start	end	text
1450	2710	Claudia is yours.
3230	8670	Thank you. Hi everyone, my name is Claudia Osagie and we're going to talk about Burnout today.
8670	11370	So let me first start sharing my slides.
12150	16230	One second. As some of you guys have probably seen this talk before,
16230	22570	just note that this material also contains today's talk, that means, has new stuff in it.
22570	26310	So I'm looking forward to sharing this with you guys.
26750	28710	So let's dive into this.
28710	32990	Now, the first thing to note is that this might be an emotional talk for you guys.
32990	39670	So if you are starting to feel like heavy emotions or you need to take a pause or whatnot like that,
39670	45790	I recommend doing the following steps, which is to take six breaths within the one minute.
45790	50330	So breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth or vice versa.
50490	54730	Do that six times within a minute and that should help calm your nerves.
54730	59810	It is a good trick to have when you feel like your anxiety is pretty high.
60290	63750	All right. So welcome to the Art of Balancing a Burnout Talk.
63750	71750	If you're wondering why the art of balancing, because burnout usually happens when we're not balancing our personal life and our work life.
71870	76530	On top of that, it also happens when we don't take care of ourselves.
76690	79310	So let's dive in, shall we?
81950	85310	So if you don't know who I am, my name is Claudia Osagie once again.
85310	90570	I'm the VP of Strategy over at Point Three Security. And when I'm not that, I'm an ethical hacker advocate.
90570	92870	In other words, I'm trying to push for rights for us.
92870	96090	That means changing legislation, updating it and so on.
96090	103810	Also notifying the media if they have our image down wrong or using the wrong term, such as hacker.
103810	109110	And so what they should be using cyber criminal for any terrible malicious acts.
109110	112450	But also trying to do my best to also help the community.
112450	120070	If that means pushing for mental health. Also, that means trying to bring diversity inclusion into the field a little bit more.
120290	124830	And with that, I'm also president and co-founder of ROSAC, which is Women of Security.
124890	131550	And when I'm not doing that, I'm also the founder of We Are Hackers, formerly known as Women Hackers.
131670	134070	I'm also the Hacker Book Club organizer.
134070	144610	We basically read a new book every month. And every week at Tuesday at 5 p.m. Pacific Time, we all meet virtually to talk about what we've read.
144770	150310	Yes, the authors do attend. And yes, people mentioned in the books do attend as well.
150650	157350	If you're wondering why it's called the Hacker Book Club, it's because we actually read books written by people within our community.
157870	161830	And, you know, the hacker community reads them with them. So it's pretty fun.
161830	169310	We're going to be doing the Tribe of Hackers Red Team Edition coming up next. So feel free to join us.
169750	178170	Also, ITSP Magazine's Uncommon Journey podcaster. I do this with Phil Wiley, which I think he spoke a little bit earlier with you guys.
178170	184790	And also Alyssa Miller. That is my website. If you want to find out anything about me, it's most likely on there.
184790	194030	I include my personal details. My Twitter and Instagram is there. Feel free to follow or like to reach out anytime my DMs are open.
194030	203170	Now let's dive into this stuff. I'm going to pick some scenarios for you. And these are experiences that you may have gone through.
203230	210510	But this is usually a good way to know whether or not you are dealing with burnout or you did have burnout at one point of your time.
210510	216890	So these examples, I want you to try to pretend that you're in this situation.
216910	221090	So the first one I want you to think of, pretend you're driving in your car.
221570	225830	And while you're driving in your car, you need to merge into the left lane.
226290	231750	And at that moment, you think to yourself, should I look at my side mirror?
232750	238590	Because maybe if I get in a car accident, I don't have to go to that place.
238590	243910	Or I don't have to get that task done. Or I don't need to do that project. Or I don't have to have that awkward moment.
244370	248470	I would feel so much better if I just get in a car accident.
249730	253670	The one thing you should note is that burnout causes this feeling of being trapped.
253670	256690	And most of these examples are going to demonstrate that.
257190	261950	Or perhaps you're one of those people that it used to take you a few minutes to respond to an email.
262070	267130	Now it takes 10 minutes, maybe 30 minutes, now an hour, maybe a day.
267130	271670	Maybe days, sometimes weeks to just respond to a short little email.
271670	274730	Next thing you know, your inbox is flooded and it's overwhelming.
274730	278730	And every time you get in your inbox, you have this feeling of being trapped.
278730	281810	That this is all that you have and you have to do it.
281810	283750	And you're so behind on everything.
283750	288930	But you don't even have the energy or the rush to try to get through your emails.
289950	292570	Or perhaps you've been in this situation before.
292570	295190	Where you have friends and families or colleagues.
295190	297550	They call you but you decline their call.
297550	299270	Not because you're busy.
299630	302850	It's because you see them as another task.
302850	305170	As another thing that you have to complete.
305170	307250	Or a thing that you need to get done.
307470	310350	And you just don't have the bandwidth for it.
310350	313130	You can't hear them talk about their emotional stuff.
313130	315210	Because you're emotionally not doing well.
315210	317070	Something's off about you.
317210	319110	And you can't really do anything.
319110	322010	And you're also concerned that they're going to ask you to do something for them.
322010	324070	When you can't keep giving anymore.
324070	326410	Because you're not doing well yourself.
328990	331090	So burnout causes these feelings.
331090	335370	Where you have sudden sadness to sudden anger.
335370	337010	Like for example, you see a tweet.
337010	339190	And you're like, are you kidding me?
339190	341990	And you just get suddenly really angry.
341990	343250	Really fast.
343250	347870	Or you get sad by watching a commercial and there's some puppy in it.
347870	349710	And you don't know why.
349710	352590	But you just feel like you're hopeless.
352650	356670	And once again, that term trap comes often.
357110	360010	And you feel maybe empty.
360090	365110	You might be experiencing more anxiety or depression as well.
365490	368370	You just feel like you're all over the place emotionally.
368370	372590	Or you just don't understand why you're reacting so harsh.
373330	374130	Suddenly.
375830	379590	Or perhaps you've been in a situation where, you know, something is due.
379590	383370	But you procrastinate to the last minute because you can't focus until then.
383650	385470	Yeah, I've been there before.
385990	387490	Definitely in college.
387530	390370	I'm like, you know what, I'm going to write that essay the night before.
390370	392630	Or I'm going to stay for the exam the night before.
393130	396410	Actually, I'm going to study like two hours before I take the test.
396410	399590	The thing is, though, is that when you're dealing with burnout,
399590	403110	you will do whatever you can to push out a date.
403370	405550	So you're like, well, I don't really need to do that
405550	408430	because I can just keep pushing it out. It's fine.
408590	410630	So you might be late for your work.
410630	413850	Or you might be late for trying to attend something.
413850	417190	Or you might miss things because you don't want to be there
417190	418850	or you just can't do it.
419250	422290	Because once again, there's this feeling of hopelessness
422290	426670	and you feel like overwhelmed and that you are drowning pretty much.
426670	430930	You're just in that water just trying your best to breathe.
432370	434730	But overall, a lot of times when people think of burnout,
434730	436210	it's just that they feel so tired.
436210	438870	No matter how many hours of sleep a night you get,
438870	441950	you just feel so tired and exhausted.
