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For the First Time in Forever, I’ve Avoided End-of-Year Burnout

Changing how I work has made a profound difference to my life but a sustainable work environment should be within reach of all neurodivergent people

Jae L
9 min readDec 23, 2024

“I want to share that burnout is a seismic shift in a person’s priorities, one that the body enacts by force as a self-preservation tactic — and that some people are so transformed by the experience they can never piece their old life back together.”

Devon Price, You Might Not Recover from Burnout. Ever.

It’s two days before Christmas, but I feel very different this year.

In past years, I arrived at the end of the working year exhausted, raw and on edge. I would have dragged myself to the finish line, clinging to a promise of respite that would never come. The whirlpool of activity and emotions of the festive season did nothing to soothe my jangled nerves let alone fortify me for another year.

What has changed? Quite simply, the end-of-year run-up is different for me this year because my life has been different this year. It’s the first full year I have been self-employed and the first one that’s ended with more calm than panic.

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Jae L
Jae L

Written by Jae L

Queer, neurodivergent and in the business of asking questions and stirring things up. Conspire with me. diverge999@gmail.com; https://justinefield.substack.com

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