How do you fight burnout?

What do you do to keep the motivation?

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Need to eat, and feed the dogs.

stop and start when motivated again.

How do you get burned out if you are being selective with your shops? Quality over quantity. Lots of crap shops out there. I don't touch them. I used to do most anything back during the George W Bush days when I first started. I started becoming more and more selective during Obama 2nd term.

If you have to shop because you are not able or willing to get a corporate job, then I understand having to take lots of shops. That would certainly create burnout.

Check my bank balance, lol. That's for motivation. For burnout, a few days of doing nothing at home cures that.

I just remember the reason why I'm doing this (money). Also I keep some days cleared to have some time to myself once in a while

Stay home and cook or bake something.

I love my main job, I love being semi-retired
I take shops here and there that appeal to me.
Find a job you love for your main income.

When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.
Alexander Den Heijer

I love saving money on food, especially if we normally wouldn't go out to eat unless it's a shop. However, burn out is real when you are the only one doing the shops and your spouse reaps all the benefits! He helps with timing and things but it's still not the same as filling out the report.

My spouse reaps all the rewards too, but she is not a cooker. She is a baker. Plus we both work from home. So I want to get out and will try to eat out as much as possible when the right food shops show up like TXRH, BJ Brewhouse, bonused 5G, bonused RC, and some local chains.

@dafizisblue wrote:

I love saving money on food, especially if we normally wouldn't go out to eat unless it's a shop. However, burn out is real when you are the only one doing the shops and your spouse reaps all the benefits! He helps with timing and things but it's still not the same as filling out the report.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/06/2025 03:44PM by hbbigdaddy.

If I feel burnt out, its normally too many similar shops and reports. I'll switch up to doing something easier (less narrative, less timings, etc.) or different.

Variety…
Some MSPs offer clear instructions with logical reports that aren’t cut and pasted with terrible grammar, and don’t use ALL CAPS, and lines of repeating punctuation symbols. Some are respectful, and good communicators, and pay a fair fee for good work.

Others will try thier hardest not to.

The latter wear me out especially when the editors want perfection with time-consuming back and forth, repeating the same question or being unclear, just looking for a reason not to pay, time we will never be paid for. Unprofessional drama and games.

I’ve stopped taking thier assignments. The stress isn’t worth it, especially for what they’re paying.

I’ve simplified life enough that I value my peace over any extras that $35 apartment assignment with recordings and 102 report questions minus gas and expenses for 50 miles of driving in one of the most congested demographics in the nation would offer me.

There are also different kinds of “one and done” gig work that pay more with no lengthy narrative reports.

Variety…and at least 2 days to be me.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/09/2025 09:44PM by SBP.

When doing my reports, I pretend this is the first day I have done them and no longer have to get up mornings and assume corporate responsibility and loads of stress. I once worked a very stressful job where I had one co-worker who was fond of saying, "This is the easiest job I have ever had.". When you say that enough, you begin to believe it.

I agree ShopperGirly. I don't miss the full time corporate pressure cooker and all the responsibility and politics. I imagine back to that if I need to clear any MS fatigue.

I take an occasional weekend off and then my husband gets on my nerves and then I am motivated again 100%

I am taking a break from MS right now. Probably for 6 months. I have enough career work to keep me busy right now and have been feeling the burnout coming on. You know you are there when it's time to write the submission and you start thinking of anything else you can do. Maybe the cat box needs cleaning?

I re-caulked the bathroom counter the other day instead of writing a hotel narrative, and that was my clue it was time for a break.

Hoping to come back refreshed end of the year. I took almost 2 years off during the pandemic, but the burnout came back faster this time.

@SteveSoCal

I would think your selection of shops would lead to quicker burnout. You tend to do more narrative-intense shops (from what I remember). Any of us can get tired of doing any of these shops, but some are so simple and easy and with a good benefit that I try to stick to those.

I'm not willing to do overnight stays and lay out lots of $$$ hoping I don't screw something up. I will do casino shops for a shift, but not a 2 day evaluation which is quite a bit more work.

@ShopperGirly wrote:

When doing my reports, I pretend this is the first day I have done them and no longer have to get up mornings and assume corporate responsibility and loads of stress. I once worked a very stressful job where I had one co-worker who was fond of saying, "This is the easiest job I have ever had.". When you say that enough, you begin to believe it.

I'm mainly doing audits and merchandising work, which to me is less stressful than mystery shopping. Some aspects of auditing can be stressful / annoying, such as showing up at a location and realizing it's gonna be a good bit more time / effort than I planned. I remind myself that *every* job has its dresses, and I've done work that is a lot more stressful than this, full of unrealistic expectations, unsatisfied people, and people lying to each other on a regular basis. Suddenly, having to audit this 16-pump station with lots of traffic and dirty pump facings doesn't seem so bad.

I don't think there are any Russians / And there ain't no Yanks
Just corporate criminals\ / Playin' with tanks

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