442250	445890	And it's just like you reach maybe more for caffeine.
445890	447650	But the thing is, you just feel so tired
447650	450630	and there's nothing you can do to change that.
452770	455430	One of the things about burnout you should note about is
455430	457850	it's very similar in some ways to stress.
457950	460830	Where when you're stressed out, what do we tend to do?
460910	463690	You might reach for, you know, to get high.
463690	465970	You might reach to get a drink.
466650	470370	And by a drink, maybe more than just one drink, let's be real.
470970	474410	Or maybe you're like, you know what, I think I want to go back to smoking.
474410	476590	Or you're smoking a little bit more.
477570	479730	Or you're drinking a lot more caffeine.
479730	481650	Now the thing is that when you're burned out,
481650	485890	you're trying to compensate for the fact that you have no more energy
485890	488750	and you feel burned out already.
488750	492930	So how are you going to do that is by going to different things.
492930	496390	So for example, wanting something salty or sweet.
496390	499050	So snacking a lot more than usual.
499110	503430	Or the fact that you crave cigarettes a lot more often.
503430	506110	Or getting high is something that you need to do
506110	508950	at the end of the day to just feel better.
508950	512370	Or perhaps drinking a lot more than usual.
513290	515830	Or also drinking lots of caffeine.
515830	517850	So one thing that I'll definitely tell you is that
517850	521770	when I know that I'm starting to do too much,
521770	523790	I tend to crave more caffeine.
523790	527610	So I'll drink like five cups of tea versus just two cups of tea.
527630	529950	And that usually lets me know that I'm entering
529950	533850	like some sort of burnout phase if I don't take care of myself.
533950	537250	But also snacking is something that we do when we're stressed.
537250	540810	We binge eat. Some of us. Or we don't eat at all.
540850	542690	Instead, we go to other substances.
545150	547890	Overall, burnout just feels kind of like this image
547890	549830	where you're just like, I just can't do this.
549830	552910	I can't do this. I need a break.
553030	557030	I need to take time off. I can't focus. I can't do anything.
557130	559810	I just feel like I'm not myself anymore.
561670	565870	Overall, burnout, how it feels, it's like a battery.
565870	568430	You're like a device. You're like your cell phone.
568430	572010	But you haven't charged it for quite some time and it's dying.
572010	574450	And it's on red and whatnot.
574750	577630	That's what kind of burnout feels. It's like you have this battery,
577630	579930	but it's kind of depleted.
582230	587590	I want to start diving into, now you've seen these examples,
587590	592150	and hopefully, or maybe, they might resonate with you.
592150	596090	It's good to see if something connects with you.
596090	598830	That's the first step to making sure you get better
598830	602250	or take the preventative steps as possible to get better.
602290	605550	The first thing I want to let you guys know is that I'm not a therapist,
605550	607670	but I have dealt with burnout.
608270	611310	The first time I dealt with burnout,
611310	613710	and here comes a personal story,
614270	618670	was back in 2013. I did Teach for America.
618710	621150	I was supposed to be a special ed teacher.
621850	624430	When I first started, the thing is that
624430	628030	how it works is that you go to school for like four weeks
628690	631630	before you start being an official teacher. That's right.
631630	634230	You probably have had no experience with kids at all
634230	637890	and you haven't ever taken courses on being a teacher,
637890	641390	but for those four weeks, they try to train you in every single way possible
641390	645530	how to be a full-time professional teacher.
646810	650630	The thing is that once that training was over,
650630	653570	I went into Oakland School District
653570	655830	in the East Side.
655830	659550	One of the things was that I was stationed at one school
659550	661970	and I had a caseload of 20 students,
661970	664050	and students that actually witnessed
664950	667890	their parents being stabbed multiple times
668490	671490	or having kids that have undiagnosed
671490	674710	mental health issues, but they didn't know
674710	678170	what to do with them in the system, so they just put them in special ed
678170	682130	when they don't have dyslexia or any of those things.
682130	684110	The thing was that they weren't getting proper
684110	687430	mental health coverage or anything like that.
688610	691250	And then a few months down the road,
692410	693970	at the same time,
693970	696930	I had to go to another school district,
696930	699790	not another school district, another school within the school district.
699790	702210	So now, at a caseload of 30 students,
702210	704530	now it's approaching 80 students.
704530	707890	Someone who isn't licensed yet, someone who's had no training
707890	710470	or no experience in special ed.
710470	713690	And at the same time, every one
713690	716430	or two days per week, I would have to go
716430	719830	continue my education at night.
720330	722510	And the other thing was that
722510	725030	Teach for America didn't tell me
725030	728610	all these things up front. So what happened
728610	731250	was that you basically
731250	734210	sign an IOU, which is basically
734210	737550	if I were to leave this program within the first
737550	740250	two years of it, I owe them anywhere
740250	743250	from $60,000 to $80,000. As a teacher,
743250	747250	you're making anywhere between $32,000 to $40,000.
747650	749430	And you're barely getting by in the Bay Area
749430	751590	paying for your rent for your apartment.
751590	755790	So if you think about it, at that moment, I wasn't doing well
755790	758450	because I wasn't trained to take care of kids
758450	762110	and their mental health issues because I wasn't a psychologist.
762430	764610	I was someone who was taught how to teach
764610	767870	people that were dyslexic or ADD or ADHD
767870	770510	students. And the thing was that no one
770510	773570	taught us this and no one taught us how to take care of
773570	776790	ourselves. So at that time, I remember
776790	779210	I was driving in my car
779210	782650	and I felt so stuck because I tried
782650	785730	to get out and Teach for America said I couldn't
785730	788730	leave. If I did, I would owe them a significant
788730	791670	amount of money and I would go in debt.
791850	794930	And I remember when I was driving like, okay,
794930	797650	maybe I won't look in my side mirror because if I don't look
797650	800510	in my side mirror, then I don't have to go
800510	803310	to this program. I could get out and then maybe
803310	806470	I can then find another way how to try to push
806470	808770	for them to accept the idea of me leaving
809630	813110	earlier from the program because I'm not doing well.
813110	816370	And I mean, thankfully, no car hit me when I did
816370	819290	do that. But the thing is, is that it was a realization
819290	822310	moment. The fact that I was willing to lose my
822310	825230	life because of debt was something
825230	828590	that I could not believe happened.
828670	831010	And I remember going to my parents and saying,
831010	834210	I'm not mentally doing well. I've never felt this way
834210	837270	before. And this is the first time I've ever heard the
837270	840350	term burned out. It got so bad that
840350	843350	there was no support. And when I went to approach them,
843350	846270	they make me feel guilty for how I felt
846270	849470	saying, don't you care about your kids? But the thing
849470	852550	was that they kept using the term kids instead of students
852550	855290	to remind us that by quitting, we're
855290	858470	quitting all the people who are
858470	861530	failing ourselves and them and that no
861530	864410	one's going to watch over them. And it's your fault. It was
864410	867650	constantly your fault when in reality, they didn't teach us anything
867650	870450	and they were just putting in this program, fixing
871050	873890	a basically a very, very broken school system
873890	877190	with a bandaid that didn't help anyone.
