How Holly Wainwright manages energy cycles and chronic burnout

Executive overview

Holly Wainwright burns out on a near-annual cycle despite recognising the pattern each time. Structural changes — batching work days, protecting creative time, disconnecting from devices — have helped, but haven't broken the loop.

The real problem isn't schedule: it's the pull of appealing opportunities that fill the calendar before high-priority work gets protected space.

Saying no isn't enough; the default must shift to "yes, but" — with explicit conditions attached.

The burnout pattern and what drives it

• Holly doesn't get mildly sick — she either avoids illness entirely or is completely flattened for weeks
• The crash follows intense periods of over-commitment, not random bad luck
• People close to her see the pattern clearly; she resists acknowledging it
• Her word of the year was "NUP" (no), but October filled with commitments regardless
• The problem: too many genuinely appealing opportunities, not just bad requests

Structural changes that have helped

• Moved two hours from Sydney; batches city work into Monday–Wednesday intensive blocks
• Works intensively in the city so later weekday time at home is genuinely present
• Schedules creative writing time explicitly — blocks it as if it were a meeting
• Uses a separate laptop without internet connections for writing sessions
• Tells her team: text only on Fridays, no Slack

Protecting focus during creative work

• Phones and social media are the primary focus destroyers
• Reaching for distraction is automatic when writing hits a difficult patch
• Scheduled check-in windows for social media rather than constant access
• Garden tasks (worm farm, veggie beds) used as earned rewards after output targets are met
• Gamifying output — "if I hit X words, I'm allowed to go outside" — provides motivation without guilt

Two strategies for managing commitments

• "Yes, but" boundary: instead of refusing, accept with explicit conditions attached (day, time, duration)
• Never again list: catalogue commitments that reliably disappoint — removes future decision-making load entirely
• Example: speaking at dinner events always feels like it will be different; a never-again rule eliminates the agonising
• The most important things (family time, book writing) consistently get displaced by lower-priority requests
• Post-it note above desk: "you don't have to" — reminder that over-commitment is a choice, not an obligation