure for burnout” може да намерите и много сладки съвети как да менажираме времето си, как да казваме „Не“, как да подреждаме приоритетите си, така че да можем да сме най-ефективни в работата си без да се налага да „сдаваме багажа“ и да получваме нервни сривове.

Истината е, че в каквото и състояние да се намираме, освен самата работа, колегите, шефовете, за всичко сме си виновни преди всичко ние и трябва да се отнасяме с много по-голямо внимание и грижа и към себе си.

Книгата завършва с конкретни примери как да разберем дали е време да напуснем сегашната си работа, дали сме пред бърнаут или вече даже го изживяваме. Има съвети за това как да си тръгнете от токсично място и хора и как да си потърсите нова работа.

С 10 ръце препоръчвам прочита на тази книга – изключително полезна, показваща различни гледни точки, забавна на моменти, но и стряскаща за отношението ни към работата, как я превръщаме в нещо, което ни носи стрес и вреди както на здравето ни, така и на психиката. Важна книга, особено за днешната реалност, която ни приканва да седнем, да подредим приоритетите и задачите си и да не позволяваме стресът, който е неизбежен, да ни повлияе до толкова, че да не можем да живеем нормално.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 - audio

[Tara Mainali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful and not what I was expecting. Instead of putting the blame on the workplace or the system as a whole, this book addresses the fact that you as an individual have a lot of power and ownership over making the necessary changes instead of blaming your workplace for your burnout.

The chapters on mindset, boundaries, caring for yourself, and managing both stress and time give practical applications and approaches to help you make changes in those areas ultimately leading you towards a better balance between work and life.

My only gripe is that this book is heavily geared towards those who work in an office or work from home and not always generalizable to other fields.

[Emma-Kate Schaake · Rating 5 out of 5]

This really helped me think about my mental health and stress in a new way! It made me feel much less crazy and much more “wow we need to burn down all of these systems because everything is just trying to screw over everyone no matter what industry” and if we can’t burn it down, we definitely should not be going down with a sinking ship, and our mental health is way more worth it than productivity for an employer.

[Hien Le · Rating 2 out of 5]

The guidance on establishing boundaries and self-care routines in large part feels like a helpful advice blog for stressed out office/knowledge workers. The material isn't bad but it's for a specific niche of people and doesn't try to ground itself in psychological, therapeutic or medical research. A better title might be "Some helpful tips for Burnout".

[Katie (katieladyreads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've followed Emily for years on IG and she has really great graphics and advice on burnout. This book is an expanded version of her content and highly readable. Very practical advice, would recommend to any and all high achiever millennials.

[Monte · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5. Despite what it claims, this book is written with a very specific type of person in mind (an incorrigible people-pleaser working 60–80 hour weeks in a corporate desk job), so a lot of the examples were comedically inapplicable to my life as a chronically ill ADHDer who works from home in the arts and already has a semblance of a backbone. But the theory was sound all the way through. Very actionable and helpful. Highly recommend if you’re going through work-related burnout specifically.

[Janelle Cavarra · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘No is a full sentence’, ‘people respect my boundaries because I respect my boundaries’

There wasn’t anything ground breaking or ‘new’ in this but there were definitely some good reminders in there about values, priorities, boundaries and how to reduce work related stress. My personal take aways were about how to prioritise and categorise work related tasks by placing them into different categories and how to set work related boundaries.

[Broken Lifeboat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt so seen reading this book. This helped me put work burnout into understandable context and gives actual strategies for getting out and recovering.

[Sophie Tonet · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ tangible practices and easy to follow! Now I just have to apply it…

[Petra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love, love, love this book.

[Claire]

Also please ignore

[Janna Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this as a library audiobook but found it helpful enough that I am planning to buy a physical copy to keep on my shelf. Very helpful and tangible suggestions.

