You're Not Burned Out, You're Just Bored
Stop hitting fast-forward on your life and start designing one you actually want to live
How many hours of a typical Tuesday would you fast-forward through if you could?
Be honest.
If someone handed you a remote control with a skip button, how much of your week would you just... erase?
The morning commute?
The 10am meeting that could've been an email?
The afternoon slump where you refresh the same three websites pretending to work?
Lunch at your desk scrolling through other people's lives?
If you're like most people, you'd skip the whole damn day.
And that should scare the shit out of you.
Because that's not burnout.
Burnout is when you're running on empty, when you've given everything and have nothing left.
What you're experiencing is something worse.
You're bored.
You're living a life designed around someone else's definition of success.
And every Tuesday is proof that you solved the wrong problem.
The Wrong Problem
Somewhere along the way, you got good at something.
Maybe it was code.
Maybe it was design.
Maybe it was managing people or closing deals or writing copy.
You got good enough that someone was willing to pay you for it.
Then they were willing to pay you more.
Then even more.
So you optimized for that.
You climbed the ladder.
You hit the salary milestones.
You bought the things that successful people are supposed to buy.
And somewhere in that process, you forgot to ask if this was actually what you wanted.
You solved for money when you should've been solving for energy.
Research shows that over 80% of workers are at risk of burnout.
The majority cite heavy workloads and long hours as the culprit.
That's the obvious part.
What flies under the radar is the growing number of people who are disengaged.
Who report feeling disconnected from purpose.
Who show up and do the work but feel absolutely nothing.
That's not exhaustion.
That's a slow death by boredom.
You're a builder.
You've always been a builder.
But you built a life with no room left to build.
Every hour is spoken for.
Every ounce of energy goes to someone else's vision.
Someone else's product.
Someone else's dream.
You traded your actual itch…
The thing that makes you come alive…
For a paycheck and a title.
And now you're hitting fast-forward on Tuesdays.
The Real Problem
The job isn't the problem.
Let me say that again because everyone gets this wrong.
The job isn't the problem.
The problem is you let it consume everything.
You gave it all your creative energy.
All your best hours.
All your mental space.
You convinced yourself that once you hit the next level…
Once you made enough…
Once you proved yourself…
Then you'd have time for the things that actually matter to you.
Bullshit.
You don't need to escape your life.
You need to redesign it.
Every successful transition I've made.
From death metal bands to journalism to running an agency to co-founding an AI company.
They all started the same way.
Not with a dramatic exit.
Not with burning bridges or quitting in a blaze of glory.
It started by protecting time.
Two hours.
That's it.
Two hours a week that were non-negotiable.
Two hours where I worked on the thing I couldn't stop thinking about.
The thing that made me feel alive.
The thing that had nothing to do with my job title or my paycheck.
Those two hours were sacred.
Everything else could wait.
And here's what happened.
Those two hours turned into momentum.
Momentum turned into proof.
Proof turned into options.
Options turned into freedom.
But it started with protecting time for the thing that mattered while keeping the day job that paid the bills.
I didn't need to escape.
I needed to build.
The Design Problem
Most people approach their lives like they're stuck in a choose-your-own-adventure book where someone else already circled all the choices.
Your job is to exist.
Your role is to execute.
Your purpose is to help someone else build their dream.
That's a shit way to live.
You need three shifts.
Not ten.
Not a complete life overhaul.
Three specific changes that redesign how you spend your time and energy.
Shift 1: Stop chasing what society says should make you happy
You know the script.
Get the degree.
Get the job.
Get the promotion.
Get the raise.
Get the bigger title.
Get the corner office.
Get the respect.
And then what?
You're still bored.
You're still hitting fast-forward.
Because none of that stuff actually makes you feel alive.
The question isn't what should make you happy.
The question is what actually makes you feel alive right now, today, this week.
What would you do with those two hours if you protected them?
What conversation, project, problem, creation would fill that space?
Write it down.
Be specific.
Not "I want to be creative."
But "I want to build a tool that helps designers work faster."
Or "I want to write about the intersection of psychology and product design."
Or "I want to learn how AI actually works by building something real."
That's your signal.
That's what you're optimizing for now.
Shift 2: Stop waiting for perfect conditions
You don't need more time.
You don't need more money.
You don't need a sabbatical or a career break or the kids to be older or the mortgage to be paid off.
You need two hours this week.
That's it.
Not when things calm down.
Not when the big project ships.
Not next month when you'll have more bandwidth.
This week.
Block it.
Protect it.
Treat it like the most important meeting of your week, because it is.
Studies on side projects consistently show the same pattern.
People who maintain creative outlets outside their main work report:
Higher job satisfaction
Better mental health
Lower turnover rates
The side project isn't an escape.
It's a counterbalance.
It's proof that you're more than your job title.
Most people never start because they're waiting for the right time.
There is no right time.
There's only this Tuesday and what you choose to do with it.
Shift 3: Stop thinking escape, start thinking design
Your day job isn't your enemy.
Your day job is your funding mechanism.
It pays for your life while you build the next chapter.
It gives you stability while you figure out what you're actually building toward.
The goal isn't to quit.
The goal is to build something that makes you excited to wake up.
Something that gives you energy instead of draining it.
Something that feels like yours.
Maybe that thing eventually replaces your job.
Maybe it doesn't.
Maybe it becomes a revenue stream.
Maybe it stays a passion project forever.
Who gives a shit?
The point is you're building again.
You're creating.
You're solving problems that actually interest you.
You're designing a life instead of enduring one.
What Happens Next
A year from now, you'll either have a life you're excited to wake up for, or you'll still be hitting fast-forward on Tuesdays.
The difference is this week.
Not next week.
Not when things slow down.
This week.
Two hours.
Non-negotiable.
What you do with them determines whether you're still reading newsletters about burnout a year from now or whether you're building something that actually matters to you.
Your job will take everything you give it.
Every hour.
Every ounce of energy.
Every creative impulse.
It will consume your entire life if you let it.
So don't let it.
Protect the time.
Start the thing.
Build the life.
Stop waiting for permission to feel alive.
The remote control is in your hand.
You can keep hitting fast-forward.
Or you can start designing Tuesdays worth living.
Your call.