877210	880070	And I just remember just at that
880070	882870	moment, I had to leave and I quit.
883090	885870	And when I quit, I was they then
885870	889050	put a lawsuit against me, forcing me to pay
889050	891650	more than $10,000 for leaving for
891650	894930	health reasons. And I and
894930	897990	those are the things that I want you to know is that
897990	900990	with burnout, when you leave unchecked and you don't
900990	903830	have support, it puts you into a really, really
903830	907090	bad place where it can take you many, many months
907090	910030	to sometimes years to get over and to get
910030	913010	back to normal. So I just wanted to
913010	915890	share that with you is that don't let burnout dictate your
915890	918890	life. You've got to invest in yourself when you know
918890	921990	that something is wrong. Here are the symptoms. Here are the
921990	925670	things that you can do. Okay, so let's go to the next thing.
927230	928130	Another thing to remind
928130	931070	yourself is that if you're feeling burned out, you should
931070	933850	go see a doctor. And the reason for that is they should test
933850	937070	you for your vitals. So for example,
937070	939890	getting your blood checked when you're feeling low in energy
939890	943090	is probably a good thing because sometimes that's a sign of having
943090	945930	low iron or low vitamin D. So I highly
945930	949230	recommend you guys getting checked out on those kind of things.
949230	952310	So do go see a doctor, get your vitals checked if you
952310	955210	can, just to make sure that there's nothing else wrong
955210	958490	because sometimes people that are burned out low in energy,
958490	961290	there's something else happening in their body. So remember,
961290	964950	mental health is totally connected to your body and so forth.
966090	967110	So what is
967110	970210	burnout? So burnout is a state of emotional, physical,
970210	973570	mental exhaustion caused by an excessive prolonged stress.
973570	976390	It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained
976390	979690	and unable to meet constant demands. Now,
979690	982530	there is a quiz right there for you. The
982530	985430	burnout index, which is wonderful.
985610	988490	But I have to let you guys know that if you love your job and
988490	991450	you love what you do, chances are that quiz isn't going to work really well
991450	994710	for you. It tends to work better for those that are
994910	997510	a little bit skeptical about whether or not they like their job
997510	1000530	or don't like their job. I highly recommend checking out.
1000530	1003390	It's a good way to kind of check to see if you are
1003390	1006510	already there. Now, the thing to
1006510	1009550	note about COVID-19 I want to talk to you guys about is because
1009550	1012730	even though burnout is something that us in the hacker community
1012730	1015670	have dealt with before, COVID-19
1015950	1018650	with COVID-19, it puts on a whole different
1018650	1022670	side where you have emotional burnout as well.
1022690	1024670	So emotional burnout with COVID-19,
1024670	1027930	these are usually the signs that you get.
1027930	1030630	I don't know about you, but what happened was
1030630	1033630	that right when COVID-19 started coming about,
1035250	1036770	I didn't feel burned
1036770	1039630	out at all before then, but I started feeling
1039910	1043330	a little bit... I don't know how to describe it.
1043570	1045810	I just didn't feel good
1045810	1048710	in a sense. What happened was that
1048710	1051630	I went to RSA conference in San Francisco
1051630	1054790	this year, and I decided just
1054790	1057150	to be on the safe side that I would stay at home
1057150	1060070	and basically kind of just
1060070	1063250	make sure that no one gets it in case if I carried it
1063250	1066290	or anything like that. And I was like, okay, 12th day, I'm like,
1066290	1068890	all right, I think I'm okay.
1070490	1072710	That changed drastically.
1072810	1075050	By the day 13,
1075050	1077930	suddenly I felt like as if there was a hand on my chest
1077930	1081150	putting down pressure. And I remember
1081150	1083750	it just felt very weird.
1083750	1087570	And then I got really lethargic and I got headaches,
1087570	1089730	like body aches everywhere.
1089950	1093350	And I was just like, okay, this is weird.
1093350	1096450	How could I have gotten this? And I guess I got it from RSA
1096450	1098690	and everything like that. But I remember
1099490	1101990	having to try to call a doctor at that time
1101990	1105330	because you couldn't get checked out unless you had a
1106010	1108030	pre-existing condition, which
1108030	1110930	I did not fit those terms. So I remember calling
1110930	1113630	around, asking to get tested. And it
1114210	1116790	took three hours, but no one really knew where
1116790	1120010	for me to get tested. Not even the doctors, not even my insurance,
1120010	1122850	not even the emergency room at that time. And I just remember
1122850	1125650	just being like, this is terrible. We have nothing set up.
1127950	1129150	And at the point
1129150	1131770	of being sick for like five days, symptoms went away.
1131910	1134850	And then a couple days later, a new symptom came in, which was
1134850	1137890	just this dry, dry cough for about five weeks
1137890	1141090	out. And still
1141090	1144570	at that time, though, I kind of figured
1144570	1147670	at that point, like way before, when I started getting the
1147670	1150370	symptoms of body aches and everything, I was like,
1150370	1153430	okay, I need to revisit my will. And then other things,
1153430	1156270	I couldn't sleep because all I was thinking was like, is there any chance
1156270	1159450	that my parents got it? And I'm
1159450	1162350	pretty sure maybe some of you guys also have been freaking out
1162350	1165550	about someone else, your loved ones, getting this. And it does
1165550	1168430	keep you up at night. And it's really hard because you're also
1168430	1172190	having to work through the emotions with yourself.
1172210	1174390	It's not something like, oh, you can call a therapist
1174390	1177050	because a lot of therapists right now are full.
1177570	1180370	And so it's really hard at this moment. And, you know,
1180370	1182810	I just want you guys to know you're not alone.
1184190	1186450	And please wear a mask. I cannot
1186450	1188890	push that enough. Please wear a mask because
1188890	1192390	it is not something you want to get. And it's definitely something that
1192390	1195350	you don't want to give to someone else, even if you don't show any
1195350	1198390	symptoms, because it does sneak up on you. Like I
1198390	1201270	said, I didn't feel anything until the 12th, 13th day
1202050	1203790	of nothing. So
1204270	1207610	please be careful by wearing masks and, you know,
1207610	1210510	try to get your, convince your friends and family and colleagues
1210510	1213410	to also wear masks because I'm not kidding you, it's
1213410	1216370	not fun to go with. It took about two and a half
1216370	1219570	months to get back to normal. So be careful
1219570	1223130	with each other. Love each other and everything possible.
1223130	1225750	Please wear a mask. So let's go into the next thing.
1226290	1228830	So usually when we go to like how to prevent
1228830	1232450	burnout, usually people recommend, you know, exercise,
1232450	1234850	eat a balanced diet, practice good sleep
1234850	1238110	habits, ask for help. But the thing is, is that at the end of the day is that
1238110	1241050	exercise is wonderful. However,
1241050	1243910	your gyms are closed or maybe for you, you
1243910	1246330	can't really go walking around because
1246330	1249810	your health is in jeopardy. So
1249810	1252790	I do recommend like, you know, listen to music, find some other ways
1252790	1255690	to find exercise. There's plenty of YouTube videos
1255690	1258830	to try to do that. Eating a balanced diet is also very
1258830	1261870	hard when you're burned out because the, remember when I said
1261870	1264810	when you're stressed, you're going to probably stress eat. So you're
1264810	1267670	going to go for like the salty sweet things or
1267670	1270690	you might not even want to eat. Like you have,
1270690	1273670	you don't crave any food and that does happen.
