🍁 Burnout BFF November Reset: Work Beyond Survival

A letter-from-your-future-self exercise to manifest your dream career.

Hi Burnout BFFs,

Last week, we checked in on where we are on the burnout spectrum and reflected on our four non-negotiables. This week, I want to invite you to imagine your career or creative life—not from a place of burnout or pressure, but from freedom and possibility.

So many of us make work decisions based on fear, stability, or identity—shaped by the idea that success looks a certain way. But what happens when we imagine work without the pressure to simply survive? Giving yourself space to picture what your ideal career could look like is the first step toward creating it.

Personally, I turn to exercises like this whenever I’m in an uncertain chapter. Intentional writing (a.k.a. manifestation exercise) has been part of my career and life toolkit for years—helping me get my dream job in a tough market, recover from burnout at my lowest point, and navigate my most recent career pivot. Writing down your vision forces you to clarify what actually matters to you, and it primes your mind to move toward it. I shared more in this video about how intentional writing helped me land my dream job three years ago ⬇

@yiannie.lu

Annie Lu | Your Burnout BFF on Instagram: "My secret for gettin…

---

🌿 Week 2: Work Beyond Survival

✨ A Letter From Your Future Self

Imagine that money is no longer an issue—what does your dream career look like? How does that version of work support the life you want to live?

Now, write a letter from your future self (one year from now) who is already living that dream and doing work that fulfills you.

• Be specific about the criteria that matter to you—and why they matter. There’s a big difference between what you truly want (alignment) and what you think you’re supposed to want (fear-based conditioning).

• Describe how this work makes you feel. How does your dream career support the version of life you want to build?

• And don’t forget to acknowledge the hard work that the current you is doing. Gratitude—for yourself and for your journey—is an essential part of this exercise.

---

💬 Share your reflection:

What qualities do you want from your dream career? How did it feel to write a letter to yourself? Did anything surprise you?

Share your reflections in the comments or submit your response privately. I’ll feature a few reflections in next week’s letter so we can learn from one another. (Share by 11/21 to be included!)

---

🌟 Community Reflections from Week 1: Check In — How Are You, Really?

Thank you to everyone who shared your reflections last week. I deeply appreciate the honesty and thoughtfulness you brought to this exercise. Featuring two responses that stood out:

⭐ On rating the four non-negotiables — From a Burnout BFF currently on leave to recover from burnout:

Eat - 5. On leave, I’ve had the time and energy to actually shop, cook, and try out new recipes for fun and pleasure. I found that while I was stressed out with work, it was easy to just order takeout, and eat junk food to self-soothe, but that inevitably came with guilt.

Sleep - 4. Historically I’d find myself dreading going to bed / waking up in the morning, so I developed horrible habits with doomscrolling before bed. This often meant that although I’d go to bed at 11:30pm, I don’t actually end up getting to sleep until 1-2am. On leave, I’ve been sticking to a 11pm-8am sleep schedule, with minimal screen time before bed.

Move - 3. While I was working, this was at a 1 (or even 0). Like you, this was the first thing to go; for me it required the most effort, and had the least amount of gratification. I am making progress here, incorporating light 1 mile jogs and 30 mins of weight training 2-3 times a week.

Play - 5. Work typically kept me from spending time on the things I enjoy, and even when I did have the time, I’d lost the interest. While on leave, I’ve been watching tv, playing video games, and spending time with friends.

I love how clearly you articulated the shift between life before and during your leave. It’s amazing to see how taking a break is already reshaping your habits and daily rhythm. My scores and experiences were really similar to yours when I was burned out — too drained to cook, dreading the next workday, feeling anxious before bed, and losing interest in the hobbies that usually bring me joy. I experienced a similar reset during my own medical leave, and it made me realize that whatever I do in the future can’t come at the expense of these core areas of my life. I’m excited to see what else you uncover and reconnect with during this time.

⭐ On how work affects non-negotiable scores — From a Burnout BFF who recently started a new job after recovering from burnout:

I would say move has the lowest score right now, only because I’m in an ‘in-between’ season of summer where I like to swim a lot and winter where I like to ski a lot. These days, I’m really happy to say that my work schedule isn’t affecting that at all and it’s solely my choosing to deprioritize move.

I’d say what’s actually affecting my ‘move’ score’ is my improved focus on eating well by cooking more homemade meals, sleeping better by getting a minimum of 7 to 8 non-negotiable hours per night, and playing by spending more time on my previously forgotten about self-care hobbies (legos, relaxing in my hot tub, and video games). That said, I know that this particular season of ‘move’ being a little lower will even out in the winter months for me when I spend a lot of time skiing.

What I’ve learned through burning out is that even if one of these non-negotiables is slightly less prioritized at any given point than the others 1.) the choice needs to be entirely on my terms (e.g. not due to factors like work constantly taking me away from these non-negotiables as it did in the past) and 2.) it’s all about balance and if I feel happy with where my overall non-negotiables sit at any point, that’s the key for me. I’d say I like aiming for an overall 3 and above in these key areas.

I love that you honor the natural rhythm of life — that some seasons naturally support movement more than others. Winter is always my hardest season for movement too, and it’s a good reminder that this makes sense when we think about how animals hibernate in nature during this time. Your framing of “overall balance” and making sure your choices are on your terms is such a healthy approach. I’m going to start adopting that mindset for myself as well :)

---

💭 Next week: We’ll slow down for a gratitude exercise—one that includes you in the list.

If you’re enjoying this series, subscribe to get next week’s prompt delivered straight to your inbox—and share it with a friend who might want to join the November Reset. It’s always more fun (and easier to stay accountable) when you do it together :)