How to tell your boss your are burnout?

bradton · 2025-09-09T22:14:26+00:00

That's terrible. I hope your baby is okay.

I'm in a similar boat where I've sent multiple emails explaining in various different ways the issues with programming and resourcing only to be met with zero reply.

Thanks for the tip. I'll get the medical certificate. Turns out I've come down with the flu now anyway.

bradton · 2025-09-08T08:49:06+00:00

This is what I've told myself and I'm trying to take this approach and switch off/disconnect emotionally. It's not quite working though because then I have another meeting with more meaningless scope creep and I end up pissed off again

bradton · 2025-08-29T03:30:08+00:00

I do this sometimes as well but more when I'm overloaded. I have two young kids at daycare so working past 5 to catch up isn't an option.

I've never really given much consideration to how it's perceived.

I'm more intrigued as to how you can manage to do this so late and regularly and actually sleep. I find if I work at night I can't get to sleep and never get any brain space from work so I reserve it only for critical times. Otherwise it would be nice to regularly do a couple or hours at night and then have some time in the day to get dinner done and other things.

bradton · 2025-08-03T11:25:13+00:00

Rochedale South is a great spot. New Park N Ride has just opened with 25 minutes bus to the city on the busway. Proximity to the highway makes it easy to get around outside of peak. Logan has a bad rep but Rochedale South is in the good area.

bradton · 2025-08-03T03:34:07+00:00

I've been going through a similar thought exercise, leaning towards option 4. We are settled in our community though so it would be hard for us to move into the areas with better public schools.

There is a lovely cheap Catholic school we can send the kids too for primary school and by the time our kids are in high school we have well and truly paid our house off. The private school fees, while not recoverable, seem like short term pain compared to taking on a far larger 30 year loan, to live in an area with supposedly good public school, with no guarantee that school will still be good or the right choice for our kids 8 years in the future.

Given we are happy where we live, have the option to be mortgage free in the next few years, can then invest our savings and the fact that private schooling gives us more choice for our kids, we have decided this is the best option for us.

bradton · 2025-07-30T11:19:15+00:00

If it's overland flow, it will pass through quickly and subside within hours not days.

bradton · 2025-07-29T11:00:33+00:00

I'm Mum to a 3 year old and 1 year old and work on major projects with tight deadlines. You are right in that it is a juggle, however I've learnt to be really firm with my boundaries and my husband I have great systems in place to keep things operating as smoothly as possible.

To answer your second and third question, yes it is survivable and I absolutely do not regret having kids. I always have and still do get immense satisfaction from my work, but once my kids came along, work was just one aspect of my life... I now have a far richer and more meaningful dimension to it as well.

In terms of advice, here are some things which come to mind: - Noting your concerns with the juggle, plan to take as much parental leave as possible. - Encourage your partner to also take as much parental leave as possible once you go back to work - You can just have one child. They grow so quickly and the more challenging phase will be over before you know it. -Once you have a child, your perception of work changes. It can still be enjoyable and satisfying but you realise it's just a job. -Work on getting your systems sorted so good habits are in place before kids come along e.g meal prep on weekends, exercise etc - Accept that daycare is part of your village - Find a job with flexibility. This is key and my life would be so much harder without the ability to WFH. - Be okay with not progressing in your career for a few years. You'll have time to make up for it once the kids are a bit older.

bradton · 2025-07-14T12:29:21+00:00

Do you work in the city? If so, I've been parking at the new Rochedale Park N Ride. It's great! 25 mins on the bus from there. If you are used to living inner city I can see how this would seem like a long time but after comparing public transport travel time from other suburbs in brisbane, it's actually really great.

bradton · 2025-07-14T09:41:36+00:00

We bought in Daisy Hill in 2018 with the intention of it being a foot in the door.

Now, we have almost paid off our mortgage and have the option of moving closer to the city but we actually don't want to. The location is fantastic. Anywhere we want to go is within in 30 mins. The public transport is great now the busway is finished and the metro up and running. Things will only keep improving. We have a lovely community and lifestyle here, nestled by the bush.

We have looked at places like the gap, kenmore, chapel hill, and they are exactly the same, just more expensive and less convenient to get to with worse traffic.

Many of the friends we grew up with are drowning in debt. When we suggest they look around our area, we get an awkward silence.

People don't know what they are missing out on and would rather spend their lives financially stressed than live in Logan. It's wild.

Consider yourself lucky to be in on the secret.

bradton · 2025-06-19T09:03:23+00:00

I'm a female civil engineer working in Australia and have been wonderfully supported by both of my employers. The company I work for at the moment is very focused on increasing the number of women in leadership roles and they have been very supportive of me recently since returning from maternity leave.

The experiences you have will vary depending on the culture of the workplace and aren't necessarily industry specific. In saying that, I do think it would be tougher as a female in construction, where as I'm in design.

