You're Not Tired — You're Bored

There was a stretch where I thought I was completely burned out.

Dragging myself out of bed. Struggling to focus.

Everything felt heavier than it should’ve.

So I cleared my calendar. Took time off. Slept more. But when I came back?

Same fog. Same resistance. Same "ugh."

That’s when I realized:

I wasn’t tired. I was bored.

Burnout says, “This is too much.”

Boredom whispers, “This doesn’t matter.”

And they feel almost identical. But they require completely different solutions.

Burnout needs rest. Boredom needs risk.

If you treat boredom like burnout, you’ll keep trying to nap your way out of a rut.

If you treat burnout like boredom, you’ll push harder on a system that’s already breaking.

Either way, you lose.

So how do you know which one you’re really feeling?

Ask yourself this:

  • If someone dropped a new challenge on your desk… would you feel dread or excitement?

  • Are you emotionally drained — or just detached?

  • Are you craving rest — or something that actually lights you up?

If you lean toward detachment, dullness, low-stakes autopilot...

You’re probably not burned out. You’re under-inspired.

You don’t need more sleep.

You need something that matters again.

Raise the stakes.

Pursue the thing that scares you and excites you. Take the leap that actually means something.

Energy follows meaning. And sometimes, the cure for exhaustion…

Isn't less work. It’s better work.

Best,
Peter Delle