STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

I've been burned out on jobs before, and I can tell you that no amount of vacation (other than a permanent one!) will fix it.  I always dreaded coming back just as much.  I always ended up procrastinating just as much.  I even cried in the parking lot before coming in in the morning just as much.  And in the two office jobs I burned out on, I also goofed on the internet, looking like I was 'working' really hard on ... something, and did the absolute minimum to get by on a dailly basis.  I thought something was wrong with me, that I just could not feel happy about anything.

Are you sick of working in your field or in this office?  Would having some more interesting projects/tasks to work on be better or worse?

Regardless of what your answers are to those, I would do some small things to make yourself feel a little better at work in the meantime.  Buy a little humidifier and put it in your office.  Get some new music if you're allolwed to listen to it at work.  Fashion a goal/reward system for getting little tasks done throughout the day.  Maybe read some books (outside of work) that will give you some food for thought during the day about what other kinds of jobs might suit you better, so you'll have plenty of time to think on it.  Feeling like I had some sort of 'plan' always helped me feel a little more in control.

I'm so sorry - I know just how it feels, and how it feels to be stuck there.  Don't feel bad for bringing this here - that's what we're for!

I have gone through these phases too. One compelled me to take a pay cut and do less work, and telecommute part time, just to avoid the office garbage.

During another phase, my productive hours changed radically - I started taking work home to do in the evening (and in far less time), and basically slacked all day when I couldn't concentrate and was constantly interrupted. I maximized the productive time and didn't beat myself up for being unproductive at other times. Eventually it passed, but it was a weird experience. Maybe your week could be organized differently - Monday and Friday, slack; Tuesday through Thursday, get your stuff done without feeling your soul being sucked out of your body via a tiny invisible hole in your forehead.

If you're getting your job done and don't need to impress anyone, I don't think a little slacking is a problem. I do think leaving the office for lunch is a sanity saver, even if you sit in your car and have a cellphone chat with a friend while you eat PB&J, or go for a short walk around the parking lot. And ditto a humidifier!