1273670	1276630	So you want to do is kind of keep kind of a record of
1276630	1279650	how much calories you're taking in and making sure you hit
1279650	1282850	your correct amount of calories. And I hate tracking calories
1282850	1285530	and you shouldn't have to do that. But if you're one of those people
1285530	1288030	that like you're, you're really struggling to eat,
1288590	1291550	do keep basically track of your calories, making
1291550	1294490	sure you've hit it at least because when you have low calories, you're more
1294490	1297390	susceptible to having a lower immune system. So it's
1297390	1299830	really smart to like try to make sure that you're eating
1299830	1302950	proper amount of calories, but also make sure
1302950	1305470	that it's healthy. We know what's healthy, right?
1305770	1309210	It's not candy or junk food. So just remember that.
1309510	1311970	Practice good sleep habits. It's very hard
1311970	1314630	because like I said earlier is that
1314630	1317830	dealing with COVID-19, the fears of losing
1317830	1321230	someone or you giving to someone and they die,
1321230	1323770	it's something that's really hard or not
1323770	1326710	knowing when things are going to change because humans
1326710	1329810	are kind of silly in some ways because we feel like
1329810	1332630	we could pretty much predict every day. We can predict
1332630	1335710	that we can go on a vacation about three or four months. Nothing's
1335710	1338750	going to happen. The thoughts don't even cross our mind. But now
1338750	1341870	we're in a situation where we don't even know what's going to happen the next
1341870	1344810	day. And because of that, that can cause us to have
1344810	1347730	insomnia. It can make us even feel more stressed out, more
1347730	1350930	anxious. It can also cause episodic
1350930	1353830	depression as well. So it's really important to
1353830	1356910	try to remember is to try to stay as happy
1356910	1360010	as possible during this hard time. And
1360010	1362970	there are ways how to do it. One trick that I do is
1362970	1365550	I think of three things I'm grateful for
1365550	1368850	first thing in the morning and when I go to bed and switch
1368850	1371950	up, don't do the same ones. But that really does
1371950	1374890	help because it reminds you that you have something that's good in your
1374890	1377930	life. And that's the thing that we need to be reminded of more
1377930	1381130	today than ever before because it seems like the world's on fire.
1381130	1384730	Asking for help is something I can still do no matter what,
1384730	1387490	which is great. All right, so let's dive
1387490	1390310	into first the self-awareness. So the difference between stress
1390310	1393450	and, you know, burnout is there's two different
1393450	1396210	things. And I like to use this example often.
1396270	1399370	When you're stressed out, you're like, OK, I'll feel better if I
1399370	1402130	take a bubble bath or I'll feel better if I do some yoga
1402130	1405090	or I'll feel better if I have that glass of wine.
1405490	1408510	When you're burned out, you can do all those
1408510	1411590	things and more and you still don't feel any
1411590	1414510	different. So that's the difference. Now, self-awareness
1414510	1417630	is the hardest part. The good news is that you now know of
1417630	1420750	the term burnout, which is great because by knowing
1420750	1423470	what the word is and the symptoms, you're
1423470	1426610	able to have a better idea if you're entering that
1426610	1429590	zone. So the ones I tend to
1429590	1432750	find most often is when I'm
1432750	1435650	doing my inbox. If it takes me longer than
1435650	1438210	10 minutes to respond to an email and I'm not
1438210	1441350	busy, that's a sign. No matter how much
1441350	1444470	hours of sleep I get, that's a sign. When I'm drinking
1444470	1447630	more caffeine, that's a sign. And when
1447630	1450510	I decide I want to have another glass of
1450510	1453510	wine or a couple more, that's
1453650	1456470	a sign. These are all types of
1456470	1459370	signs that you can realize from all those previous
1459370	1462290	examples. The other thing is knowing that your emotions feel kind of all over
1462290	1465090	the place a little bit. What's really important is to
1465090	1468870	try to identify if you're feeling trapped or you feel overwhelmed.
1469750	1471370	That's going to be the first step
1471370	1474150	because once you have that self-awareness that you're entering
1474150	1477190	into a burnout phase, you start
1477190	1480270	realizing immediately that these are the preventive ways that you can
1480270	1483110	do and prevent it. Also, there are ways
1483110	1487050	how to reduce it significantly and fast.
1487990	1489250	So the first thing I always
1489250	1492410	tell people is to journal because the thing is that we're not able
1492410	1495330	sometimes to listen what's going on in our own head and our own
1495330	1498310	body and how we're feeling deep down inside because let's be
1498310	1501370	real, we are kind of
1501370	1504590	at a point where when we're not feeling well, we put on the TV
1504590	1506890	or we listen to music or we
1507790	1510490	go on social media or we do those
1510490	1513270	kind of things or read a book. The thing is we're constantly
1513270	1516290	escaping from what's knowing what's actually happening on in
1516290	1519410	here. So journaling is really good and I recommend
1519410	1522470	doing it by hand because it's something that is a little bit more
1522470	1525290	therapeutic versus typing if you can.
1525590	1528450	So here you get to see my journal.
1529150	1531030	Little prints, of course.
1531030	1534410	What I do is I tend to journal at least once
1534570	1537470	a week and I don't have any music
1537470	1540910	playing. I need to have my own space to do so.
1541370	1543130	And usually it's when the pups are
1543130	1545330	sleeping, to be honest.
1545830	1549290	But journaling is really good because what happens is that when you write
1549290	1552310	in there and you go back in your previous pages, you'll
1552310	1555290	find trends and patterns. And we
1555290	1558230	love trends and patterns, right, in InfoSec. And so when you're
1558230	1561430	able to pick up on those trends and patterns, you're able then to realize
1561430	1564110	you have a situation and you need to deal with it.
1564110	1567050	One of the things that I realized when I was dealing with burnout
1567050	1570210	or felt like I was getting close to burnout, I kept
1570210	1572970	seeing the term trapped or felt like
1573490	1576510	pretty much it was the word trap that kept showing up in a couple
1576510	1579770	of them. And so I realized, OK, I need to do something
1579770	1582390	about that. So it's really important to journal,
1582390	1585670	recall a diary, whatever works for you.
1585850	1588410	The thing is that this is a time where you need to know
1588410	1591770	what's going on emotionally for you, especially if you can't see a
1591770	1594610	therapist at this time. At least keeping
1594610	1597090	some sort of record with yourself. And I do recommend
1597090	1599850	trying to do it daily if you can. If not,
1599850	1603650	weekly is totally fine on that front.
1604130	1606290	Now, the other thing that I tend to do is I do
1606610	1609130	a break. I take a break from InfoSec at least
1609130	1612270	once a week. For one day a week, I
1612270	1615310	take a break from my devices. So
1615310	1618310	phones off, computers off, and I will
1618310	1621090	do anything that's not InfoSec related. If that means
1621090	1624170	volunteering, that means volunteering. If that means
1624170	1627210	going for a hike for the day, that means going
1627210	1630170	for a hike for the day. If that means visiting family, that
1630170	1633350	means visiting family. Or if you ever wanted to learn
1633350	1636390	how to paint or draw, this is the perfect time to do so.
