Avoid burnout: Remove, subtract, and release

Today I'm sharing what I learned in a book that covers concepts like plate sizes and pennies to help you avoid burnout (and recognize when you're about to get there).

On a recent road trip, I listened to a book called, “Dear Writer, Are You in Burnout?” written by Becca Syme. I read about it in one of Russell Nohelty’s articles from

The Author Stack

. He said the book changed his life, so naturally, I had to see what it was about.

To be clear, I didn’t read the book thinking, yes, I am so burnt out. Instead, I was more like, I am feeling stretched thin these days. But then, I wondered, aren’t we all? 

Before listening to the book, I was already trying to remove projects, activities, and anything adding to my frazzled state of mind. I knew there was only so much I could do in a day, and I had to remove, subtract, and release. Syme, a success coach, talks a lot about this effort to remove things from your plate.

Much to my surprise, she said burnout is the number one thing she gets asked about from her audience and clients.

This is what I took away from the book, and if it resonates with you, comment below. I love hearing your feedback and want to know if you feel overwhelmed or even burnt out (and what you’re doing to remove the things that aren’t serving you). It also helps me figure out what type of content resonates with you most. 🙂

Your daily pennies

Syme correlates brain power with pennies. You have a set number of pennies each day. Let’s say it’s 200 (note: this is after a night of solid sleep so 200 means you’re well-rested).

If you woke up tired or hungover, your pennies would start lower, maybe 120. Everything you do in the day costs you those pennies.

Examples from my day would be:

• Working on my memoir: 30 pennies

• Writing an article for a client: 25 pennies

• Figuring out what shirt to wear for my Zoom call: 2 pennies

• Getting slightly anxious because I need to walk my dog (who has been staring at me from his bed): 8 pennies

• And so on…

Syme says you only have a set amount of pennies each day, and when you’ve used them all up, that’s it. The only way to get more pennies is to recharge. Get a good night’s sleep, go for a walk, call a friend, go to happy hour, watch Netflix… stuff like that. 

As I listened to the book, I thought, I am trying to be mindful of getting burnt out. I don’t force myself to keep working when my brain quits. I recognize when a break is needed. I sleep enough. I walk. I do yoga.

So why am I still feeling constantly overwhelmed, flustered, anxious, jangled…

This is something I am trying to figure out. For me, stress is like a sound machine that’s always on in the background. Sometimes I hear it, other times I don’t.

My conclusion for now is that I’ll always feel this way, and that’s okay. But I make sure to consider my plate size and daily pennies…

What’s your plate size?

While pennies relate to your brain power and energy, plate sizes are about how much you take on. Syme says the size also relates to your inherent traits and personality, meaning…

• Are you the type of person who always needs multiple projects going on? (Medium to large-ish plate.) 

• Do you thrive on being a busy bee with lots of things and more things you’re doing? (Huge plate—think: Cheesecake Factory-sized.)

• Or do you dislike juggling multiple projects and have tendencies to be overwhelmed? (Appetizer plate.)

Highly productive and efficient people can take on the large, Cheesecake Factory plates, which Syme numbers a 10.

Others can only handle small or medium-sized plates—maybe appetizer plates or slightly larger. These folks are about a 5 and prefer having the time and breathing space to go deeper on a few projects at a time.

It’s important to note that Syme stresses that if you’re a 3 or 5, it doesn’t mean you’re not as good or smart or awesome as those who operate on a level 10. Life circumstances, such as income, where you live, whether you have kids, or take care of aging parents… all contribute to your plate size. Maybe a person who is a 10 lives alone, makes great income, and can spend the time and effort juggling a large number of projects consistently.

I think I am a 6—I enjoy working on multiple projects simultaneously but get progressively more stressed as more is added to my plate. But between freelance projects, writing chapters in my book, taking multiple writing classes, and maintaining my two Substacks, the food on my 6-sized plate is full and spilling onto the table.

Even the stuff I put on hold (like creating podcasts) still stressed me out because I kept thinking about how I wasn’t working on it. 

Your plate size isn’t permanent

Here’s something else that Syme recognized (and I so appreciated this)—you can have various plate sizes. If I’m a 6, it doesn’t mean I’ll always be a 6. I can take on bigger or smaller plates depending on what happens in life. Plate sizes are fluid.

Regardless of whether I’m a 6 today or a 9 next year, the important question to ask is: Is this size sustainable? 

When I heard this part, I wondered if I am truly a 6. When I really thought about it, it struck me that I wanted to be a 4 or 3. My dream is to make a living writing books. I would love to do that one thing, rather than juggling multiple clients and projects. 

So what am I doing to get to that smaller plate size? Since I can’t snap my fingers and become an instant full-time author, I am constantly assessing what activities drain vs. energize me.

Thinking = energy

I recently heard your brain uses 20% of the energy you consume.

Going back to the whole podcasting thing—I kept beating myself up because I wasn’t working on it. (I even wrote a post about trying to keep up with “all the things.”)

After realizing all of the thinking was depleting my precious pennies, I finally released myself from feeling bad about it.

I removed the audio files I had placed on my laptop’s home screen because it was just a reminder that I wasn’t doing the thing I said I was going to do. I know it sounds like such a tiny thing, but when you add up all the tiny things you’re removing, it makes a difference.

Here are other things I removed or reduced to make my plate feel less crowded: 

• Writing these newsletters—I was going hard at a once-a-week schedule for a solid year. I’ve scaled it back to 2x a month, and you know what? It’s not hindering my slow but steady flow of subscribers.

• A one-hour, weekly writing group that I used to attend religiously. 

• Falling down the rabbit hole of Slack channels (for work) because I want to seem “involved.” 

• My dog’s midday walk. I used to walk him 3x a day but removed the one at lunchtime. (Sorry, buddy.)

• I love me some hot yoga. I used to go every. single. day. It sounds insane now that I think about it. Anyone who goes to the gym knows it takes time to drive there and back, take a shower, etc. I scaled it back to ~ 3-4x a week.

• Unsubscribing to news podcasts. (Surprise: It’s all bad news anyway.)

• Unsubscribing to Substacks I no longer read. I felt guilty, but it had to be done because I realized digital clutter weighs heavily on me.

So I urge you to think about what you can remove, subtract, and release. You may not be burnt but you’re likely stressed in some way.  

Imagine a clean, porcelain white plate and your favorite food on it.

Is it a nice balance of food vs. plate? Can you actually see the white plate underneath the food?

If so, wonderful.

If not, reexamine what you have going on and figure out what you can remove. 

Start with one thing, and as Syme says throughout the book, question everything (she calls this questioning the premise) and don’t just accept things for what they are.

Is your current plate size sustainable? If not, what will you remove?

P.S. Syme also has a podcast called QuitCast that goes over what to quit, what to keep, and what to question.