High-Load Seasons: How to Carry a Lot Without Losing Yourself

It happens to all of us. Certain times in life where everything seems to happen at once.

Work gets busy… Family responsibilities increase… Unexpected challenges show up without warning.

Sleep feels optional… Stress and overwhelm feel like they’re fighting to ride shotgun...

But our obligations require us to continue to function even though the load feels heavier – and a crash-and-burn just isn’t an option.

I found myself in one of those seasons a few weeks ago. It wasn’t because a crisis had been dropped into my life, or because I was experiencing burnout. And it wasn’t as the consequence of making terrible decisions.

It happened because I – and then life - had decided to cram a whole lot of stuff into a relatively short period of time.

I had committed to multiple volunteer presentations for Threads of Life (foreseen circumstance)… in what turned out to be during a particularly busy stretch at my day job (unforeseen circumstance).

Add to that podcast writing, recording, editing, and production deadlines… travel to the presentations… nights in hotels… long drives…

And then Murphy's Law decided to keep things really interesting, and one of our pets became ill and we eventually lost her.

It was a lot.

And while I had anticipated being a bit physically tired due to the travel and hotels involved in the volunteer presentations, the unanticipated additional demands at work and the stress around my sick pet meant that I became cognitively and emotionally overloaded as well.

And while your version of this doesn't look exactly like mine, most of us eventually encounter a period of time where the load simply feels heavier than usual.

Maybe yours is caregiving.

Maybe you’re parenting.

Maybe you’re in the middle of a demanding project at work.

Maybe you’re supporting someone you love through a difficult time – or grieving something yourself.

And maybe it happens to be several things piled on top of each other.

It’s what I refer to as “A High-Load Season”.

What Is a High-Load Season?

It’s a temporary stretch of time in your life where:

• The demands are elevated.
• The output required is sustained.
• The responsibilities are meaningful.
• And there is a reasonably identifiable endpoint.

I want to make the distinction that this is not the same thing as chronic stress or burnout. It isn’t dealing with something where you’re forced to live outside of your values. And it's not spending years overriding your needs while living in a state of constant depletion.

A high-load season may be challenging - but it's temporary. And that distinction matters.

Because the way we navigate a temporary season of high demand should be very different from the way we approach chronic burnout or ongoing overwhelm.

The Question We Often Find Ourselves Asking

At some point during every high-load season, I think many of us ask ourselves a version of the same question:

“Is this actually worth it?”

And what's interesting is that there might be two voices answering.

One who says:

"Yes. This matters."

And the other says:

"Why did I agree to this?"

There’s nothing inherently wrong with either of those answers because sometimes the exhaustion of one part of our life starts bleeding into our feelings of capacity in another.

Work stress adds to personal stress… Emotional demands pile on top of logistical demands… Grief mixes with responsibility.

And it begins to feel like we have 37 browser tabs open in our brain… and three of them taking up bandwidth downloading a massive video file.

Our brains aren't that great at neatly separating different sources of stress. Our brain likes to take everything from mild annoyances to major issues and stuff them into a single file labelled:

“THINGS I NEED TO URGENTLY WORRY ABOUT RIGHT NOW”

Why Meaning Matters

One of the biggest insights I had during this season was how much meaning influences our ability to carry a heavy load.

Research suggests that our brains interpret stress differently depending on how we view it. So when something feels meaningful, aligned with our values, or connected to a larger purpose, we often tolerate the discomfort differently.

That doesn't mean that meaningful things aren't exhausting. They absolutely can be. However, feeling like what we’re doing has purpose can change how we experience the weight of the load.

Now, meaning doesn’t justify a “do it at all costs” perspective… Purpose matters. But there is no blue ribbon or trophy waiting at the burnout finish-line.

But sometimes we can balance the short-term cost, with the overall feeling of purpose and meaning it provides us.

Sometimes the answer isn't that the cost is too high.

Sometimes the answer is that we've forgotten why we're paying it.

And taking the time to consider what is happening from that viewpoint is important.

Not every hard thing is worth doing.

But some hard things are.

And knowing the difference matters.

The Cost-Benefit Check

When I find myself overwhelmed, I try to ask a few questions:

• What is this costing me right now?
• What is it giving me?
• Is this temporary or ongoing?
• Is it aligned with my values?
• What can I let slide while I move through this season?

For me, some temporary, somewhat-managed stress, for something truly meaningful to me affects me very differently than ongoing exhaustion and stress from something that doesn’t have meaning.

Not everything hard is meaningful.

But sometimes meaningful things are hard – however, just because something is meaningful doesn't mean it should always be hard.

What Actually Helped

Here’s something you need to understand. I didn't get through this season because I’m a time-management guru (anyone who has seen my day-planner would immediately confirm that).

The things that helped were much simpler and less anxiety inducing for me than the term “time-management”. They included things like:

1. Decision Management

Literally reducing the number of decisions I needed to make in real time.

Instead of constantly asking: "What should I do next?"… I pre-decided what mattered most and deferred what could wait.

2. Strategically Lowering the Bar

This one was particularly difficult for my perfectionist brain.

I adjusted some expectations… I simplified where I could… If you follow me you may have noticed that I reused content… And I reduced quantity without sacrificing quality.

Because sustainable consistency beats impressive burnout.

3. Role Containment

When I was working, I worked.

When I was creating, I created.

When I was resting, I tried to rest.

And I worked hard not to constantly bounce between roles and responsibilities.

4. Reality Checks

I reminded myself regularly: “This is temporary.” And reminding myself that there was an endpoint.

I can do a lot when I know there is an end-game and an end-date.

5. Emotional Containment

Not suppression.

Not avoidance.

Just intentionally choosing when and where I had the capacity to process difficult emotions.

6. Micro-Recovery

This became the most important strategy of all. It didn’t involve bubble baths or spa days… I didn’t have time for elaborate self-care routines…

What I did ensure was that there were tiny moments of recovery built into my everyday life.

• A few minutes of silence.
• A short walk.
• Looking out the window.
• Driving without constant input.
• Mindfulness while folding laundry.

Little interruptions in the flow of stress – and small opportunities for my nervous system to exhale.

Understand that Rest Doesn't Always Look Like Stopping

One of my biggest realizations came during a three-and-a-half-hour drive home from a presentation.

Some of that drive was spent listening to music… Some of it was spent listening to podcasts... Some of it was spent sitting quietly with my thoughts…

And some of it turned into a brainstorming session that eventually became this episode.

None of it was planned but when I got home, I realized something important:

I felt better.

Not because I had solved all my problems, but because my nervous system had finally been given a little room to breathe.

Sometimes rest doesn't look like stopping.

Sometimes it looks like shifting down a gear.

And it still counts.

A Final Thought

If you're currently in a high-load season, I want to leave you with a few gentle reminders:

Even if you do everything "right," you're probably still going to feel tired sometimes.

You're still going to feel stretched thin.

The goal isn't necessarily to feel amazing while you're carrying a heavy load.

The goal is to move through it without losing yourself.

And if you're questioning whether it's worth it, don't just look at how hard it feels.

Look at what it's connected to.

Because when something is connected to what matters most to you, even a difficult season can feel less like drowning in the middle of the river...

...and more like swimming toward shore.

💜 If you've enjoyed this post, you'll find additional free resilience, mindfulness, and self-care resources at Transformative Journeys.

And if you've been impacted by a workplace fatality, life-altering injury, or occupational disease, support is available through Threads of Life.