How to Break the Exhaustion Cycle | Capability @ Lunch Recap

It’s that time of year when we’re all counting the days to the next long weekend and trying to figure out how we can keep up the momentum until we reach the Christmas holidays.

While this cycle is something many of us are stuck in, Digby Scott joined us for this month’s Capability @ Lunch session to share some good news: we have the power to break this cycle and build a life that doesn’t leave us exhausted and burnt out.

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Digby started the session with a question: What is one word that describes how you’re feeling at this point in the year? Tired, overwhelmed and exhausted were the most common answers, which one learner captured perfectly with the word ‘zombie’. 

Digby then asked a second question: on a scale of 1-4, with 1 being always unhurried, and 4 being always hurried, how hurried do you feel these days?

Seventy-two percent of our respondents said they felt hurried most of the time, similar to the results Digby had seen when he asked his LinkedIn followers.

While feeling hurried isn’t always a bad thing, Digby noted that being in a constant state of hurry is where exhaustion and burnout begin.

Introducing the Unhurried Productivity Diagnostic

Digby then introduced a model that we would be working through for the remainder of the session. The model is built on two spectrums: productive to unproductive, and hurried to unhurried. In the context of this model, productive refers to producing visible outputs, and hurried refers to one’s mental state.

The model contains four quadrants, with the inner circle of each quadrant representing a positive state, and the outer circle representing the harmful state you can end up in if you spend too long in the positive section of the quadrant.

The states are:

• Exertion: Exertion sits in the productive and hurried quadrant. Think of those days where you’re engaged with your work, putting in the effort, and producing tangible results. Feels good, right? Now think of those days, or weeks, that you’re trying to stay in that state constantly. You feel like you’re running on fumes, and you’re getting diminishing returns on your efforts. This is the exhaustion zone.
• Reflection: On the opposite side of the model, in the unhurried and unproductive quadrant, sits reflection. When you’re constantly functioning in a state of exhaustion, it’s easy to see reflection as a misuse of your time. Digby explained that reflection is crucial: it’s the state that gives you a chance to process information, recover mentally and make new connections. Have you ever had the answer to a problem you’ve been trying to solve appear out of nowhere when you’re on a walk or in the shower? That’s because you’ve given yourself the space and time to reflect. The trick is not sitting in a reflective state for too long, or you’ll slip into boredom.
• Creation: Creation sits in the hurried and unproductive quadrant. This is where your brain is making connections and exploring possibilities. Your mind is buzzing with new ideas, and you’re feeling energised! But if you sit here for too long, it can lead to a state of frustration. You’ll end up feeling stuck: you’ve got all these great ideas, but you can’t make any traction.
• Flow: The final quadrant is flow, which sits between productive and unhurried. Digby described flow as a state of effortless productivity and absolute mental calmness and clarity. It’s a state that many of us would love to live in permanently, but Digby emphasised that flow is simply a state we visit. Being in flow for too long can lead to being in protection mode. You’re conscious of your flow state waning, but you’re not ready to give it up just yet. You end up waiting for the next wave of inspiration instead of engaging in the work that’s in front of you.

The Cycle That Many of Us Fall Into

Digby described a familiar pattern: moving from exertion into exhaustion, from recovery into boredom, and then back into exertion again. We push ourselves until we’re depleted, take a break, promise ourselves we won’t let that happen again, and the cycle repeats.

Breaking this cycle doesn’t mean stepping away from exertion or trying to live permanently in reflection or flow. Instead, the goal should be to notice when one state is no longer serving us, and intentionally move into another.

Putting This into Practice

With the four states in mind, Digby shared three practical ways to start breaking the cycle. Click here to download the worksheet Digby provided, and complete the following exercises.

1. Review the first half of the year:
   • What people, places and work energised me?
   • What drained me?
   • What habits, structures or relationships helped me stay on track?
   • What got in my way?
2. Reset your intentions:
   • We then revisited the model, and mapped out what states we’d been in this year, and where we wanted to spend more time for the remainder of the year.
     • What do I want to have happen in the coming months?
     • How do I most want to feel?
     • What do I want to do less of, or let go of?
     • What’s my word for the rest of the year?
3. Redesign your rhythm:
   • Digby asked us to think practically about how we could build movement between the quadrants into our everyday lives. He shared that for him, this meant intentionally setting aside time to reflect with people who work in a similar field, and completing his daily mindfulness practice. Understanding what recharges you, and building that into your days and weeks will allow you to create more resilience before you need it.

How does this work in reality?

One of our learners asked the question we were all thinking: what if work is that thing that drains you, and the things that reenergise you only exist outside of work?

Digby brought us back to the idea of designing our rhythms. He compared it to riding a bike with better suspension. If you’re moving through life without giving yourself time to reenergise, every bump in the road hits harder and is more likely to throw you off course. But when you’ve built in the things that help you recharge, those bumps don’t disappear but they’re easier to move through.

Whether it’s how you start your day, how you finish it, or having a simple practice after lunch or between meetings, giving yourself moments to breathe and reenergise is what will help keep you out of the exhaustion and boredom cycle.

As we head into the second half of the year, the challenge isn’t to spend all our time in flow, reflection, exertion or creation, but to learn how to move between them intentionally in a way that supports productivity and a more sustainable, enjoyable way of living.

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Visit Digby’s website to find out more about his work, to get in touch. Be sure to browse the resources Digby has made avaliable, and his blog posts.

Capability @ Lunch Sessions are bought to you by Kāpuhipuhi Wellington-Uni Professional and Hāpai Public.