Burnt Out

Anyone know why libraries are the best place for travel videographers to work?

Sure it’s quiet, the books are a nice addition, and in general it’s a place designed for focus.

But the real reason is Lightning Fast Internet. About 70% of my footage has been uploaded to the cloud (think online) in a Library this trip. The other 30% done in AirBNBs with fast wifi.

Note — hotels (especially of my budget) have super poor wifi.

After a long, long refreshing walk / workout / sauna / steamroom + lunch to start the day, I headed to the library to upload 2.5 days worth of footage. I planned to spend the next ~2 hours in the library and take it from there. I knew it would be a quieter day for me, but what I did not know was the torrential rainstorm that started at 3pm wouldn’t stop until I left at 7pm.

6 Hours and 41 Minutes I was in that library on my computer. I barely get to 1 hour / day usage on this road trip so honestly I was happy to catch up on some material.

However, around 6pm, I started writing the blog and for the first time in 72 days straight of blogging I had a tough time finishing the story. Felt like a drag.

A fear of burnout quickly crept in. I took a lap around the store to blow off some steam. I began to realize I few things:

1. This is not what burnout looks like

2. I haven’t sat still for 6 hours straight since June

3. I’ll probably want to write again later in the night

10 minutes later, I’m back to aggressively punching my keyboard getting every last word out before dinner started.

Thankfully, not burned out.

But I want to address burnout — something that gets discussed more often amongst Gen-Zers like me than perhaps the other generations reading this blog.

My view

Burnout is when looking at the clock 15 times a day at work hoping the day would end. Burnout is the feeling of not wanting to go to work when you wake up. Burnout is not what you feel after an all-nighter. Burnout is not the feeling of banging my head against a wall after hour 8 of editing a video.

Look the definition itself may be subjective, but to me — burnout translates to: take a step back, go on a long walk and figure out if this is really how you want to spend your time. You must be honest with yourself here.

• If it is — then great. Stop checking the gddamn clock and get to work!

• If it isn’t — then great. Now we have a new problem to solve: block out free time to find how you can get closer to your desired path. It won’t just magically happen. Takes persistence, guts, and discipline to carve a new path for yourself. Whether at your current role or elsewhere (Good book for this: https://www.the5typesofwealth.com).

Overall, it was just a tough day of writing, but I got it done, and fortunately I am excited to continue sharing with you stories throughout this trip and beyond.

Thanks for reading.

-Jack