Six months after getting the promotion, I started feeling so proficient doing the things my work required me to accomplish. Perhaps I was really extraordinary at my previous work post that adjusting for the more demanding responsibilities seemed to appear so basic. Yes, I felt that too. When I listened to my mind whispering those two previous sentences, it felt so absurd. I knew there was something wrong. There was something to be done. There was something to be learned. That my mind was such a swindler tricking me that I was just a vowel away to be omniscient.
It took about two months after I came back to the rationality that maybe what I was feeling was exactly a sign that I have to look for something new to challenge my competitive soul. I surely knew it was not enrolling in a post graduate school, just some fun educative sorts of ways to spice up the predictable corporate routine.
If you ever feel the same, these might be things worth to try :
JOIN CLASSES AT CO-WORKING SPACES
These are talks done at exclusive meeting rooms in cafes or at co-working spaces. Follow the Facebook page of coffee shops around your place. They post announcements about 2-hour classes as they collaborate with people who conduct speaking events on a topic you might be interested in. These are usually filtered up to 15 attendees which the first meeting is usually free. Have fun learning and creating connections as well. Your seatmate can be a new found friend or a business partner material. Indulge in the variety of personalities and corporate titles.
POST YOUR BOOK REVIEW ONLINE
Reading books is a classic advice to continue learning. Enjoy every chapter by sharing your impression online. You can ignite sensible discussions among fellow readers through digitized book review forum on social media platforms like Reddit. You can also simply create a group chat with friends and discuss about the book you all have read. It is online and it is exciting!
DATE A HUMAN LIBRARY
Look for a friend or an acquaintance who is knowledgeable about a topic you want to know. Treat him to a coffee or a meal. You can write notes, ask for a demonstration or just simply interact like a casual conversation. You can agree to schedule it weekly until you are well-informed about the matter and for as long as you both still enjoy the meet up (of course). The intimacy of talking to someone face to face makes this fun and more informative, and affective. Try this on your next off-day and be sure to sponsor the bill every time.
In hindsight, losing the challenge of doing your work from the belief that you are already an “expert” consistently hitting your target, is still categorically a symptom of being burnt out. Yes, you can be burnt out and still sharply hit the work requirements. Intrinsically fed up and still occupationally productive.
Do not look for a new job. Just look for something new. Something that is fun yet educative. You have an endless array of choices: Refresh the basics of your profession, learn a side topic of your industry, update yourself on the latest trends of the market or unlock your potentials on a whole new rewarding field. Truly, there are a lot of knowledge and skills this world has for us to be learnt. Most of these are fun and do not necessarily have to be costly. You are not an expert.
JOHNDAPPERCLOSER 