I Only Work 3 Days a Week, Yet I'm Still Exhausted And In Burnout (Autistic Burnout Reality)

I work Tuesday through Thursday at my warehouse job at Amazon.

I simply cannot work more than 3 days at weeks since the energy costs working there let alone the additional costs I deal with at home (All stemming from loud unpredictable noises such as microwave doors slamming, loud conversations right besides me, etc).

Despite find ways to work around things somewhat such as wearing earplugs all day and not making small talk to anyone unless it's an emergency, I've still been in burnout for over 5 years and still trying to figure out a way to get out of it after being in it for so long.

It's impacting my ability to simply enjoy things I normally do, which is often drawing or watching videos online. I almost always watch videos or animations nowadays I've seen before since I'm too drained to antipate anything new.

What Burnout feels Like From My Perspective

Autistic burnout feels for me (As it probably feels the same for majority of us nowadays) is a constant lingering state of exhaustion, which is significant and impairs my ability to do anything since nearly everything is a cost to some degree.

Talking. Navigating around people at work,home, or simply having to go to the store. Getting up out of bed, and even running outside, all of it feels like a significant burden on me than it did years ago, and I don't know what my energy has been like before I've been in burnout. It could be 5 years, or even 10+ years, I simply don't remember because it's been that long.‍

The mental exhaustion to the point I literally cannot talk to anyone or function at my normal baseline. No previous activities or special interests that replenish my energy would budge an inch. (Drawing or looking at animation usually does. But after a few clips of watching it, I usually just turn it off and go right to bed)

It's essentially every day too. I always feel a sense of chronic energy debt, and I feel I have to be extremely rigid on what I spend my energy on to used up the little amounts I do have, and when I do (Since it's very common for me, and I often end up pushing past my limits, often due to having to do chores or non-negotiable tasks such as going to work) it keeps me right in my baseline that I've been at when I've been in burnout, and sometimes even extends it.

Most (But not all) neurotypicals simply don't understand how exhaustion being in this state really is, and that it's NOT laziness. I've been subconcisouly accomadating others and my enviornments for so long that my energy reserves are stretched thin for the longest time. (Using my 1-10 energy slider scale in mind, Im operating at around a 2 or a 3 in most cases starting the day, which leaves me at around a 2 and in rare cases a one for a very mask-intensive day)

The Compound Effect

Each consecutive day gets harder. I end each day—Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday—with low energy, or barely enough to spare.. This gives me less to work with the following day. The cycle continues, making each day significantly more exhausting and demanding more recovery time. (And "recovery time" at home doesn't really feel like it, at least in my personal opinion, since the unexpected demands such as requests from my family or forgetting something I left at home) is still a massive drains, and compounds alongside the warehouse job exhaustion.

My ability to remember things has been significantly impaired too. It obviously is still there I can remember things but I noticed a habit of forgetting rather than remember by a wide margin. Forgetting my light sensitivity glasses at work, (Which further makes things draining

Why Tracking Helps

Being aware of what days drained my energy the most—sensory overload from bright lights at my warehouse, loud conversations from coworkers—provided crucial insight (Especially subtle ones, such as my phone vibrating everytime my family texted me and so on)
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I wear earplugs every day now (Including the days I'm not at work), only engaged in small talk when necessary, and removed the vibrating feature for text calls on my phone entirely (I figured they are the most frequent, hence, adds up in energy drain very quickly, while phone calls, being more exhausting on their own, are far less frequent in my case than text calls are, so I don't mind keeping it on there.)

I'm Omari, a 23-year-old autistic adult who's been managing chronic burnout for 5+ years while working warehouse shifts.

I decided to build Spoons to be aware on what specfically drains me, so I can chip away at the small yet significant impacts it has on my energy so I can enjoy things such as drawing without easily overwhelming myself from a sensory-standpoint (Being overwhelmed right after I start drawing. -> Finding pen/pencil -> Finding out what to draw, etc)

I launch Spoons on April 2026. getspoons.app - Just one email when it's ready and downloadable. No spam.

— Omari

Note: I'm sharing my personal experience as an autistic adult, not medical advice. If you're experiencing severe burnout or crisis, please consult a healthcare provider familiar with autism.

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