There are several flavors of exhaustion. Here’s the taxonomy.
Exhaustion by going shallow
This is my enemy. This is what I’ve been doing the past few days as I onboard at a new company (oh, I’m now at Facebook!). But I’m doing a million little things, deep on none. It can be draining. But I know it’s finite. That hasn’t always been the case. I would debilitate myself, confusing activity for outcomes. It’s a classic error for “high achievers”. Be fast, but only if you’re being deliberate. My old mentor at UCSF, Dr. Edmond Eger (may he rest in peace) showed me how a plodding old geezer could get more done than most of the young hotshots. He would often just sit back with a wry smile in his eye and hear you out. It would be SO SLOW. I had 10 ideas shoot through my brain before he said a word. Then, he would croak from that chair and just blast the professor with the absolute simplest of arguments. I always likened him to those deep sea fish with the illuminated lantern as bait behind hidden large jaws. He always caught the most intelligent person with the simplest bait - nearly always a hidden assumption they failed to consider in their zealotry.
Exhaustion by going deep
This is the best type of exhaustion. You’ve focused so long and so hard that you have no juice left. But you’ll recharge and continue tomorrow. Count that as one more turn on the flywheel. This is how breakthroughs happen. Be patient.
Exhaustion by puttering (doing nothing much)
You spin like the pinball of death on your computer - trying desperately to connect to some - any - signal! It’s debilitating. It can also lead to the next type…
Exhaustion by demoralization
This is the worst. It’s what happens when you hang out too long in the zones that are NOT going deep (least if you’re me).
Reclaim your buoyancy!
I grew up in the Narragansett bay. When I would sail as a kid I always took the buoys for granted. They were these landmarks in an otherwise ceaseless movement of water. People are like this - at least the ones you want to look to. They manage emotions and can remain steadily floating atop an endlessly turbulent surface of waves and movement. Possible mantra: be the buoy!