Vacationing In Burnout-ville

The hotel rooms in Burnout-ville are always full …

… full of wrung out, worn out entrepreneurs.

The revolving doors at hotel front entrances are in perpetual motion.

Business is booming!

Unfortunately, it’s a vacation spot completely void of fun activities, swimming pools, shuffleboard, and scenic tours to book.

They have no souvenir shops — no one ever wants to bring back any reminders of their visit.

Talk about gloomy and somber.  

The scenery around town is pretty bleak.

Take a close look at the guests and you’ll notice clearly-defined dark circles under their eyes and people moving about at snail speed.  Guests resemble zombies right out of your favorite science fiction movie.

And the cuisine?

There’s no spice!  You could best describe what they’re serving as bland, dry, tasteless, and unsavory.  

Getting the feeling you’ll want to decline a free ticket to Burnout-ville? 

Beware — most tickets are “one-way” only.

You could easily be the next entrepreneur on your way to Burnout-ville if you are:

  • Saying “yes” to every favor everyone asks of you
  • Not eating properly
  • Allowing 30-minute sessions with your clients to turn into 90 minutes
  • Staying up late and burning the candle at both ends
  • Forgetting there’s a world out there outside of the internet
  • Multi-tasking on multiple days of the week
  • Forcing yourself to blog when you don’t feel like blogging
  • Simultaneously working your way through the last three programs you purchased
  • Stretching yourself and your commitments so thin, you’re like a rubber band about to snap
  • Constantly being distracted and derailed by shiny object syndrome
  • Trying to build your business by yourself and too proud to ask for help
  • Ignoring your family and friends
  • Unable to recall the last time you had any fun

Ever spend any time in Burnout-ville? How did you end up there?

  • You sure painted a vivid image there. Loved your post. Thank you for the reminder. I had a real laugh when I recently read a comment by Keith at http://aflourishinglife.com/2011/06/10-steps-to-mastering-the-art-of-joyful-living/#comment-3309 when he wrote “…[burning] the candle at both ends and looks for a way to burn it in the middle too!” 🙂 Cheers, Thea

    • Many thanks, Thea — glad you enjoyed this little “reminder” post. 🙂

      There’s one thing, for sure, I can tell you about Keith …

      He’s ONE of a kind! LOL

      My blog always lights up as soon as Keith arrives. He’s an engaging, witty, charming, and fun-loving blogger!

  • Hi Mel
    Thanks for the warning – easy to forget to look after yourself.

    “Vacationing In Burnout-ville”
    Reminds me of a nice little phrase I came across recently:

    “…. we’ve already settled in our little city of compromise. We’re bogged down in the quicksands of complacency, lost in the sterile valleys of inertia, and frozen in the ices of status quo.”

    I think that “sterile valleys of inertia” is gorgeous.

    I love a little rhetoric – don’t you? LOL

    • Do I love a little rhetoric, Keith?

      You KNOW I do!

      And you’ve delivered up one of the finest specimens I’ve ever seen. 😉

      I’ll grant you “sterile valleys of inertia” is gorgeous, but “frozen in the ices of status quo” goes right to the top of the chart for me!

      Talking about “rhetoric” …

      There’s a new reader here, Jackie Purnell, whose blog is entitled “Respectfully Disobedient”. Doesn’t that conjure up one heck of a mental image?!

      It’s wonderful to see you here again. I know you’ve been up to your butt in alligators working on web design over at http://wmwebdesign.co.uk

      So thanks for slipping away to pay a visit. The site is looking fabbytastic!!

      • Thanks for reminding me what I’ve been missing.
        Another couple of evenings and the new site should be finished.

        Feels good to be back.

        • Hooray!!

          From what I’ve seen so far …

          You’ve got a keen eye for design. 🙂

          Will you be working with local clients, exclusively? Or will your talents be shared globally?

          I’ll be sending positive vibes your way over the next few evenings as you wrap it up!

          Can’t wait to celebrate your debut.

          • Hi Mel
            Local sites for local businesses – easy to sit down and have a chat with local clients.

            Got your email about “Voice” – when do you need something Mel?
            Would the weekend be OK?

