I've watched hundreds of executives try to escape burnout. Most fail. Not because they're lazy or stupid. They fail because they're doing things that feel right but don't actually work.
Here's what I've learned from 20+ years leading teams of 1,600+ people: burnout isn't about being tired. It's a defect in your relationship with your environment and your outlook on the future (Degnan, 2025).
So let me break down the ten most common "recovery" tactics that will keep you stuck.
1. Taking a Vacation
This is everyone's favorite advice. Go to the beach. Relax. Reset.
Here's the thing. When you come back, you walk into the exact same environment. Same boss. Same inbox explosion. Same impossible deadlines. Research shows that without changing your relationship to your work environment, the relief is temporary (Maslach & Leiter, 2016).
You can't vacation your way out of a relationship problem.
2. Saying "No" to Your Boss
Bold move. But let's be real. Unless you've built serious political capital, blanket refusals will land you on the performance improvement plan. Then you'll have burnout AND unemployment anxiety.
3. Reshuffling the Org Chart
New boxes. Same people. Same dynamics.
Moving names around doesn't change the fundamental relationship you have with your environment. It's like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
4. Finding a New Job
I've seen this one trick people repeatedly. You land a new role. Suddenly, you're OUT of burnout. The future looks bright. New environment. Fresh start.
Then 6-8 months pass. You slide right back into the same patterns because you haven't changed. The environment was new, but the person walking into it was the same.
5. Treating Yourself with Comfort Food
Elevated cortisol from chronic stress literally increases cravings for high-calorie comfort foods (Epel et al., 2001). So you reach for pizza. Ice cream. Whatever numbs the pain.
But now you're adding weight gain, blood sugar crashes, and inflammation to your burnout. That's not recovery. That's compound interest on a bad debt.
6. Complaining About Your Work
Venting feels good. For about five minutes.
Then you've spent energy reinforcing negative neural pathways instead of actually solving anything. Research on destructive rumination shows this pattern amplifies stress responses rather than reducing them (Watkins, 2008).
Complaining is spending your energy on the wrong conversations.
7. Reading Self-Help Books on Productivity
Burnout is not a productivity problem. Let me say that again.
Burnout. Is. Not. A. Productivity. Problem.
When you're energy-depleted, learning new systems requires cognitive resources you don't have. Failing to implement those tips just makes you feel worse about yourself.
8. Getting Your Boss Fired
Let's say you pull this off. Your new supervisor shows up, takes one look at you, and sees someone visibly overwhelmed and overstretched. Their first instinct? Redistribute your best projects to "help you out."
That's usually not better for your career trajectory.
9. Prepping for Doomsday
Cutting expenses. Hoarding cash. Preparing for the worst.
When you put yourself into financial "starvation mode," you're validating your brain's prediction that the future is bleak. This actually reinforces the negative future outlook that's driving your burnout in the first place.
10. More Caffeine, Energy Drinks, and Sleep Meds
Now you're forcing your body to perform through artificial means. The burnout spectrum research shows this creates dangerous energy crashes and pushes you toward the disease stage, where clinical symptoms emerge (Degnan, 2025).
Collapse isn't a matter of if. It's when.
The Burnout Connection
Every single item on this list fails for the same reason. None of them fix what's actually broken: your relationship with your environment and your outlook on the future. Until you address those two core defects, you're just running in circles. Faster circles, sometimes. But circles nonetheless.
The 20-Day Challenge
Look, I'm not here to sell you false hope. But I've helped executives get out of burnout in 20 days or less using a scientific approach. Not by taking vacations. Not by quitting their jobs. By actually fixing what's broken.
If you're ready to stop spinning your wheels, book time with me at https://book.drdegnan.com and let's get you out of this.
Cheers, my friends!
—Oliver
