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Where I'm At · RECOGNISE

The Burnout Signals Check-In

A reflection, not a test. Tick how often each signal shows up at the moment: rarely, sometimes, often. There is no score and nothing to add up. This reflection is optional: use it only if you have the capacity today.

rarely
sometimes
often
ENERGY · running on empty
I wake tired more mornings than not, even after sleep
Small tasks cost more effort than they used to
By the end of the workday there is little left for home life
Rest does not seem to refill much any more
DISTANCE · pulling away
I look fine on the outside while running on empty inside
I care less about work I used to care about
I avoid people, meetings, or messages when I can
The Sunday night dread arrives earlier each week
CLARITY · the foggy layer
I read things twice and still lose the thread
Decisions I used to make quickly now feel heavy
I forget small things more often than before
Concentrating takes deliberate effort, even on simple work
EMOTIONS · reactions bigger than the moment
Small frustrations set off reactions bigger than the situation
I am more irritable with the people I care about
Tears, numbness, or worry arrive without much warning
Something in me has gone quiet, and I am not sure when that happened
The area that feels loudest right now

Look at your ticks and decide for yourself. The loudest area points to what may help first. That is all it does.

These notes stay on this page only. They are not saved or sent anywhere, so copy them somewhere safe if you want to keep them.

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Your reflection
If many of these land as "often", consider taking this page to a doctor or therapist: it is a good conversation starter. If you feel unsafe or unable to cope right now, please contact local emergency services or a crisis support line.
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This check-in cannot confirm or rule out burnout. Only a qualified professional can assess your health. If many of these land as "often", consider taking this page to a doctor or therapist: it is a good conversation starter.
If you want a validated research questionnaire as well, the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory is freely available from the Danish National Research Centre for the Working Environment (nfa.dk).
If you feel unsafe or unable to cope right now, please contact local emergency services or a crisis support line.

About this check-in

The structure follows the established research. The World Health Organization's ICD-11 describes burnout as an occupational phenomenon with three dimensions: energy depletion, increased mental distance, and reduced efficacy. The leading validated research instruments, the Burnout Assessment Tool (Schaufeli et al., 2020) and the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (Kristensen et al., 2005), measure the same territory across exhaustion, distancing, cognitive strain, and emotional strain. The four areas here, Energy, Distance, Clarity, and Emotions, follow that dimensional structure. No items or scoring from any validated instrument are reproduced.

It is non-scored on purpose. Scored cut-offs belong to validated questionnaires in professional hands. A web page that hands you a burnout score is pretending to be a diagnostic tool, and that is exactly what this page refuses to do. If you would like a validated research questionnaire, the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory is freely available from the Danish National Research Centre for the Working Environment (nfa.dk).

The wording comes from lived experience. Every signal on this page is drawn from the founder's documented burnout and recovery and from the language of the Where I'm At community, which is why the items read like everyday life rather than clinical statements.

  • World Health Organization, ICD-11: burn-out (QD85), occupational phenomenon
  • Schaufeli, De Witte & Desart (2020), Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT)
  • Kristensen et al. (2005), the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory

What burnout signals are (and are not)

Burnout rarely announces itself. It arrives as small signals that stack up quietly: waking tired after a full night's sleep, reading the same email twice, caring less about work you used to love. This check-in gathers sixteen of those signals across four areas, so you can see the pattern instead of dismissing each signal on its own.

A signal is not a diagnosis. Plenty of these signals also belong to ordinary hard weeks, to grief, to health conditions that deserve their own attention. That is why this page refuses to score you, and why a pattern of "often" answers is an invitation to talk to a professional, not a verdict about what is wrong.

Common questions

Is this a burnout test?

No. It is a reflection. There is no score, no threshold, and no result other than the area you decide feels loudest. Only a qualified professional can assess your health.

Which research is this based on?

The four areas follow the dimensional structure used by the WHO's ICD-11 description of burnout and by validated instruments like the Burnout Assessment Tool and the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory. No items or scoring from any instrument are reproduced. The full note is on this page under “About this check-in”.

Is my data stored?

No. The page runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you tick or type is saved or sent anywhere.

What should I do with my result?

Notice your loudest area, and be kind to yourself there first. If a lot landed as “often”, consider taking this page to a doctor or therapist as a conversation starter. If you would like structured support, RECOGNISE is a free course that starts exactly where you are.

Related reading

If this was useful

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A reflection, not a diagnosis or medical advice. If you feel unsafe or unable to cope right now, please contact local emergency services or a crisis support line.