- Advice I gave to a friend on how to avoid burnout -
Vary what you consider “productive”. I go on chatrooms and dark web forums and have fun, and that’s technically not work but still useful, meaning it doesn’t contribute to burnout (because it’s chill) but still helps in life.
Variety in general is useful - do interesting stuff that isn’t infosec like … hardware! or signals processing or psych or learn LISP or write an essay or whatever.
Also, just take breaks every once in a while. Take a day without access to a computer. You’ll crave work again soon enough (and may end up doing better with a fresher perspective).
Another tip: keep track of what you do every day, and plan what you want to do the next day. Takes around 5-10 mins and really helps you see that you’re making progress of some sort, and hence aids in avoiding feeling burntout (maybe. depends on the reason).
Overall, staying balanced is key. Your life should not be entirely consumed by work. You should certainly get things done, but also see people, release dopamine, build memories
Also, keep in mind that even if you tone down the amount of work you do, you’re still doing considerably better than average :)