Rewriting Burnout: Systems, Self-Care, and Sustainable Change, Wilkin, Spring 2026

Course Number:	EDX 5710 S50
Instructor:	Eddie Wilkin, Ed.D.
Location:	Online
Dates and Times:	Apr 26 - Jun 06, 2026. Synchronous meetings from 7-9 PM on April 28, May 5, May 12, May 19, May 26, & June 2. 2026.
Credits:	3 Graduate Credits
Tuition:	Set by and payable to Lighthouse Education and Coaching

Course Description

This course is for anyone who is tired of feeling tired. Whether you work in education, healthcare, nonprofits, corporate spaces, or caregiving, burnout can show up as exhaustion, cynicism, and a sense that nothing you do is enough. In this graduate-level course, participants will examine burnout as both a personal experience and a systemic phenomenon shaped by culture, workload, power, and expectations.

Through contemporary books on burnout, guided reflection, and practical design work, you’ll map your own patterns of stress, experiment with realistic self-care and boundary-setting, and analyze the systems you work and live in. The course culminates in a personalized “Burnout Rewrite Plan” that integrates nervous-system care, values-aligned decision-making, and concrete workplace or life changes. The goal is not to make you tougher, but to help you build a more sustainable relationship with work, rest, and yourself.

Note: Educators and professionals who have previously completed a burnout course with this instructor are welcome to enroll. The content, readings, and course design for Rewriting Burnout: Systems, Self-Care, and Sustainable Change are substantially different in focus and format.

 Audience: All educators and leaders with a Bachelor's Degree

Course Goals & Objectives

Course Goals:

• Understand burnout more deeply as a multidimensional experience involving exhaustion, detachment, and reduced sense of effectiveness, and distinguish it from everyday stress.
• Increase self-awareness and regulation, recognizing personal warning signs and experimenting with practical tools for nervous-system regulation, rest, and recovery.
• Design sustainable habits and boundaries that better align time, energy, and responsibilities with core values and real-life constraints.
• Apply a systems lens to burnout, examining how organizational cultures, policies, and broader social narratives contribute to burnout and what can realistically be changed.
• Develop a personalized Burnout Rewrite Plan that outlines specific practices, boundaries, and systemic strategies for the next 3–6 months.

Course Objectives: By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Explain key theories and definitions of burnout and summarize major contributors (workload, control, reward, community, fairness, values misalignment).
• Complete a structured self-audit of their work and life demands, supports, and stress patterns, identifying at least three meaningful changes to test.
• Design and implement at least two small experiments (e.g., boundary shifts, workflow changes, rest practices) and evaluate their impact on wellbeing.
• Create a visual or written map of their system (organization, role, family context), naming drivers of burnout and potential levers for change.
• Produce a written Burnout Rewrite Plan that integrates personal practices, systemic awareness, and concrete next steps, grounded in course readings.

Course Schedule

WEEK 1: Naming Burnout & Owning Your Story

• Topics: What burnout is (and isn’t); personal narratives; shame and self-blame.
• Readings:
  • Malesic, The End of Burnout, selected chapters
  • Maslach & Leiter, The Burnout Challenge, selected chapters
• Assignments:
  • Discussion: “My Relationship with Burnout (or Near-Burnout),” due Wednesday
  • Short Reflection: Personal Stress & Values Snapshot (1–2 pages), due Sunday

WEEK 2: Bodies, Brains & the Stress Cycle

• Topics: Physiology of stress; completing the stress cycle; emotional exhaustion; self-compassion.
• Readings:
  • Nagoski & Nagoski, Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle, selected chapters
  • Martin, Beat Your Burnout, selected chapters
• Assignments:
  • Discussion: “What Actually Helps My Body Downshift?”, due Wednesday
  • Assignment: 1-Week Micro-Practice Plan (small daily regulation/rest actions), due Sunday

WEEK 3: Habits, Boundaries & Redesigning the Week

• Topics: Time and task load; digital overwhelm; perfectionism; boundaries with people and technology.
• Readings:
  • Callahan, Beat Burnout in 15 Minutes a Day, selected chapters
  • Martin, Beat Your Burnout, selected chapters
• Assignments:
  • Discussion: “One Boundary I’m Willing to Try,” due Wednesday
  • Assignment: Workweek Redesign Sketch (time, energy, task and boundary changes), due Sunday
  • Projects: Begin Burnout Journal (brief entries at least 3x/week)

WEEK 4: Systems, Workplaces & Culture

• Topics: Burnout as an occupational phenomenon; person–job fit; organizational responsibility.
• Readings:
  • Maslach & Leiter, The Burnout Challenge, selected chapters
  • Wiens, Burnout Immunity, selected chapters
• Assignments:
  • Discussion: “What in My System Is Burning Me Out?”, due Wednesday
  • Assignment: System Map – contributors to burnout and possible leverage points, due Sunday
  • Projects: Draft Burnout Rewrite Plan (first version)

WEEK 5: Relationships, Community & Saying “No”

• Topics: People-pleasing; role overload; invisible labor; asking for help; supportive communities.
• Readings:
  • Wiens, Burnout Immunity, selected chapters
  • Cliff, The Hustle Cure, selected chapters
• Assignments:
  • Discussion: “Supporting Others Without Self-Erasure,” due Wednesday
  • Assignment: Courageous Conversation Plan (with self, supervisor, partner, or team), due Sunday
  • Projects: Revise Burnout Rewrite Plan, focusing on relationships and community supports

WEEK 6: Integration, Next Steps & Sustainable Change

• Topics: Integrating self-care and systems change; pacing; planning the next 3–6 months.
• Readings:
  • Malesic, The End of Burnout, selected chapters
  • Wiens, Burnout Immunity, selected chapters
• Assignments:
  • Discussion: “One Commitment I’m Willing to Keep,” due Wednesday
  • Final Project: Burnout Rewrite Plan (personal and systemic strategies), due Friday
  • Final Reflective Essay (3–4 pages) connecting your journey to course readings, due Sunday

 Required Readings/ Resources

Costs, if any, for required readings/resources are not included in the course tuition.

Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2022). The burnout challenge: Managing people’s relationships with their jobs. Harvard University Press. ISBN-13: 978-0674251014

Malesic, J. (2022). The end of burnout: Why work drains us and how to build better lives. University of California Press. ISBN-13: 978-0520391529

Wiens, K. (2024). Burnout immunity: How emotional intelligence can help you build resilience and heal your relationship with work. Harper Business. ISBN-13: 978-0063323667

Martin, R. (2023). Beat your burnout: Simple stress relief for a happier, healthier life. Summersdale. ISBN-13: 978-1800079250

Callahan, C. (2023). Beat burnout in 15 minutes a day: How to prioritize yourself without losing what matters most. Independently published. ISBN-13: 979-8861438681

 For additional course information

Eddie Wilkin, Ed.D.

(201) 575-1233

For additional registration information

Center for Schools Team

(802) 468-1325

Register Now!