When You're Caught Between Seasons and Burnout

It’s the last stretch of August. The air feels heavier. There’s a nudge toward routine, productivity, “back to it” energy — even if your soul’s not quite ready.

There’s that quiet panic that says I’m not ready to go again.

That creeping guilt because you’re not full of plans or energy or goals for the season ahead.

That lingering hold of summer you don’t yet want to shake off.

If you feel this way right now, this week's episode of A Thought I Kept where I interview Lyndsay Kaldor is for you.

Lyndsay is a writer, mother and creative whose life changed when her yoga teacher shared something simple but radical:

““Flowers don’t bloom all year round.””

It landed at a time in her twenties when she was living what she calls a “summer existence” — always outwards, productive, performing, never pausing. That line became a turning point — an invitation into rest, seasonality, and a whole new way of living.

In this week’s episode, Lyndsay and I talk about:

• Why burnout often looks like numbness, sameness, or disconnection

• How to tell when it’s time to stop pushing and start tending

• What seasonal living actually means (no picture-perfect routines required)

• How to mother, work, create or just exist without being always “on”

• The quiet power of letting growth be unseen, slow, and small

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Maybe your life doesn't look seasonal.

Maybe you’re in a job that doesn’t change pace, or a home that feels full of noise and needs.

Maybe you're tired of trying to change things — and just need to know you're not doing it wrong.

This conversation won't tell you to quit it all and start over.

But it will remind you that it’s OK to rest. To reset slowly. To resist the pressure of the algorithm, the to-do list, the inner critic who tells you to keep up.

This episode is for the part of you that needs permission.

To be quiet. To not know. To not be blooming right now.

We are not machines. We are living things. We shift. We fade. We return.

And just like the natural world, we’re allowed to move in cycles.

Burnout isn’t always dramatic. Sometimes it’s just the weariness of being endlessly outward when what you need is inward.

So if you’re in that messy, in-between moment — not quite summer, not quite autumn, not quite ready — this is for you.

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Are you feeling a shift right now?

What season are you in — internally — even if the world’s moving on?

Listen to this episode of A Thought I Kept on Substack or wherever you get your podcasts.

“The Quiet Rebellion of Honouring Your Inner Seasons” with Lyndsay Kaldor.

Subscribe on your favourite podcast app so you don’t miss future episodes.

How to Manage Holiday Burnout and Embrace Seasonal Self-Care

Last December, I found myself sitting in my car outside a crowded shopping centre, utterly drained. I had just spent hours rushing from one errand to the next, trying to make everything perfect for the holidays.

Instead of feeling festive, I felt a deep sense of resentment—toward the season, the expectations, and even myself for not being able to keep up.

It wasn’t until I stopped and asked, “What do I actually need right now?” that I realised I wasn’t failing; I was simply running on empty. That moment shifted how I approached the rest of the holidays.

The holidays bring a mix of joy and chaos— it’s a season to celebrate, yet one that can also push us to our limits. Between endless to-do lists, more complicated family dynamics, and the pressure to make everything perfect, it’s easy to feel stretched thin. Add in the emotional weight of year-end reflections, and burnout can quickly take hold.

But what if we could shift the focus this season, embracing a gentler, maybe even messier, approach that prioritizes your well-being? Here are some ideas for avoiding, or navigating, holiday burnout.

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First, How to Identify Holiday Burnout

Holiday burnout can creep up on us, often disguised as everyday stress. It might feel like constant exhaustion, even after a full night’s sleep, or irritability over small things that wouldn’t normally bother you.

Physically, it can show up as tension headaches, a racing mind, or a sense of being on edge. Emotionally, you may notice feelings of detachment, overwhelm, or resentment toward tasks and traditions you once enjoyed.

Pay attention to the signals: are you losing your patience more easily, withdrawing from loved ones, or struggling to keep up with your usual energy levels? Recognizing these signs early is the first step in addressing burnout and finding ways to restore your capacity during the season.

Just know that burnout during the holidays doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong; it means you’re human. And if holiday burnout does show up use it as a reminder to pause and reconnect with what truly matters.

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Second, What to Do If You’re Feeling Burned Out This Holiday Season

Here’s how to manage holiday burnout while embracing seasonal self-care and meaningful connection:

1. Pause and Identify Your Emotions

When emotions feel overwhelming, we often want to avoid them at all costs, but paying attention to them could be the key to feeling better. Take a moment just to name your emotions. Saying (to yourself perhaps) “I feel anxious” or “I feel overwhelmed” helps reduce the intensity of an emotion and gives you clarity on what you need.

