I would be the first person to admit that I'm likely to overfill and over-plan my calendar until life becomes literally impossible. It has taken almost two full years of university to realise that that's entirely unfeasible and I need to scale things back! This book makes for a wonderful companion to my goal to chill out a bit more.
There are a whole range of useful tips to put into practise, that all start with a frank encouragement to take stock of how many hours you actually have in your life and what you want to prioritise. So for me, I'll need to factor in the subjects that I study, my extracurriculars like choir, and what refills my cup (reading, no surprises there). I'm looking forward to starting my third term of the year (and exam season!) with many of these chapters in mind.
Would love to get my hands on a physical copy just to have a record of some of the suggested exercises - very therapeutic to look at how we can all do less!

"The Cure for Burnout" by Emily Ballesteros offers a comprehensive and practical approach to tackling burnout, blending scientific research with actionable strategies. Through clear guidance and insightful tools, Ballesteros empowers readers to break free from chronic overwhelm, establish healthy boundaries, and cultivate a balanced life with renewed energy and fulfillment. This book is a must-read for anyone seeking to reclaim control and find sustainable solutions to burnout.

Thank you, NetGalley and Bonnier UK Audio for providing access to the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Actual rating: 3.5

I'm not one usually invested in non-fiction books, simply preferring literature as an escapism mechanism rather than a fuel for growth. However, when I noticed this title I knew I had to give it a go since I've been struggling with seasonal burnouts quite often. Ironically, it took me a while to finish it because of another draining period.

Objectively speaking, most of the points mentioned throughout the book seemed like the most obvious points any of us would try once we became truly burned out. I know for a fact that I covered most of them instinctively, thus nullifying the life-changing learnings I was supposed to gather on this journey. However, I found myself on multiple occasions mentioning parts of the book to many of my friends, especially when it came to the psychological explanations of different phenomena, such as the difference in the way we get past a stressful situation as a child compared to our contained adult life.

So it might not have helped me 'reclaim my life' by introducing novelty habits, but I still found it to be a pretty fascinating read, that I definitely did not regret. If anything, it kind of made me consider tapping into the non-fiction genre more.

As someone who has recently left my old job to go into a field that is renowned for burnout, I was intrigued to read Emily Ballesteros’s takes on burnout from a preventative point of view, and I was particularly interested to hear her views as a woman, as often the field saturated with male voices, so I was excited to see that this was available to listen to on Netgalley.

I was interested in the audiobook in particular as a more practical and accessible format - if you’re experiencing burnout already, it’s unlikely you have extra time to sit down and read about it. I found the narration to be very pleasant and I think it was a book that worked well in audio form.

Ballesteros clearly tried hard to make this as an accessible and universal guide as possible, but it is ultimately built on corporate America, and is difficult to transfer beyond the corporate, office form of employment. I really appreciated the nuance and awareness that Ballesteros presented with regard to neurodivergence, but this recognition needs to be extended to include other forms of disability, as her model to assessing whether you’re experiencing burnout is entirely inapplicable to people who are experiencing many different chronic illnesses.

That said, I think there is a lot of value in Ballesteros’s model of burnout, and in her acknowledgement of alternative dynamics to work that impact capacity and can cause burnout, such as family and social life. I found the examples of real life clients really useful and beneficial to illustrate different ways in which burnout can manifest. Overall, I think this would be a really useful read for anyone in an office job who is struggling with burnout.

Burnout management coach Emily Ballesteros combines scientific and cultural research and the tried-and-true strategies she has successfully implemented with clients around the globe. She outlines five areas in which you can build healthy habits - mindset, personal care, time management, boundaries, and stress management. The Cure for Burnout provides a holistic method for burnout management, empowering us to reclaim control of our own lives once and for all.

This book came at the right time for me, as the new year arrived and I had to pedal hard to build momentum again to get on with the busy life tasks. While the strategies were common sense, they were still great reminders for me to stop, self-examine and make sure I wouldn’t get into the trap of burnout mindsets: high achieving, people pleaser and self victimising.

One new thing that I learned from this book was the concept of ‘boredom burnout’. I always thought burnouts could only be caused by doing too many things at once (volume burnout), but turns out there are 3 types of burnouts: social burnout, volume burnout, and boredom burnout. This was very interesting, as I did find an underutilised brain gave me burnout as well.

This book is incredible. I requested it on a whim, not really feeling burnt out at work but realised how burn out does not just apply to the 9-5 of work. I'd go so far as to say this is mandatory listening/reading for anyone struggling to make time for themselves/their passions/their friends/their family/their work etc. Really fantastic stuff and I so enjoyed listening to the audiobook.

