The Monster Audit

I told a client who was drowning in her team’s dependency on her:

“You’ve created a little bit of a monster. That’s okay — we all do it. But now it’s time to tame it.”

She laughed. Then she got quiet.

Because here’s what nobody tells you about burnout:

It’s almost never caused by one thing.

It’s caused by a system of patterns you built — usually with good intentions — that is now consuming you.

The Monster Audit. Four patterns to look for:

The ‘I’ll just do it myself’ monster.

You took on a task temporarily. You never handed it back.

Now it’s permanent and nobody remembers it was ever temporary.

The ‘always available’ monster.

You answered one late-night message. Just once.

Now your team expects you at 10pm — and you’ve never told them otherwise.

The ‘only I can do this’ monster.

You’ve convinced yourself this requires your personal touch.

The real reason you haven’t delegated it: you enjoy the control.

The automatic yes monster.

You said yes to one cross-functional request.

Now every team thinks you never say no. Because you haven’t.

Each one started with a good intention.

Each one became a cage.

You don’t have to fight all of them at once.

Pick the one costing you the most energy.

Shrink it by 10% this month.

A monster that’s 10% smaller this month is 50% smaller by year end.

That’s not dramatic. It’s sustainable.

And sustainable is the whole point.

Which monster is costing you the most right now?

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