“You’re not lazy. You’re not weak. You’re just trying to carry the weight of your entire future in a tote bag from TJ Maxx.”
Listen, I see you. You’re scrolling through this feeling like you’re running on 2% battery, but you haven’t even left your bed yet.
You think this exhaustion is just from your part-time job or that 8 AM class. But sis, that’s not the whole story. What you’re feeling is a deeper kind of burnout.
It’s Not Just Work, It’s The “Everything Tax”
Burnout isn’t just about your job or schoolwork. It’s the mental load of a thousand tiny things nobody warned you about.
It’s the emotional labor of managing your roommate’s drama. It’s the “performative wellness” of making your life look effortless on Instagram. It’s the financial anxiety of checking your bank account before buying a coffee.
You’re not just doing tasks. You’re constantly switching contexts in your brain. From student, to employee, to therapist friend, to daughter, to social media curator. That context-switching fries your nervous system.
💡 Quick Tip
Do a “Brain Dump” before bed. Take 5 minutes to write down EVERYTHING swirling in your head—from “email professor” to “mom’s birthday gift” to “why is he texting like that?”. Getting it out on paper tells your brain it can stop holding onto it.
The Invisible Work Is Killing You
Think about your week. How many hours did you spend just…figuring things out? Researching, planning, comparing, worrying?
Finding the cheapest textbook rental. Planning the cheapest grocery trip. Decoding a guy’s vague text. Researching symptoms you’re too embarrassed to ask about. That’s invisible work. And it’s unpaid, unthanked, and exhausting.
💊 What Works: The Five Minute Journal – This isn’t about writing essays. It’s 5 minutes in the morning and night to corral your thoughts, practice gratitude without the cringe, and set a positive tone. It cuts down on that morning anxiety spiral.
What Actually Works
You can’t eliminate all stress. But you can stop the bleed. The goal isn’t to do more “self-care.” It’s to do less of what’s draining you.
First, track your energy for 3 days. Not your time, your ENERGY. When do you feel that soul-crushing dip? Is it after scrolling TikTok? After a call home? Right before you have to decide what to eat?
That’s your clue. Now, build a wall around that time. Put your phone in another room for an hour. Batch-cook three meals so you don’t have to decide. Tell your friends you’re on a “text hiatus” until 8 PM.
76% of young women report feeling “persistently drained.” Yeah, that’s most of us. Let that sink in.
The Truth Nobody Tells You
Girl, a major source of your burnout is decision fatigue. You’re making more micro-decisions in a day than your grandma did in a month.
Which filter? Which playlist? Which subscription to cancel? Which “side hustle” you *should* be starting? Your brain’s prefrontal cortex is tapped out by noon.
The hack? Automate and eliminate. Wear a “uniform” (like jeans and a black top) to cut out morning decisions. Use a budgeting app that does the work for you. Unsubscribe from emails that make you feel “less than.”
“You cannot pour from an empty cup. And honey, right now, your cup has a hole in the bottom from trying to be everything for everyone.”
This is the kind of stuff women talk about inside TechMae every single day. No judgment, just real ones keeping it real.
Related: This post is a must-read for women on their journey.
Start Here
Your one action for today: Do a “Drain Audit.” Seriously, take 10 minutes.
Draw a line down the middle of a page. On one side, list the 5 things that FILL your cup (e.g., a call with your best friend, a walk, a good playlist). On the other, list the 5 things that DRAIN it (e.g., Instagram comparisons, a certain group chat, grocery shopping).
Your mission this week? Schedule ONE cup-filler and eliminate ONE cup-drainer. That’s it.
Why This Works:
✅ It makes the invisible load VISIBLE.
✅ It’s actionable, not abstract.
✅ You start to see patterns in what’s truly causing your burnout.
You might also love this article – one of our most shared.
This Is Your Sign to Stop Doing It Alone
Women inside TechMae have been exactly where you are. Come find your people.