1636390	1639270	But taking one day off from InfoSec is really, really important
1639270	1641830	for you to start trying to get that balance
1641830	1644290	and to keep that balance there.
1645190	1648250	And if you are one of those people that you can't stay away
1648250	1651090	from your devices in case of loved ones contacting you or
1651090	1654190	whatnot, that's okay. One of the things
1654190	1657050	that I tend to do is that I will let them know
1657050	1660310	that I'm going to be taking a break between these hours and in case
1660310	1663150	of an emergency that you reach me, this is where they can contact
1663150	1666250	me. It's really important to do that, to let
1666250	1669410	them know so that they're not worried about you at this time.
1669590	1672190	But doing it every week is really good, even if it's just
1672190	1675130	for four hours. Still, it's very
1675130	1678250	good because you want to do preventative. And yes, you have
1678250	1680890	to take a break from InfoSec Twitter.
1680910	1684450	I know it's hard. Believe me, it is hard.
1684450	1686390	But you have to do it once a week.
1687570	1690350	And no, I don't mean you have to throw your phone on the ground
1690350	1693270	or whatnot. Don't be silly. Even though there's
1693270	1695910	times where I read something on Twitter and I'm just like,
1695910	1699270	are you kidding me? But anyway,
1699270	1702170	the other thing to do besides journaling is to keep
1702330	1705250	a to-do list. So I have...
1705250	1709250	I have a to-do list. And basically what I do is that I
1709250	1712310	write down everything that I need to do, any
1712310	1715310	tasks that I need to be on top of, and I write
1715310	1718430	it down. And this could be personal stuff. This could be work stuff.
1718430	1721850	But the thing is, I take this list everywhere I go in the house.
1722470	1724430	Also, if I was on the road,
1724430	1726830	I'd take it on the road. The reason for that is because
1727590	1730370	it kind of empties out space in your head so you're able
1730370	1733210	to think about other things and become more connected to have that
1733210	1736110	self-awareness of what you're going
1736110	1739270	through. So it's really therapeutic to write
1739270	1742290	down all these things so you feel like you have more space in your head.
1742290	1745110	It unclutters it. It's also really good
1745110	1748290	if you are someone who struggles to sleep at night. Having a
1748290	1751410	to-do list is going to be really helpful for you. Once again, it's something that
1751410	1754550	has to be written by hand.
1754550	1757630	And there's a reason for that because sometimes we have a to-do
1757630	1760330	list on our phones or on
1760330	1763030	our laptops. And that's great and everything, but the thing is,
1763030	1766370	you know when you're about to fall asleep and you're
1766370	1769710	like, okay, I'm going to go to sleep. And then suddenly you're like,
1769710	1771970	oh my god, I forgot to send that email.
1772210	1775590	Or, oh, that was such a great idea. I need it.
1776310	1778490	And then you just keep thinking about it over and over
1778490	1781370	and over. And this is the reason why it's harder
1781370	1784430	for you to fall asleep. So one thing to do is have a to-do
1784430	1787370	list. So have it by your bed in case in the middle
1787370	1790290	of the night you wake up like, oh my god, I forgot to do something. Just write it down
1790290	1793290	and you'll do it in the morning. Review that list in the morning
1793290	1796350	too when you're ready. That means, you know, when
1796350	1799130	you're drinking your coffee or your tea or afterwards.
1799130	1802410	Whenever you feel like you're in that space to remember what you need
1802410	1805330	to do. But it's very good because when I first started
1805330	1808370	I was very, very overly anxious
1808970	1811470	thinking that this is going to be
1811470	1814290	hard. Because it is overwhelming when you see
1814290	1817310	that list. But think about this. When I first
1817310	1820550	started it was five pages long usually. And that's
1820550	1823530	when I realized I got to fix something about myself.
1823530	1826210	And also I need to fix my situation
1826210	1829970	that I'm in. So now it's at one page.
1829970	1832390	So it's always that one page now. And that's
1832390	1835530	the thing. It's just be on top of it. And plus it feels really good to cross
1835530	1838130	out things. You're just like, yes!
1839070	1841390	So I really recommend this. Plus your
1841390	1844330	memory might not be so great sometimes. So it's really good to
1844330	1845870	remember it that way.
1847190	1850370	Now, be a good manager is one of those things I like to tell people
1850370	1853570	because if you're a bad manager
1853570	1856370	you're going to make your people feel terrible
1856370	1859330	too. What that means is you should
1859330	1862450	be doing everything possible to understand
1862450	1864890	mental health is an issue.
1864970	1868350	Even if it looks invisible. And if you're wondering what do you mean
1868350	1871810	by invisible? For example, if I had a broken arm, I would have a
1871810	1874530	cast on. You would see I have a broken arm and you would understand
1875210	1877250	that there's something wrong. The thing is
1877250	1880330	with mental health is it's not visible usually.
1880330	1883590	And because it's not visible, they think
1883590	1886710	that you are making it up sometimes or they just
1886710	1889850	don't consider it as a high priority versus because they can't
1889850	1893110	see it. And so that is one of the issues with mental
1893110	1895010	health and for offices to take it seriously
1895010	1898710	is because it's invisible. It's an invisible danger.
1899310	1901450	And so the thing is also to note about
1901450	1904710	the invisible danger. I'm very glad
1904710	1907570	that COVID-19 is forcing companies to finally
1907570	1910290	recognize mental health, especially burnout.
1910330	1913390	If you're a good manager, what you should do is make sure you give
1913390	1916550	one mental health break day per month. And I ask
1916550	1920350	to do it on a Friday or Monday. There's a reason for that.
1920430	1922790	It gives them a chance to have a three-day weekend
1922790	1925890	because we love three-day weekends. It's a good time for us
1925890	1928530	to catch up on all the things you want to.
1928710	1931710	So doing something like that is really beneficial to your employees.
1931710	1935530	It's giving one day off per month for everyone.
1935670	1936530	And you can call these
1938510	1940970	self-worth days or something. I don't know.
1940970	1943650	You can figure something out. But basically you give an option saying
1943650	1946230	you can either do anything that will
1946950	1950090	help you in your career or you can take the day off to relax
1950090	1953250	and recharge. That's really good. The other thing is having
1953250	1955510	one-on-ones weekly with your
1956270	1959110	employees. About 15 minutes to
1959110	1961690	20 minutes per week should be good enough.
1961690	1964670	It's a good time to visit all the things that
1964670	1968110	you have to do, all the assignments, and work with
1968110	1970770	your manager to prioritize which things are more
1971970	1974010	of the things that need to get done
1974010	1977130	or put more attention to. So it helps with prioritization
1977130	1979910	but also is a good note to know how the
1979910	1983230	employee is doing. With burnout
1983230	1986190	and all of that, this is also a good way to note also
1986190	1989150	if your employee isn't responding
1989150	1990970	to emails as fast as usual
1992190	1995230	and they seem a little bit different
1995230	1998370	emotionally on a phone call or something like that,
1998370	2001010	this might be a good time to remind them like, you know,
2001010	2003950	you can take time off if you need to take time off.