          • The weekend would be great, Keith!

            I’ve got the guest post written and I’ve left a special spot open for your awesomeness to take center stage. 🙂

            Thank you SO much!

  • Melanie, I do believe you may have been peeking in my office window 😉

    I think I could possibly check off every item on that list at some stage or another.

    Burnoutville can seem like an attractive place, and sometimes you’ll find yourself on an overnight stay….but just be sure that you have plenty of fuel in your tank so you can leave when you choose, you don’t ever ever want to get stuck there.

    • Oh, no! You caught me peeking in your window, Jackie. LOL

      It’s wonderful to see you here and thanks a bunch for swinging by!

      ” … sometimes you’ll find yourself on an overnight stay”

      Truth be told, I’ve had plenty of overnight stays in Burnout-ville. But like Daphne was saying, it’s through our own doing, for the most part, we end up there and I have to agree with her.

      I’m a recovering perfectionist, a workaholic, and a people pleaser — the triple whammy! 😉

      I tend to bite off more than I can chew and I sometimes have a difficult time saying “No, thank you. I already have two hundred projects I’m working on at the moment so I’m sorry I can’t help you right now.”

      Good to know you’ve got a plan for never getting ‘stuck’ in Burnout-ville!

      Please come back again soon,
      Melanie

  • I was headed for Burnout-Ville not too long ago. Then I realized it was all my own doing with self imposed deadlines.

    Do I really think that if my newsletter goes out at 10am rather than 6am, people will actually notice? That said, my newsletter still goes out at 6am, but if I start stressing and have too much on my plate, I am giving myself permission to send it later.

    It’s a small step, but it keeps Burnout-ville on hold for now.

    Great post, Melanie and it’s a very important issue.

    • I hear THAT, Daphne!!

      Most of us end up in Burnout-ville through “self-imposed deadlines” and other self-sabotaging means.

      You’re right …

      No one will ever take the time or initiative to notice if a newsletter arrives at a different time this week as opposed to last week.

      Women business owners, especially, tend to beat themselves up, emotionally, when they miss a deadline or simply can’t stick to their regimented schedules.

      I say, “So what?!” Nobody’s perfect and life doesn’t always happen on schedule or according to plan.

      Whatever it takes … stay out of Burnout-ville! It’s NOT a fun vacation spot.
      Thanks so much for stopping by,
      Melanie

  • Hey Miz Martha!

    I’ve met a lot of those same people, too — the ones inflicted with S.O.S. …

    “Shiny Object Syndrome”

    I’ll openly admit it took about three years, but I finally cured myself of S.O.S. 🙂

    Thanks for swinging by and now I’m going to head over to your blog and find out “Why Most Blogs Bore Me (You)”!

  • I haven’t been to Burnoutville lately but I DO tend to put waaay too much on my plate. In my case, I seem to thrive with multiple projects in the works. But, over the years, I’ve seen people in the online marketing world fade away simply because they couldn’t come up with a system that allowed them the freedom to ignore all those bright shiny objects! Good post!

  • I have definitely been to burnout-ville and back, though most of it happened while pursuing my education and during tough times at work. Some things were in my control during these times, while others were not. I had to focus on what I could change about the situations or my reactions to them. Fun approach to the post!

    • Thanks a heap for the visit, Kristen!

      You’ve brought up a very good point …

      Some situations in life are beyond our control and some are within our control. The way we respond is what matters most.

      Always happy to meet another soul who’s been to Burnout-ville. 🙂

      Hope you’ll return again soon,
      Melanie

  • So, it’s our (and your job) to find the concierge at this hotel and ask her how we can get the recharge package added to our hotel room. Where we can get new ideas, work on them one at a time, and cahnge our ways!

    • Great idea, Roy!

      The hotel rooms at Burnout-ville should definitely provide the means to recharge our batteries. 🙂

      Love the title of your post.

      I’ve been saying we’re a “sue happy society” for years. Sad but true. I’m wondering how many frivolous lawsuits are going on right this very moment. And I find all those ambulance-chasing attorneys on television commercials disgusting.

      Thanks so much for stopping by today!

      Still under the weather but on the mend,
      Melanie