Sometimes the right book finds you at the right time, as this book did for me. Great strategies to help manage feelings of burnout that are both effective and achievable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book came at the right time for me to remind me of a few things and also give me some new insights.
Looking back I would prefer this book on paper so it is easy to look back the parts that apply at a certain time.
It does focus mostly on work related burnout but I think everyone can take something from this.

3.5 stars rounded down.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bonnier UK Audio for an arc of this audiobook in return for an honest review.

I'm in many minds about how to talk about and rate this audiobook. As a disclaimer I work in a patient facing role in healthcare, where burnout is ripe and many of the things that work in a corporate setting are not applicable, and there is a certain amount of just getting through it to get to better days. Ballesteros does mention that there are roles that are always going to have high levels of stress and burnout, but as this book, which I thought would focus on all three types of burnout (as Ballesteros defines), it did mostly centre around work burnout, and unfortunately that is generally not applicable in my life.

Also, as others have said, some of the content of this is just common sense, BUT Ballesteros does really break things down simply and give examples of how to do the things she is recommending, which to be honest, when you're at the point of burnout is exactly what you need.

I am also not sure that an audiobook is the best way to consume this self help book, because at least for me, I general multitask or am driving when I listen to audiobooks, so I can't make notes or anything. As such, because I felt the content is worth having, I have added the physical book to my wishlist. My other gripe with this is that she did mention that burnout and depression have similar symptoms but did not acknowledge the fact that prolonged and unfaltering burnout can lead to significant periods of ill mental health.

The advice and pillars that Ballasteros describes are really well thought through, and broken down and it really includes some fantastic advice. I just wish it had been marketed as 'The Cure for Corporate Burnout' because that is mostly what it does cover, even if there are some little bits for social burnout thrown in too.

All in all I would recommend this if you need a simple and focused way to tackle burnout and you are capable of applying principles of it to other areas of your life, or your burnout is predominantly corporate.

This review sounds more negative than it should, I do think this is a worthwhile book to read and as I've said, I want a physical copy so I can sit and apply the principles to the areas of my life where I am able to reduce the stress and burnout - unfortunately for me, that is not work.

Helpful and clear perspective on what leads to burnout (and how it differs from person to person). Small but effective strategies on how to change.

This is a great book for helping to deal with burnout. Emily breaks burn out down into various causes and then goes into lots of detail about what this means and how you can tackle this. This book resonated with me even as a stay at home parent as I have just given up my job to focus on my children more.

There are key strategies offered in each section and towards the end of the final chapter she provides a nice summary.

I listened to this as an audio book but will most likely by the paperback version too as I feel as though there is value in having a hard copy to refer back to when needed.

A great read for people who feel burnt out or even for people who think they are busy but coping!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this audiobook.

The Cure for Burnout is a practical guide on what steps to take when one find themselves in an overwhelmed state- to be honest I expected something new as most of the tips seemed common sense to me and it's quite hard to actually implement tougher changes when you are suffering from burnout.

However I would say this is a great starting point but it cannot be the end- Burnout is a serious condition and must be taken care of with the help of health professionals which I think the book should have highlighted more. However, like I said, good starting point for people who need to realize or confirm that what they are going through is actually burnout and not just a 'rough time' .

The narrator was getting on my nerves a little bit which did not help so I switched to the written version quite a lot

I always like to have a self-development audio book on the go alongside reading physical books. This one by Emily Ballesteros has come into my life at a perfect time.

I started this audiobook hoping to catch-up with my house duties at the same time, but I was hooked from the first few lines and ended up quickly reaching for my notebook and pen to jot down the advice and tips the author was sharing. I cried in some parts, I really felt as if the author was describing my life especially what has happened over the past few pandemic years.

This book is packed with such good advice, each situation is supported by a real-life example from one of her clients. The topics are presented in such an interesting way. There are intesting techniques you can use to mix up your daily routine to avoid burnout. There are many references to current situations many of us may find ourselves in; the lack of boundaries between home and work life, anxiety, high workload, social pressures.

This audiobook is narrated by the author herself. I found her pace and intonation good and engaging. It's very US centred/focussed though, with many references about going to coffee shops and a reference to a frog early on which made me feel queasy and was very off-putting for anyone who's a vegetarian/vegan/animal lover. I felt this was unnecessary, but apart from that, I really enjoyed this audiobook. It couldn't have come at better time in my life as I look to regain my work / life balance, recharge myself and find myself again.

