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How I Work

BEST OF: Adam Grant’s advice for me on overcoming burnout – and how he made it through his own burnout experience

Jan 22, 2025
Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist and bestselling author, shares his candid experiences with burnout, revealing the symptoms he faced and the transformative turning point that helped him recover. He emphasizes the importance of early sharing of work, overcoming procrastination, and building a support system. Grant dives into strategies for balancing work and downtime, advocating for structured breaks and the necessity of vacations. His insights offer a valuable roadmap for anyone navigating the challenging landscape of burnout.
37:47

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Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • Adam Grant emphasizes the critical importance of prioritizing tasks to streamline efforts and manage workload effectively, helping prevent burnout.
  • Sharing work early and often fosters collaboration and constructive feedback, providing valuable insights that can alleviate some pressures contributing to burnout.

Deep dives

Understanding Burnout from Personal Experience

Burnout can affect anyone, regardless of expertise, as highlighted by an organizational psychologist who has studied the phenomenon. Despite understanding its predictors and symptoms, he experienced emotional exhaustion and self-doubt while working on a book, which led him to procrastinate and avoid activities he once enjoyed. This personal struggle reveals that even those knowledgeable about burnout can fall victim to it due to overwhelming pressures and unrealistic self-expectations. Recognizing that burnout is not just an individual problem, but one influenced by external circumstances, can help in understanding the breadth of its impact.

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