How to Escape Burnout from an Internet Business
I have, once again, optimized my way to the edge of burnout.
You'd think I'd see it coming by now. I've been here enough times to know the signs: overstimulated, stretched thin, a little numb to work I used to love. The old me would have read that as a stamina problem and pushed harder. Lean in, do the thing, then start the next one. It's a strategy with a remarkable track record of landing me right back here.
So this time I'm sitting with it instead. And the longer I sit, the more convinced I am that burnout was never the actual problem. It's a symptom. What's usually underneath it, at least for me, is having said yes to too many things that don't resonate, or that never give back enough to be worth what they take.
This is the first post in a new series, and the reason I'm starting a newsletter. Both come down to one idea I keep circling: how to package what you're actually good at into a digital product, then keep that engine running without the constant, low-grade dread of having to show up on social media every single day. I'm writing it as much for myself as for you, mostly to keep myself honest.
I don’t have some grand framework yet. Just me, thinking out loud, working out how to do meaningful work without performing it around the clock.
Most people build to be seen. I'd rather be found.
Here's one thing the last few years have taught me. Most advice about growing an audience assumes you love being visible, that you'll cheerfully post every day, forever, and call it a strategy. I don't, particularly. I've done the discovery calls. I've done the networking. I have nodded through enough "let's hop on a quick chat" to last a lifetime.
So now I let the work do the talking. A good product introduces me before I ever have to introduce myself, which means the people who reach out already have a sense of how I think and whether we'd actually fit. I make it once, and it keeps working in the background, no small talk and no daily posting required.
That is the version of work I'm after: something that keeps going when I'm not watching it, that earns its place without asking for all of me. I'm not fully there yet. Admitting that is sort of the whole point of this series.
Who this is for
If you recognize yourself in any of these, you're in the right place.
The creator who'd rather monetize a brand through smaller, saner products than one big launch that eats a whole quarter.
The specialist who wants a small, steady income channel for work you're already doing anyway.
The service provider who's tired of chasing clients and would like the right ones to wander in on their own for once.
Different jobs, same quiet move: build something that filters for you while you get on with your life.
Where to start
I mostly sell Notion templates under my brand, so if you want to see how I actually build, here's where I'd point you first. No pressure, none of this is required reading.
The Essentials Starter Kit, which comes with an automated mini course on how I approach building in Notion. (essentialist.gumroad.com)
My bi-weekly newsletter, where this series lives: packaging your specialization into a product and keeping it running without living online. (essentialist.kit.com)
My Notion templates, if you'd like the finished systems to borrow from (browse the library)
You don't need any of it to follow along here. But if a post ever makes you curious about the system underneath it, that's where it lives.