2004470	2006910	It's important for you to do that.
2007030	2009730	Another thing that you can do is to enforce
2010510	2013510	a no meetings day policy per week.
2013510	2016230	So every week at a certain day, no one can book
2016230	2019390	meetings on that day for anyone on the team.
2019390	2021950	So this is a day kind of like to catch up on anything or to
2021950	2024770	focus on certain things that you need to get focused on.
2024770	2028010	So no meetings, so you're able to focus on whatever you need to
2028010	2030450	get done for that week. It's really beneficial.
2030450	2033370	So those are some good tips I have for you. And also,
2033370	2035210	just be a good person.
2035910	2038150	If you do have an employee that comes to you saying,
2038670	2042050	I'm not doing so well emotionally, I need to take some time off,
2042050	2045310	don't discourage it. Don't guilt them into
2046070	2048030	well, what about your team?
2048330	2051750	That's not your response. That's not the right response to do.
2051750	2054470	The right response is to be like, okay, what days
2054470	2058270	in the next one to two weeks work best for you?
2058270	2061350	And to remember that if the person needs
2061350	2064090	to take a break, you don't have to always
2064610	2067230	let them tell you why they need to
2067230	2070250	if they need to. Otherwise, don't ask
2070250	2073530	right now at this time because chances are it's an emotional thing.
2074030	2075830	I think that's really important is to
2075830	2079410	try to remind your employees that it's
2079410	2081870	okay for them to take a break if they need to.
2082990	2085110	So now we're going to talk about how to bounce back.
2085110	2088090	Those are all preventative things that you can do if you're starting to feel
2088090	2090550	like you're getting burned out or you want to avoid burnout.
2090790	2094850	Now we're going to talk about what to do if you're already burned out.
2095850	2096850	You have to take time off.
2096850	2099910	I hate to break it to you, but you have to take time off.
2099910	2103210	That means you have to take at least three
2103210	2106090	business days off to recharge your batteries.
2106170	2109430	How bad it is, that means like a whole week.
2109630	2112090	And the reason I say three business days
2112090	2114970	is because you want to take it near your weekend so you actually get
2114970	2117410	five days off, right?
2117590	2121050	It's really important for you to get the time off that you need
2121050	2124210	to recharge. And I know that we tend to feel guilty about
2124210	2127050	taking time off because our team members
2127050	2130110	need us and all that. But let me remind you is that when
2130110	2133330	you are burned out, you're not 100% you.
2133690	2136030	You're not even close
2136030	2139010	to the percentage of usual you. And because
2139010	2141470	of that, taking time off is really important because
2141470	2144530	you need to recharge your batteries so you can go back to being
2144530	2148490	who you usually are. And this is good for your team.
2149010	2150870	Taking time off is so important on this
2150870	2153790	and other things I know that we stress out is like, well,
2153790	2156850	I'm going to come back with so many things and it's going to be overwhelming.
2157130	2159790	I'm going to give you some tricks. So the first trick I have
2159790	2162850	for you is to make sure that when you
2162850	2166190	have your out of office message,
2166190	2169230	put it as your date two days later
2169230	2172010	than what you're actually returning. So for example, if I'm returning
2172010	2175210	on the 14th, I'm going to let people know that I'm coming back on the
2175670	2178270	16th. This gives me two days of having to
2178270	2181310	respond to emails. The other thing that you should do is
2181310	2184850	put a hold on your calendar for the first two days that you're back.
2184910	2187210	So no meetings at all. Just block it
2187210	2189870	so then you're able to catch up on everything.
2190210	2193670	If you can do two days, great. If only one day, just do it.
2193670	2196850	It's going to help you so then you're able to bounce back.
2196910	2199810	I did take my first vacation ever for one week
2199810	2201850	in the past two and a half years.
2202510	2205770	And I made sure to block that and it worked really,
2205770	2208190	really well because I did return to like, I think it was
2208190	2211590	definitely over a thousand emails. But it was definitely stressful
2211590	2214530	when I came back. But I also felt better so I was able to respond
2214710	2217530	a lot faster. When you do come back though,
2217530	2220590	I do recommend in the afternoon on your first day
2220590	2223650	back is to message your teammates and ask if there's anything
2223650	2226870	that is urgent that needs to be done. So you're able
2226870	2229730	to kind of prioritize and get everything done
2229730	2232710	and also you don't get lost in your inbox. It's also important to let
2232710	2235590	people know is to CC you
2235590	2238730	in everything and to keep it on one communication
2238730	2241810	channel. Meaning, if you have something that I need to be aware
2241810	2244750	of, keep it via email. Don't do it by Slack
2244750	2247890	because having multiple places to check for communication
2247890	2251270	around things while you're gone is really stressful
2251270	2254310	for everyone because things are, you're probably
2254310	2257170	not going to catch that. It's going to be too much because
2257170	2260090	there's just so much different types of communication. So just keep
2260090	2263090	one long email chain for each thing.
2263230	2266010	Also having a project management system is really important
2266010	2268850	too to help you be able to prioritize
2268850	2272230	and know what is on your plate. Now before you take
2272230	2275810	the time off, just note for the first few days or that week before,
2275810	2278850	you will probably have to work a little bit extra to make sure that you have that
2278850	2281850	zero inbox if you can, but also be on top of any
2281850	2284670	assignments that are kind of needed to be done within the week.
2285370	2287810	Those are my tips that I have for taking time off.
2288970	2290630	Also learning to say
2290630	2294050	no. So when I had that to-do list the first time
2294050	2296710	it was five pages long, I realized I had to learn
2296710	2299650	how to say no because
2301150	2302970	constantly over juggling every
2302970	2305670	different thing is very exhausting.
2305970	2309070	So it's really important to learn when is a good time
2309070	2311730	to kick on something new, when is not.
2311990	2314910	I know that sometimes when we have a job or whatnot,
2314910	2318010	we need to accept assignments, but if it's not part of
2318010	2321030	your job, you do not need to accept those assignments. And if they give you
2321030	2324490	problems with that, let me tell you how you do this.
2324490	2326650	Keep an email chain. Keeping your
2327550	2329990	paper trail of all the emails is
2329990	2333050	really important. And I do recommend that also when you tell your
2333050	2335790	manager you need to take time off, send out a quick email saying
2335790	2338070	thanks for meeting with me and talking to me about this.
2338070	2342290	I really appreciate that and I'll take off these days.
2342290	2344910	You want to keep a record of all your conversations
2344910	2347710	if you definitely have a terrible workplace
2348230	2351270	because this will protect you in case HR needs to get involved
2351270	2354530	for you to be like, where are you talking about? You knew about my issue.
2354530	2356610	Here's the paper trail. Here you go.
2357310	2359750	Also, whenever someone puts a task under you
2359750	2362690	that's not part of your job, remind them politely.
2362690	2366030	Hey, I already have too many things and this is not usually part of my job.
2366030	2368670	I recommend you reaching out to this person instead.
2369130	2372310	So hopefully that person is your manager. So you have to learn to say no.
2372370	2374750	And it is hard if you're a high performer because
2374750	2377930	the chances are if you're a high performer, they're going to be like, oh great,
2377930	2380410	you got that done. Here's some more stuff for you.