2.Incorporate Seasonal Self-Care

Self-care doesn’t have to be elaborate. Embrace small habits like enjoying a quiet cup of tea, stepping outside for fresh air, or saying no to an unnecessary task.

We often think this is the part that’s “indulgent” or that can be pushed back to later, but it’s often these small practices that can create the breathing room we most need amidst the chaos.

3. Build Positive Connections

Instead of focusing on what’s expected, look for authentic ways to connect. Share a meal, have a heartfelt conversation, or take a moment to thank someone you appreciate. Small, genuine interactions can uplift your mood and theirs.

This might mean that you don’t make three stuffings, or that you don’t pack in multiple events in one day, or that you buy one less perfect gift. Sometimes paring back or even shifting our expectations, can give us what we most need: time with the people we love and value the most.

Shifting the focus from perfection to presence can help transform the season into something meaningful, even amidst the busyness.

4. Set Boundaries for Your Emotional Capacity

When you feel your mental and emotional reserves depleting, give yourself permission to step back. Decline obligations that don’t serve you and focus on what truly restores your energy.

You don’t need to be “on” the whole Holiday Season: you can still honor your energy and it’s still ok to rest. It’s winter after all, a season that demands something quieter of us and invites us to retreat into cozy.

5. Reframe Your Perspective

Challenge the holiday “shoulds” and ask yourself, “What do I truly need right now?” Maybe it’s a moment of solitude, a conversation with a loved one, or just letting go of perfection.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that holidays are only successful if they’re flawless. But the truth is, the most meaningful moments often come when we let go of the pressure to do everything and focus instead on what we truly value.

When you start to feel burned out, try to connect back in with yourself and discover what you really need from this season so it can stay joyful and magical to you.

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This Holiday Season give yourself permission to rewrite the rules. Focus on what feels good to you, whether it’s embracing rest, creating space for joy, or finding new ways to connect with others. Start small, and remember: it’s okay to prioritise yourself in the midst of everything else.

What emotions are showing up for you this holiday season? How are you balancing connection and self-care?

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Feeling stressed, overwhelmed or a little burned out this Holiday Season?

Here’s how we can help:

1. Book a personalized Emotions Coaching session.

2. Join our Bath Workshop on Navigating Holiday Emotions.

3. Subscribe to our newsletter for our Well-ish Guide to the Holiday Season

Choose Love

“‘The world’s first store that sells real products for refugees.’”

Holiday Fatigue. Compassion Fatigue. Everyday life fatigue. 

At this time of year, as the days get darker and our schedules more frantic, many of us find ourselves exhausted, overwhelmed, maybe also panicked. We’re under pressure to consume, to shop, to scramble for all the things that we don’t need and that we probably won’t even remember in January. Some of us are starting to realize that we don’t love this Black Friday to January Sales treadmill, that it benefits someone’s bottom line but not us. We’re starting to look for ways to do the holidays differently. 

Like Choose Love. No, that is not just a cute Instagrammable aphorism (though it does take a covetable merchandise form). It is an urgently needed pop-up that takes that holiday spending money and uses it for good, not seasonally appropriate greed. The Choose Love stores brought to us by Glimpse design collective—there are now 3, in London, New York, and Los Angeles—only sell things that refugees vitally need that you get to gift to them. The stores are arranged by the different stages and shifting requirements of displaced people. There’s ‘Arrival’, ‘Shelter’, and ‘Future’. A life jacket. Children’s boots. A hot shower. Safe spaces for women. A Bundle of Warmth. Think about these things for a second. Think about how and why they are needed. We defy your heart not to break just a little. 

As CEO of Help Refugees (the NGO behind Choose Love), Josie Noughton sums it up: "It's easy to forget how lucky we are to have a bed, a blanket and a roof over our heads. For thousands of refugees this winter, these basic human needs are completely out of reach. This shop is all about one simple idea: that we should all Choose Love and help those in need."

Choose Love stores fill that compassion gap between the moment that we’re shocked by the news and the horrors that refugees fleeing climate change, war and persecution face, and the moment that we don’t know what to feel and what to do about it. By holding everyday items in our hands that people need, it returns essential humanity to the stories that we’ve become numb to and the headlines that we learn to forget. Simple things like baby items, clean and safe water, a bag of school supplies, restore the idea that these are real people, not just statistics, who need our help and deserve our kindness. 

