Burnout

After a month of long days due to a sudden jump in workload, during the vacation season when we're understaffed, I have hit burnout once again.  Lately, I've been finding it harder and harder to motivate myself into caring about anything.  Drastic measures are needed to avoid complete meltdown.

I am completely ignoring Skippy the Wonder Associate's every-5-minute follow-up e-mails.  I delete them and get to his initial request whenever I can.  If he elects to complain, I already have the speech prepared about how it is inefficient for me to take time away from a task to read and respond to multiple e-mails asking for an update on said task.  I've had this conversation with him before.  We periodically need to revisit the issue because Skippy forgets that he's an annoying uptight jackass.

If I show up to work early, I sit in my car and read the newspaper rather than go into the office.  What's the point anymore?  I get no credit for showing up early, and what with staying late all the time because of someone else's bad planning it just makes for a longer day.  So I sit and read the newspaper until it's 5 minutes of.  Besides, I rarely get to take a lunch break to read the paper anyway.

I stopped responding to other Paralegal requests for help unless that person has chipped in to help me within the past several months.  I know we should stick together, but you need to draw the line somewhere.  Don't ask the team for help when you are never a team player.