2380410	2383790	It's a great reward, right? So just keep
2383790	2386650	that in mind. I will definitely
2386650	2389490	also share with you is that if you're someone who
2389490	2392850	feels like there's no one on the team
2392850	2395990	that looks like you or acts
2395990	2398830	like you on your team, that there's a part of you that
2398830	2401670	feels like you don't belong and you constantly have to prove
2401670	2404670	over and over that you belong to be there, you're going to get
2404790	2407630	a little bit more burned out because chances are they're going to
2407630	2410770	always see you as someone else.
2411190	2413750	And if you're wondering what do you mean by that? Okay, so
2414410	2416750	I had one of my jobs.
2417550	2420190	I was, you know, a marketing manager
2420190	2422930	or whatnot. But every time I would go into a meeting,
2424190	2426550	the executives would turn to me and say,
2426550	2429070	Chloe, you got that? You got the notes down? And
2429070	2432190	I remember just being like, why am I taking down
2432190	2435330	notes? And you're like, oh, can you go get a glass of water for me?
2435330	2438170	Oh, can you get me a cup of coffee for me? And the thing
2438170	2441130	was that I kept doing those things because I knew
2441130	2443950	that I could lose my job if I didn't or if I
2443950	2447290	caused a problem because they were already seeing me as that
2447290	2450750	woman who causes problems if I were to speak out.
2450830	2453270	So if you're in that situation, please note that there
2453270	2456110	are plenty of companies out there that would love to have you
2456110	2458390	and you should not be working there.
2459890	2462110	And what I meant on that one is
2462110	2465250	like some of us we deal with, we have to be perfect because
2465250	2468350	we're worried we're going to lose our job. So we accept whatever
2468350	2471510	treatment, we accept the extra job duties on top
2471510	2474570	of a job that isn't supposed to have anything to do with those
2474570	2477610	things. We're constantly on being bombarded
2477610	2480410	with projects from our teamwork. I mean,
2480410	2483770	our team, basically our team members,
2483770	2487110	we constantly have to accept it because if we don't,
2487110	2489150	we're really worried we're going to lose our job.
2489410	2492550	And that's a real fear, especially right now with the economic
2492550	2495670	situation. We're constantly like, I have to do whatever
2495670	2499030	I can to keep my job. I have to do everything I can to keep my job
2499030	2502070	because there are hardly any jobs out there and I can't
2502070	2504890	afford that right now. I have to make sure I take care of someone
2504890	2507910	at this time. I can't handle
2507910	2510310	all this. I have to do whatever I can.
2511750	2513710	Please note, you're in InfoSec.
2513710	2516710	There is definitely a shortage of personnel and there are
2516710	2519590	definitely openings out there. And if you're looking for
2519690	2522350	a role, DEF CON is the place, once again,
2522350	2525710	to look for that. There's plenty of us that have connections
2525710	2528730	that can help you get in the door. You should not be putting
2528730	2531730	up with that. And if you have that fear of losing your job
2531730	2534310	all the time, that means you're not working in a good
2534310	2538070	collaborative environment or you have a really bad manager.
2538070	2540650	And which is the case, we need to talk about, you need
2540650	2542690	to start learning how to invest in yourself.
2543550	2546370	One of the things about burnout is that when we're not
2546370	2549210	balancing our work and personal life, it also means that we're not
2549210	2552850	investing in ourselves. We're not taking care of our needs.
2553090	2555230	And that's a really scary thing because if we're
2555230	2558370	constantly doing everything we can bend backwards for our
2558370	2561790	team members or for our families, our friends,
2561790	2564350	the thing is, is that you're giving so much
2564350	2567370	that you forgot to take care of you. And right now
2567370	2570250	you need to invest in yourself because clearly you
2570250	2573010	already are in burned out at that point.
2573010	2576210	So it's really important to invest in yourself. Take some time for yourself
2576210	2579610	daily. Put limits to different,
2579610	2582150	if you need to call someone and be like, okay, I can talk
2582150	2585290	for like this and this time, but I need to take it.
2585290	2588110	I need to make sure that I get off the phone at this time
2588110	2591330	for personal reasons. Then just let the person know ahead of time
2591330	2594170	about that. It's really important that we start
2594170	2597270	really respecting other people. If they
2597270	2599990	seem like I can't talk right now or like I
2599990	2603190	need to take a break, respect that at this time
2603190	2606330	because chances are they're trying to figure out how to reinvest in themselves
2606930	2609150	and your manager should invest in
2609150	2612370	yourself. So if you have a manager that isn't investing in you,
2612370	2615230	I want to just also let you know about that is that a good
2615230	2618090	manager wants you to thrive. They want to see you go
2618090	2621390	be on them. And if you don't have that type of manager,
2621390	2624190	it's time to look elsewhere and
2624190	2627730	you can still work at the same job, but also look on the side,
2627730	2630490	reach out to some recruiters. They're always looking to
2630490	2633330	help people find something and also people in the community
2633330	2637030	and InfoSec Twitter. It actually helps out quite a bit.
2637890	2639330	The main takeaways from this
2639330	2642890	I hope you have is when you feel overwhelmed, do a device detox.
2642890	2645890	Remember, you want to do more than four hours per week.
2645890	2648630	Get away from InfoSec once a week.
2648630	2651690	Do other things. When you feel overwhelmed, invest in yourself.
2651690	2654370	That means do something that's going to make you feel happy
2654370	2657450	and better because the chances are you're feeling
2657450	2660570	burned out or you're getting close to being burned out is because you're not
2660570	2663530	taking time for you. When you feel overwhelmed,
2663530	2666550	ask for help. InfoSec Twitter is an amazing place
2666550	2670070	to ask for help. Defcon is a wonderful place to ask for help.
2670370	2672430	Mental Health Hackers is a wonderful place
2672430	2675010	to ask for help. The thing is,
2675010	2678970	I wouldn't be where I am today if I didn't ask
2678970	2681730	for help. And so that's really important to know
2681730	2685290	is that the community has your back. They are there to support you.
2685510	2687750	So ask for the help. It's okay. And I know
2687750	2690610	it's scary to ask for help sometimes, but just do it because
2690610	2693850	they're there for you too. When you feel overwhelmed,
2693850	2696610	write it down. Remember, have a to-do list. Do your journaling.
2696610	2700390	This is going to be really helpful for you. Do it by hand and paper.
2700530	2702750	Please don't do your computer or your phone
2702750	2705610	or whatnot like that because that is not going to help you at all
2705610	2708510	because what happens is that when I pick up my phone, I'm like,
2708510	2711270	I'm going to get this email done. I'm going to go to another app
2711270	2714510	and then another one and then another one. Next thing you know, it's been an hour
2714510	2717530	when I was only planning to spend maybe like five or ten minutes
2717530	2720470	on my phone. So the thing is, make sure you do that.
2720550	2723670	When you feel overwhelmed, take a break. Remember, if you are
2724510	2726870	starting to feel like you're getting burned out
2726870	2729550	or you are in burned out, make sure that you take at least
2729550	2732630	three business days off. Also, making
2732630	2735690	sure that you take a weekly day off for that
2735690	2739150	device detox. That also means getting away from social media.
