How I Avoid Burnout

I work for a company that has a poor reputation for retention and for burning out its employees. Most of the criticism is unfair, but I have seen instances where former and current colleagues were pushed close to their breaking points. I've now survived at the company for 17, going on 18, holiday seasons, or Q4, as we call it. Don't get me wrong, I've had my fair share of moments. When I first started my career, I had close to a year of solo on-call, and that nearly broke me. Reflecting on things, my resilience has boiled down to one mental model that I'll share with you today. I believe it has allowed me to not just avoid burnout but also take on more responsibilities—healthily and responsibly. I now have a family, a YouTube channel, an email newsletter, and more things I haven't announced yet, on top of my day job. The stress is still there, but burnout isn't a feeling I've dealt with for many years.

The concept is a simple one—leaning into seasonality. Every year, Amazon gears up fo…