burned the candle at both ends
Pushed too hard
Burned the candle at both ends describes exhausting oneself by working too hard or staying up too late while rising early—depleting energy from both directions at once.
The image is of a candle consumed twice as fast.
She burned the candle at both ends finishing the project and caught pneumonia.
Usually implies unsustainable pace.
- overpromisingPledging more than deliverable
- overworkToil to exhaustion
- multitaskingDoing several things concurrently
- spread too thinCommitted beyond one's capacity
- wearinessState of being drained
fatigue · running on empty · running on fumes · neglect · depletion · lethargy · sleeplessness · burnout · collapse · overloading · sacrifice · imbalance · stress · tiredness · dead tired · midnight oil · work-life balance · enervation
burned the candle at both endswell-rested
Having slept enough
took it easy · recharged · slept in · napped · vegetated
burned the candle at both endsset boundaries
Define acceptable behavior limits
burned, burning, burner, candle, candles, candlelight, candlestick, candlelit, endless