2739210	2742770	And I just want to put out here beforehand,
2742770	2744850	if you're going to take time off
2744850	2747950	for work, that means you've got to get off of social
2747950	2750990	media and InfoSec Twitter. That means you need
2750990	2753910	to get off your devices too. So how burnout
2753910	2757050	works when you want to get back to normal,
2757050	2760030	you actually have to take those days off as if you are
2760030	2762410	doing a huge device detox.
2763110	2765370	I've done it. It works like a charm.
2765370	2768110	Let me tell you, two days of just a device detox and I felt
2768110	2771670	100% almost better. So I really do recommend it.
2771670	2774270	When you feel overwhelmed, put yourself first. And I want to really
2774270	2776610	let you guys know about this, is that
2777270	2780690	when you're not taking care of yourself, you cannot be there for others.
2780690	2783570	When you're mentally not well, you cannot be mentally
2783570	2786390	there to support someone else. That's why it's
2786390	2789730	important, if you care about the person that you're trying to be there for,
2789730	2793170	you also need to keep yourself in check and have that self-awareness
2793170	2796050	and do whatever is needed to make you feel happy.
2796090	2798650	And if you're wondering, I don't know what makes me happy anymore
2798650	2802350	these days, write... I'm all about writing.
2802350	2804730	I do a T-chart. So basically a T-chart
2804730	2807630	like this. And I have one column that is
2807630	2810830	things that I love about InfoSec, things that I love outside
2810830	2813650	of InfoSec. And then I look over it and see
2813650	2816370	what are things that I'm doing, what are things I'm not doing.
2816370	2819470	And the things that used to make me happy, I try to
2819470	2822390	do those things all over, or I try to learn something new.
2822390	2825770	There's plenty of things to do out there. I mean, YouTube,
2825770	2828390	Google, it's all there. You can find out anything and learn
2828390	2831270	how to do anything these days. When you feel
2831270	2834410	overwhelmed, know that you're not alone. I really want to push this
2834410	2837350	forward. It is so important for you guys to know that
2837350	2840290	you are not alone. There has been
2840290	2842910	one part in my career where
2842910	2845990	I felt very isolated from everyone
2845990	2848890	because I didn't know Twitter or InfoSec really existed yet because
2848890	2851850	it was my first year in InfoSec. But I remember
2851850	2854810	feeling very isolated and alone and wanting to leave
2854810	2857650	InfoSec permanently because I didn't know that there was
2857650	2861010	such a great community here that has each other's back.
2861010	2863910	And when I did find that community, oh my God,
2863910	2866750	it was like as if I've seen
2866750	2869690	everything like black and white and gray shades and
2869690	2873110	everything and then suddenly became something like HD in color.
2873110	2875990	The thing is that there are so many great organizations
2875990	2879690	here and everyone has your back. At the end of the day,
2880310	2882870	there are a lot more good people in the world than bad people
2882870	2885450	and I try to remind that quite often.
2886410	2889090	Most importantly, though, how you can tell
2889090	2891990	if you're burned out is always to ask the question,
2891990	2895130	am I balancing my work and personal life? If not,
2895130	2897590	take the steps to fix it. If that means that
2897590	2901250	you only have two devices, so for example,
2901250	2903810	having two different phones, one for work, one for
2903810	2906550	personal life, I highly do recommend if you can do that
2907030	2909890	because what you can do is stay away from your personal
2909890	2912970	device and then during the times that you usually work,
2912970	2915550	you only have your work device near you. And
2916050	2918910	when you're done with work for the day, take a
2918910	2923130	one hour kind of like break to yourself, do whatever you need to do
2923130	2924690	and then go on your personal device
2924690	2928230	and take your calls, text and do all that.
2928450	2930810	I do this so I separate my personal
2930810	2933750	life from my work life. It's really good to try to separate
2933750	2936890	the two because it does help with understanding how much balancing
2936890	2939390	I'm doing. You want to make sure you're doing more
2939390	2943230	personal hours or the same amount of personal hours as your work.
2944430	2944850	And
2946010	2949050	I just want to let you guys know, I did have burnout.
2949050	2951990	I've had burnout a few times. You can definitely
2951990	2953990	get back to normal
2955470	2957670	with your break. It's just important to
2958190	2961530	remember these preventative techniques and whatnot.
2961590	2964650	And also, if you're already burnt out, now you know what to do.
2964750	2967330	And if you need any help, I'm here for you.
2967330	2970410	I'm also here to do Q&A for you and everything.
2971430	2972970	And also, I ask for
2972970	2975990	one favor from all of you guys. If you guys can take a
2976850	2979530	quick screenshot copy of this page,
2979530	2982430	you don't know you might be helping or saving someone else's life
2982430	2985770	by simply just sharing this. It's good for you to have
2985770	2988910	this wherever you go. Have it on your phone.
2988910	2991630	Have it on your computer or whatnot. Send it to your loved
2991630	2994310	one so then they're aware that they have this because maybe
2994310	2997650	they don't need it, but maybe someone that they know or are talking to,
2997650	3000630	they now know these. These are really important resources
3000630	3003850	to have, especially at this time.
3003850	3006530	This was a list basically provided from
3006530	3010290	the CDC, so please go ahead and use it. And last but not least,
3010810	3012630	I just want to also let you guys
3012630	3015630	know, a lot of questions I tend
3015630	3018010	to get are about drinking. How much is drinking
3018690	3021570	is okay? How much is not okay?
3021850	3024590	And I do recommend doing the following things,
3024590	3028330	which is don't ever drink by yourself,
3028330	3030630	meaning have a virtual one-on-one
3030630	3033470	or be on the phone with someone else who's having a drink with you.
3033470	3036550	Never drink by yourself. Set certain days as the day
3036550	3039430	that you can drink and never go past two drinks
3039430	3042370	for that day. Don't drink, of course, during
3042370	3045430	any time of work hours, but do it
3045430	3048890	in the late afternoon or evening, it's okay.
3048890	3051550	So please remember, that's how you
3051550	3054710	practice good drinking habits. If you want to drink,
3054710	3057450	definitely on that front. And
3057450	3060550	just remember, if you're drinking or you have the urge
3060550	3062610	to drink a lot more and
3063910	3066450	maybe it's a time for you to look for help
3067110	3069430	or to tell someone about that because
3069430	3072670	I know it's a hard time right now, but
3072670	3075630	drinking is not going to solve that for you. If anything, it's going to
3075630	3078710	make you feel worse, especially if you are burned out.
3078710	3081610	I hate to break it to you, but alcohol is just going
3081610	3083770	to make you feel 10 times worse
3084970	3087350	afterwards because you have this drop
3088190	3090970	you experience a drop of and sometimes you get
3090970	3094550	experiencing like this kind of like depression symptoms.
3094570	3096670	So I really recommend you not doing that.
3097970	3099750	Anyway, I just want to say thank you guys for
3099750	3103110	existing. If you have any questions at all, feel
3103110	3105910	free to reach out to me. I am here. I'm also here to take any
3105910	3108790	live Q&A. I'm going to
3108790	3111730	turn off my slides so then I can
3111730	3114370	you guys can, I don't know, well, we'll just
3114370	3115890	I'll turn off my slides now. Hold on.