Though these brightly colored stores feel like a boutique gift shop, they are designed for you to leave with nothing except the knowledge that whatever it is you purchased is now finding its way to one of 120+ partners who support displaced people. You may be empty-handed, but you’ll definitely feel big-hearted. This is gift-giving as its best: we now know that doing something for someone else has a more lasting impact than doing something just for yourself.  And beyond the 40,000 customers that it has to date served, Choose Love has a significant impact on the recipient too.

Since Choose Love launched in 2017, these pop-ups with a purpose have sent 1.5 million items to refugees, assisted one million displaced people in Europe, the Middle East, and the US-Mexico border, and raised 3 million pounds. Those statistics are staggering, particularly when you think that Choose Love is a relatively new concept on our High Streets. As brick-and-mortar retail is supposedly dying, they indicate a way forward for how our stores can change the world. Needs on both sides are now being met through something we’re overly familiar with, shopping and a place that has lost its own way, our High Streets. 

Choosing Love matters; at a time when we’re divided across borders and beliefs, this simple mantra, and the enterprise behind it reminds us that we have options. We can choose to help people who really need it with our purchases this holiday season.  And if you need any more encouragement, let’s give Banksy the last say: “For the person who has everything, buy something for someone who has nothing.’

(Also to look out for: You can also shop Choose Love for a Holiday gift – the recipient will receive a downloadable gift card with details of your item. Also, as these stores are staffed entirely by volunteers – you can gift your time.)

To learn more: Website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

Governors Island

You know when you’ve reached that overwhelming point and you’re in dire need of an escape? It happens to all of us. For me, on those occasions when I can’t take the vacation that I would like, thankfully I can escape to a local New York City gem: Governors Island. As soon as the weather permits I’m on the first ferry there.

This little historic island (172 acres to be exact) is located off the southern tip of Manhattan and depending on where I’m standing I can see Brooklyn, Staten Island, New Jersey or the Big Apple. Once used as military installation, Governors Island is now a seasonal destination which gets around 800,000 visitors per year.

With ample park space, I often just set up my own little picnic and just be. For these escapes I don’t need to take much. I may pack a book or a magazine, but on Governors Island I get to dine, snack and support local food vendors too. Being a small business owner I’ve learned the value of support and I’m happy to do so whenever I can. Island Oyster is my favorite. I will usually indulge in oysters and a glass of champagne while watching the hustle and bustle of the city. During the hot summer days, I’ll hang out near Little Eva’s Beer Garden before frolicking over to see the Statue of Liberty. After living here for eight years New York is still surreal to me. I used to dream of living here.

Having alone time is so very rare and I take full advantage when I get it. Being here makes me feel peace. I’m a lover of the sun and water and although there is no beach, it’s close enough and gives me the fuel I need to keep on trucking. When was the last time you walked barefoot on grass? I consider that to be a luxury. The last time I did was on one of my visits here in July.

It’s now November and I’ve loved this past season! It was my first time visiting during the Fall and it won’t be my last. I felt like there was always something different or new to discover. I visited their incredible pumpkin patch: cider stations, pumpkin decorating for the kids, pumpkins for purchase, and fall foods to nosh on.

Governor’s Island gives me the opportunity to let go, of all the stress I may have experienced prior to my visit or whatever issue is coming up for me. It gives me the space to regain my clarity and prepare to face things that may require my attention or make me feel uncomfortable. Problems don’t disappear overnight, but taking a step back can help. I can be silly. I can get out of my comfort zone and meet new people if I feel like it. On occasions when I need to release pent up energy or ease my anxiousness I put my sneakers on and go for or a run. This island is the perfect track. There have been times where I turn on my yoga app and dive right into a pose with no worries in the world. It never fails to transform me. I head home feeling like a brand new person.

Living in such a fast paced city, sometimes all I need is just time to be alone with my thoughts or have a moment to meditate while the breeze from New York City harbor hits my face. As the mother of two very energetic toddler boys, I escape here to feel grounded and centered. And as someone who is multi-passionate, finding down time is required to nurture this journey of life. Governors Island has become that place for me; it will always have my heart. 

To find out more, Website, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter (Please note that Governors Island is closed for the season and will reopen in Spring 2020)