Are you having a hard time concentrating lately, or keeping up with your thoughts or time management? Does your body feel like you’ve just been hit by a bus, so much so that even the smallest tasks feel choresome? You’re not the only one. It’s that time of the year when people are anxious and under pressure as the year comes to an end, and they feel it in many parts of their lives. This is a little thing called year-end fatigue.

What is Year-End Fatigue?

“Most people think that being tired is fatigue,” Bokang, a twenty-three-year-old intern at a production company, tells me. We’re waiting for our orders to be called. The conversation started when I accused him of drinking more coffee than me, to which he responded, “I need it to survive this year.”

Bokang continues, explaining that year-end fatigue is a very real thing faced by so many people. However, he emphasises that it shouldn’t be mistaken for normal tiredness, which could often be solved by taking a cold shower or napping. Fatigue is a feeling of constant physical and mental exhaustion due to many factors. It usually becomes more severe and overwhelming around this time of the year when we reflect on our achievements, both personal and professional, making us sit with the consequences of our decisions. This may lead to anxious feelings about unmet goals and fears about what the new year holds.

It’s a fascinating thought when you come to think of it: could this year-end burnout be a mind-over-matter problem that could simply be solved by having a more positive outlook? Not quite. Fatigue is a medical issue that can be diagnosed by a doctor and should be taken seriously, as it has the potential to become chronic.

What Causes It?

The causes of fatigue can be categorised into lifestyle factors, workplace factors, and psychological factors. For the purpose of this discussion, we’ll focus on workplace and psychological factors, as they often go hand-in-hand, especially at the end of the year.

Common causes of fatigue in the workplace include poor practices and irregular shifts, which lead to stress, exhaustion, and anxiety. As deadlines loom and projects wrap up for the year, many people face heightened pressure to complete tasks, resulting in extended work hours and burnout.

I’m a freelancer, so when I have work, I do most of it from home, spending hours in front of my computer typing away. Bokang alternates between the office and being on his feet for long hours on set. Our working environments are different, but they affect our bodies in similar ways, as our minds are already on overdrive looking toward the end of a project. This is what burnout looks like: striving too hard in one area of life while neglecting everything else, feeling exhausted and overwhelmed, and struggling to cope.

Our personal relationships and obligations can also cause fatigue, tying into other areas of our lives, particularly the ones mentioned above. I have friends who have decided not to go home for the holidays because of the questions they’ve come to expect from family members and the financial and emotional expectations placed on them.

How Can We Treat This?

“With lots and lots of coffee,” Bokang jokes as we sit down. “I’m kidding. The reason year-end fatigue has us all by the neck is because we’re all doing the same thing: constantly working and overworking ourselves.”

By prioritising our emotional, physical, and mental health, we take the first step to healing ourselves.

Other ways to treat fatigue and work through it include seeking psychological support to address anxiety and depression.

• Self-care: Slowing down to meditate and ground yourself is an important exercise. You could try other mindful relaxation techniques, like yoga, swimming, or simply taking occasional deep breaths.
• Balance: Learning to set boundaries and give yourself permission to rest is key.
• Support systems: Lean on friends, family, or professionals to share your load when it becomes too much.

The pressures of the calendar year ending affect most of us, and recognising the causes and symptoms allows us to better prepare to deal with them. If fatigue becomes so severe that we cannot cope at work or at home, it’s important to seek help. Knowledge is important, and working on oneself even more so, enabling us to lessen the impact of fatigue, better enjoy the festive season, and transition seamlessly into the new year.

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