Why Burnout Feels Productive

You ever meet a founder who’s always “on”...

…but somehow never really gets ahead?

They’ve got the calendar packed.

They’re hitting the gym.

They’re doing the calls, sending the emails, shipping the content.

From the outside, it looks like they’ve got everything together.

But on the inside?

They’re coasting at 70%.

They’re burnt out, scattered and foggy.

I called this out last week on a team call after weeks of being sick:

“Even at your best levels, I know there’s more of you that can be brought to the table.”

Sounds harsh but after working with as many people as I have, you start to pick up on patterns that most of us don’t realize when we’ve slipped.

We mistake movement for momentum > Busyness for discipline > Burnout for bravery.

But the truth is:

High performance isn’t about how much you’re doing…

It’s about how intentional it is.

In 1988, a psychologist named Herbert Freudenberger coined the term burnout to describe a state of mental and physical exhaustion caused by prolonged stress.

But Freudenberger said burnout doesn’t show up as collapse.

It shows up as overcompensation.

The burned out person doesn’t stop, they work harder.

Their calendar fills up. Their sleep drops off. Their value is generic.

Their focus goes shallow. And because they’re still producing, they think they’re fine.

This is the paradox, though.

Burnout often feels productive.

You’re getting some stuff done. But none of it is doing anything for your long-term goals.

You’re stuck in what Cal Newport calls “pseudo-productivity.”

These are tasks that feel like progress but keep you exactly where you are.

There’s a reason high performers crash into this wall:

They’ve been rewarded for volume their entire careers.

The harder they pushed, the more results they got until it stopped working.

Because there’s a ceiling.

And once you hit it, more output doesn’t help. Only clarity does.

Here’s what I’ve noticed in our community:

• Founders with massive potential are trapped at 70% capacity

• They confuse optimization with organization

• They keep hiring before they've installed real systems

• They have the work ethic but not the operating rhythm

And this is where most stay stuck. Because the chaos feels like momentum.

If you’ve ever read High Agency, this part will sound familiar:

“High agency people don’t just try harder. They ask better questions, create leverage, and refuse to be stuck.”

They don’t just do more.

They simplify > They systemize > They clarify.

And only then do they scale.

But it starts with learning how to think. How to find your leverage points. How to build systems of trust around your name, so even when you’re offline, your personal brand keeps working.

If you’ve been running at 70% and calling it “grind mode”…

It’s time to stop mistaking exhaustion for effort.

—Wiz

P.S. If you’re ready to build a brand that earns trust at scale, I’ve got two paths for you:

→ Utopia: Learn the frameworks and run it yourself

→ Mogul Media: Let my team do it for you

Just reply to this email and I’ll help you pick the one that fits.