I now have pages and pages of inspiring notes and tips, and have ordered a physical copy of the book so I can re read it.

I really recommend this book to anyone who may be feeling burnt out from work, from colleagues, from people and social interactions in general.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ from me!

This book is a useful tool to managing stress in modern life. The author helpfully breaks burnout down into different types and offers strategies for managing and preventing it in different situations.

However I found that, although she acknowledged that burnout was a major problem in jobs in healthcare, education and retail, the majority of the strategies (especially for enforcing boundaries) were geared towards those who work in offices and the corporate world. This left me feeling that it wasn’t as useful to me (a teacher suffering from burnout) as I’d hoped. There were useful suggestions for prioritising personal care and managing difficult conversations but little in the way of how those working in jobs where much of their time is dictated by others can prevent becoming burnt out.

The author narrates the book herself and does so very well. It is worth a listen for anyone looking to understand how stress impacts them but may not offer the cure for all as its title suggests.

This is a high quality audio book that despite tge totle ahould be a must listen for wveryone.
The subject matter and techniques are so relatable to any areas in life. The mizture of real life case studies and honest commonsense gave me a strong full. The narrator did a good job of keepibg me entertained. With what in times was a very decripituve long winded txt. I understand why it needed to be.
I understand that this was previously released as a book the audio has mire effect.
I highly recommend this 5 star liayen to anyone who wants better life balance or self belief.
Thank you netgallery and publisher and author and narrator.

**Listened to the audiobook, as well as reading the hard copy**

After being diagnosed with M.E/CFS around 6 years ago, I'm always on the look out for books that claim to help with energy and burnout. I have read A LOT!! This book, didn't really tell me anything new. It felt like 'common sense'a lot of the time. I was left very much disappointed. (If you're after a more in-depth book on the topic then I would really recommend Burnt Out: The exhausted person's six-step guide to thriving in a fast-paced world by Selina Barker.)

The narrator of the audiobook was very whiney - which made me reach for the hard copy more than the audio.

Overall this book was just OK. Not particularly one I would recommend on the topic - there are better books out there.

I saw the title and knew this was a book for me!! Emily Ballesteros goes through the different styles of burnout (3/3 for me, how fun), how to navigate them and and get out of the cycle of being burnt out. She explains everything in such a clear and concise way, it was like listening to a friend giving you advice. The different suggestions she gives you to help with getting out of that state are genuinely helpful and things you can incorporate into your day pretty easily (if you're willing to do the work!). Really enjoyed listening to this audiobook!

A really clear and practical guide to the different types of burnout, its causes, and changes that can be made to come out of burn out as well as preventing future burnouts.

I really don't know how to review this book if I'm honest.

Speaking subjectively, most of this was just common sense to me and it did nothing to really encourage just doing the difficult things like setting boundaries except tell you that if you do it, it'll help your burnout.

Literally, this book did absolutely nothing for me. It was entirely focused on work/life balance and improving workplace experiences. I don't work. I knew work would come into the book but I really expected to get more general advice and information on burnout and how to handle it, instead I just got "decline the work event" "here's how to tell that person who stops by your desk for a chat to go away". I didn't need any of this. I'm not burnout because I work too much and I don't feel like the description truly conveys that this is a book for career folks who don't know how to set boundaries and are dealing with JOB burnout.

And as I say, even if I look at it subjectively and consider how this book would have helped me when I was working, I don't think it would have helped. It told me nothing new and didn't actually tell me HOW to manage to do certain things. It was just telling people to do things I'd be very surprised they didn't already know they needed to. Perhaps for some, having someone tell you "hey, you need to decline that socialiser" or "stop responding to work emails after 5pm" helps, but for me it feels patronising and it would have just made me feel silly for not being able to do it, and frustrate me that it gave no helpful tips on how to do those things if you were stressed or anxious about it.

My biggest issue is that this is very neurotypial centred.
There was a brief touch on neurodivergent people (as in, I recall a passing sentence I believe saying how it's different for us) but really this book is not catered to us, and as burnout is so heavily connected with autism in particular, I feel like this book would do better if the title was "the cure for workplace burnout" so it's obvious from the get-go if it's relevant (which would also help the unemployed NT's avoid it).
I'm sure this may be of use to some ND's (we are all different of course!) but ultimately, I feel like I wasted my time on a book that barely considered my experiences with burnout and never really admitted to itself it was dealing with workplace/job burnout, not just burnout/