[Nareen · Rating 4 out of 5]

definitely recommend to any working adult! burnout is very real and i appreciated the authors emphasis on the fact that work shouldnt be your whole life. while none of the information in the book is novel, the way it’s synthesized makes it very digestible. will be keeping some of these tips in mind as i continue on my phd journey (and then the lifetime of work afterwards 🫠)

[Risse Constantine · Rating 5 out of 5]

EVERYONE needs to read this. At the start, I was like “is this book about me? Is someone watching me?” It is an easy read with relatable content. I will be using this book again and again to help me through stress, and to elevate the burnout which has become my norm in life.

[Sherie P · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book should have been called “How to Set Boundaries for Insecure People, Primarily in the Workplace”, inspired by Kamala-isms. For example:

“Limiting beliefs are beliefs that limit us.”
“If what you’re doing isn’t working, do something different. Nothing changes if nothing changes.”
“When you are in the suck, life is so hard it sucks.”
“Everyone’s difficult is difficult.”

Contradicting advice, and unnecessary tips, like remind people you aren’t taking calls before 7 am, and you don’t have to deep clean the house every day…

Approx 25% of women in the US are SAHMs. I would have appreciated knowing that most of the info wouldn’t pertain to my current life before investing in the audio book.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took some notes while listening to The Cure For Burnout and wanted to share what I learned

three main symptoms of burnout:
1. feeling of energy depletion or exhaustion
2. increase mental distance and increase of negativity and cynicism related to work
3. Reduced professional efficacy

three categories of burnout
1. Burnout by volume: resulted from high volume of demands, a packed schedule and minimum downtime
* doing more today than you can recover from tomorrow
* running on empty without properly resting back up, which is a damaging cycle
2. Social burnout: due to interpersonal demands that exceeds you’re tolerability threshold
* communicate when you are unable to be a good friend and what you are able to give after you meet your obligations.
3. Burnout by boredom: as result of disengagement and disinterest in items in your life
* mentally checked out, disengaged and unexpired for an extended period of time. detached, not remember the last fun thing you did, feeling envy or confusion when others feel excited, frustration and resentment towards responsibility, knowing you’re unhappy but having no energy to create change.

Three mindsets that commonly influence burnout are:
1. high achiever mindset - worth is dependent on accomplishments
2. people pleasing mindset - focuses on making others happy and not putting yourself as priority.
Disagreements can be uncomfortable for people pleasers that it can induce a physical stress response. It hurts you not only socially but physically.
It is common for women to have a people pleasing mindset due to societal beliefs that women should be docile and accommodating before dealing with their own needs.
Those with people pleasing mindsets tend to struggle breaking their habits because they haven’t gotten enough practice not pleasing others with positive repercussions.
You gain confidence through evidence and experience.
We need to have positive experiences not people pleasing in order to feel comfortable doing so.
3. self victimizing mindset - feeling helpless and being skeptical about finding long term satisfaction in life. When things repeatedly go wrong, you tend to lose hope about the future. Believes external factors are barriers and bad luck is inevitable. Very skeptical about happiness and many things we react to don’t even deserve an emotional reaction from us.

Personal Care Pyramid
1. Nonnegotiables: day to day, personal care essentials.(examples are: eating food at specific times, getting enough sleep and having alone time)
2. Three dimensional personal care: there are three categories which are maintenance, rest and refill.
- Maintenance: responsibilities or tasks that contribute to taking care of yourself. They keep you functioning at the most basic level. “Adulting”
- Rest: genuinely relaxing and soothing activities that bring you peace.
- Refill: fun and fulfilling items that make life worth living.
3. Lifestyle design: is deciding what you what your life to look and feel like in five areas and building towards them sustainably.
* The five areas are: business, personal, health, social, and lifestyle.

ALL OR NOTHING MINDSET IS TOXIC.

