About Balancing Bluebells

 

Burnout doesn’t always mean stopping work

 

Many conversations about burnout assume one thing: that you can step away, take time off, or completely reset your life. For a lot of working women, that simply isn’t realistic.

 

You still have a job.
You still have responsibilities.
And you still need ways to recover and protect your energy while you’re showing up.

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That’s what this site is for. Balancing Bluebells exists to explore burnout recovery and prevention that fits into real working lives, not idealised ones.

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Who this site is for

 

This site is for you if:

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• you’re still working, but running on empty

• you feel “high-functioning” on the outside and exhausted underneath

• time off feels limited, risky, or impossible

• generic self-care advice hasn’t helped

• you want practical, thoughtful ways to manage burnout without quitting your job.

 

You don’t need to be at breaking point to be here. Burnout often starts long before everything collapses.

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Why I focus on burnout recovery whilst working

 

I didn’t set out to create a burnout website. Like many women, I pushed through stress for years, capable, conscientious, and outwardly coping, until burnout caught up with me. I eventually left my job, believing stepping away was the only option.

 

What I learned later was more complicated. Time away helped in some ways, but it didn’t magically solve burnout. When I returned to work, many of the same patterns re-emerged,  over-responsibility, people-pleasing, ignoring early warning signs.

 

Recovery turned out to be less about escape and more about how I worked, thought, and related to pressure. That experience shapes everything here. I write as someone who is:

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• still working

• still learning

• still managing burnout deliberately, not perfectly.

 

Not as a guru. Not as a therapist. And not from a place of having “fixed” everything.

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What you’ll find here

 

At Balancing Bluebells, I focus on:

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• recognising burnout early, especially high-functioning burnout

• understanding behaviours that quietly fuel exhaustion

• practical recovery strategies that fit into a working day

• boundaries that protect your energy without blowing up your career

• small, repeatable habits that actually stick

 

You’ll find written guides, reflections, and (increasingly) short audio resources designed to be listened to while walking, because burnout recovery shouldn’t require more screen time or mental effort. Everything here is shaped by lived experience, careful thinking, and a realistic understanding of work.

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What this site is not

 

It’s not therapy.
It’s not a productivity hack site.
It’s not about “positive thinking” your way out of burnout.

 

And it’s not about leaving your job unless you decide that’s right for you.  This is about staying functional, regaining energy, and making work more sustainable, one practical step at a time.

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Where to start

 

If you’re new here, I’d recommend starting with:

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• Burnout Recovery While Working → the main guide

• Early Signs of Burnout in Working Women

• Stress vs Burnout When You’re Still Performing

 

Or, if reading feels like too much right now, you can join the email list to receive short audio resources and practical tools instead.

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A quiet note

 

If you’re here because something feels off, even if you can’t fully name it yet, you’re not imagining it.

 

Burnout doesn’t always announce itself loudly. Sometimes it shows up as endurance. You’re welcome here.

 

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