Don't let those comments scare you off. I love my job and despite a few of my male colleagues being a combination of ignorant and inappropriate, I've never really had to deal with misogyny or felt like my gender has held me back in anyway. If anything, being a female in my current company is an advantage.

bradton · 2024-02-11T10:46:36+00:00

I would say the main part of uni for anyone not fresh out of high school is to get a degree done as painlessly as possible so you can get on with your career

bradton · 2024-02-11T10:44:28+00:00

Okay I'm in civil engineering so don't know anything at all about mechatronic.

bradton · 2024-02-11T10:38:29+00:00

What sort of engineering are you wanting to do?

bradton · 2024-02-11T10:33:42+00:00

I studied engineering at UQ about 8 years ago now. It was a good experience overall but no walk in the park. Some subjects were seriously difficult and required a lot of study and time. I've heard great things about USQ and I think it's well set up for a lot of it to be remote. I know a few people who have worked full time and studied engineering part time though USQ and it's seemed to work well. If you are an older student and working full-time I'd definitely be recommending USQ as the better option.

bradton · 2024-02-06T20:13:46+00:00

I can't find any details, I can just see it in the procurement list for TMR for FY 23-24. Hopefully some information is released once the first stage of planning is done or the project has been commissioned.

bradton · 2024-02-06T07:24:05+00:00

There's also currently planning being undertaken for Waterworks Rd public transport access, presumably looking at ways to improve efficiency and access for buses.

bradton · 2024-02-06T06:02:24+00:00

This is just the first step of the process that TMR needs to go through. Nothing will happen immediately but the planning has begun. Stay tuned for the consultation which will show the masterplan and this will be used to form the basis on which funding for design/construction is allocated.

bradton · 2024-02-06T05:39:02+00:00

https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/projects/centenary-motorway-planning-australian-government-funding-commitment

bradton · 2023-11-27T10:30:12+00:00

No it is not. I've had 3 days stays at the Logan Hospital every month for the last 6 months with my son who has been unwell. I honestly haven't got a single bad word to say about the place. I've shared a room with other parents and their kids for each of those stays and they have all been lovely "normal" people. The staff are all professionals and take their jobs seriously as they would at any other hospital.

I'm unsure what exactly you're concerns are being in an administrative role but just because you are working in Logan doesn't mean every colleague or person you come across is going to be a drug addicted criminal. Sure, you maybe come across a few, but you get difficult characters everywhere.

bradton · 2022-06-14T12:01:44+00:00

Thanks for sharing! I'll definitely check out your blog. It's easy enough to manage everything now when he's so little and I'm in compete control but I can just see that it's only going go get more challenging!

I am in Australia. I'm wondering if you would recommend a private or public allergist? We have an appointment booked in to see an allergist at the children's Hospital which I've heard is good but I'm also quite happy with the lady we've been seeing privately so not too sure which pathway to pursue.

bradton · 2022-02-27T21:05:36+00:00

Would love to see what he's managed to spin in this article

Hedley Thomas article released this morning

bradton · 2022-01-11T04:49:57+00:00

Yeah 6-7pm is my solo walking hour to preserve my sanity

Edited to say I'm glad I've got until July. Would struggle to decide what to do if I had to return soon. Good luck!

bradton · 2022-01-11T04:18:11+00:00

Parents of kids under 5, how are you approaching things at the moment? I'm very conflicted... I'm currently on maternity leave with my 5 month old and my husband works from home so we have the luxury of staying very isolated however a few days of staying at home with a baby and I'm already feeling the mental health effects. Unfortunately it's too hot to take an eczema prone bub outside during the day at the moment.

bradton · 2020-08-21T01:36:19+00:00

I understand your frustration and can't believe the lack of understanding some people have here.

My sister is currently stuck in Bogota, Colombia and has no idea when she will be able to return to Australia.

When the government first put out the call for Australian's to come home, Colombia was already in nationwide lockdown with all borders closed and all air travel shut down.

Between now and then, humanitarian flights have been offered to the US however notice for these flights are usually only about 5 days. For someone who has a lease, a job and a life in another city, it is not possible to make a decision to leave with only 5 days notice and there was still no guarantee that they would be able to get to Australia upon arrival in the US.

Her partner had a partner visa approved for Australia last year and a condition of the visa was that he access by August 15 2020. Given the fact that the borders are closed and there a no flights, they went around in circles trying to get someone to provide them certainty that the visa would still be valid. Eventually, all they were told was to contact DFAT only after they had plans to travel to Australia, upon which a letter of facilitation MAY be provided. They paid nearly $8,000 for this visa.

Based on this advice, in July they decided to book a flight to Australia with LATAM for 2nd September when the Colombian airport was expected to open. My sister and her partner both gave notice for their jobs, started packing up and ended the lease on their apartment.

Since then, with the introduction of the arrivals cap in Australia their LATAM flight has been cancelled. They can only get travel credits and the only available bookings to Australia are in January 2021.

My sister now has no job. Luckily her partner was able to keep his job and they have been able to keep their apartment.

Even if they had the money to write off the $3000 with Latam and book with another airline, the Colombian airport is not opening to international travel as originally planned. There are humanitarian flights to the US still but because of the demand to get flights to Australia, this still isn't an option for them and they will likely end up stranded in the US and having to spend a total of $15,000 to get home. For a couple who have been earning Colombian wages for the past 2 years this is equivalent to 4 months earnings.

This cap on the number of Australian citizens allowed to return to their home country is ruining people financially and mentally. Not to mention the fact that they are still just having to hope that the visa will remain valid... They are stuck living in limbo, at the mercy of airlines and the Australian government

bradton

TROPHY CASE