Complicated relationships with boundaries start early.
Taught that obedience/accommodating = love/respect.
A lack of compliance is seen as a lack of respect in many aspects of our lives. through childhood to early adulthood.
As a teenage you may have often been met with comments such as:
“I do so much for you, if you cared enough…” OR “I’ll remember this next time you want something”
Growing up this way leaves us out of touch with ourselves.
We overestimate the how responsible we are to other peoples emotions




Phrases to keep in mind:
(to disrupt burnout behavior)

Behavior: don’t know how to say no
Consequence: have to skip lunch/stay late/work unpaid to finish
Phrase: “Can I check my calendar and get back to you” followed by “I do not have the capacity to take this on without compromising other work”
Alternative: Offer your help but make sure to do so when convenient for you.
“I can do this for you but it may be a couple days before I am able to get to it”

Behavior:
Consequence:
Phrase:

[Krista Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because I was curious with how many teachers experience burnout. The company culture section really resonated with me thinking about how teachers are not given enough time to fulfill their growing lists of daily responsibilities and many of them work hours of overtime to be able to provide what their students need. Since so many continue to do this, and even see it as a point of pride, it has become the culture and is expected that all who work in the field of education will make huge sacrifices in their personal lives to just continue keeping their classrooms running.

It makes sense why teaching is one of the highest burnout professions and it won’t change until we all change the culture and stop working overtime. Unfortunately, it would be at the cost of our students. I appreciated the perspective on this in the book.


Some excerpts from this section of the book…

“Company culture is determined by people. It only takes some toxic messaging to influence an entire organization where the employee with the fewest boundaries wins. But it’s often not even clear what they win. Most of the time it’s praise that does not have that much impact on the scope of your career, or an imaginary gold star of validation that feels gratifying but disappears as quickly as it came. The company’s employees feed into this social game, with everyone holding each other accountable through nuanced social pressures. This pressure, in turn, creates a culture of critique, distrust, and prioritization of work over life. Expectations become unclear when our contract says one thing, and the culture says another. When everyone shows up early and leaves late, sticking to what you contractually agreed to can feel like paddling upstream. It can also feel slightly shameful. So instead of fighting the culture, employees follow the current and employers don’t respect boundaries.”

[Sophie Fennelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who has recently left my old job to go into a field that is renowned for burnout, I was intrigued to read Emily Ballesteros’s takes on burnout from a preventative point of view, and I was particularly interested to hear her views as a woman, as often the field saturated with male voices, so I was excited to see that this was available to listen to on Netgalley.

I was interested in the audiobook in particular as a more practical and accessible format - if you’re experiencing burnout already, it’s unlikely you have extra time to sit down and read about it. I found the narration to be very pleasant and I think it was a book that worked well in audio form.

Ballesteros clearly tried hard to make this as an accessible and universal guide as possible, but it is ultimately built on corporate America, and is difficult to transfer beyond the corporate, office form of employment. I really appreciated the nuance and awareness that Ballesteros presented with regard to neurodivergence, but this recognition needs to be extended to include other forms of disability, as her model to assessing whether you’re experiencing burnout is entirely inapplicable to people who are experiencing many different chronic illnesses.

That said, I think there is a lot of value in Ballesteros’s model of burnout, and in her acknowledgement of alternative dynamics to work that impact capacity and can cause burnout, such as family and social life. I found the examples of real life clients really useful and beneficial to illustrate different ways in which burnout can manifest. Overall, I think this would be a really useful read for anyone in an office job who is struggling with burnout.

[Rina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Burnout management coach Emily Ballesteros combines scientific and cultural research and the tried-and-true strategies she has successfully implemented with clients around the globe. She outlines five areas in which you can build healthy habits - mindset, personal care, time management, boundaries, and stress management. The Cure for Burnout provides a holistic method for burnout management, empowering us to reclaim control of our own lives once and for all.

This book came at the right time for me, as the new year arrived and I had to pedal hard to build momentum again to get on with the busy life tasks. While the strategies were common sense, they were still great reminders for me to stop, self-examine and make sure I wouldn’t get into the trap of burnout mindsets: high achieving, people pleaser and self victimising.

One new thing that I learned from this book was the concept of ‘boredom burnout’. I always thought burnouts could only be caused by doing too many things at once (volume burnout), but turns out there are 3 types of burnouts: social burnout, volume burnout, and boredom burnout. This was very interesting, as I did find an underutilised brain gave me burnout as well.

(Thanks to NetGalley and Bonnier Books for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review)

See my bookstagram review.