burning the candle at both ends
Unsustainable dual strain
Burning the candle at both ends means exhausting yourself by working too hard or staying up too late while also rising early—depleting your energy from both directions.
The image is of a candle consumed twice as fast, leaving nothing.
Between her day job and night classes, she's been burning the candle at both ends.
- workaholicCompulsive labor addict
- rat raceExhausting competitive work routine
- overworkToil to exhaustion
- nonstopWithout pause or break
- fast laneLeftmost highway section
haggard · exhaustion · hurried · rushed · spread too thin · stretched too thin · fatigue · diminishing returns · stress · burnout · work-life balance · fast track · sleep deprivation · overcommitment · drained · intense · running on fumes · running on empty
- Risk-Takingplaying with fire, rolling the dice, taking chances, living on the edge, going for broke
- metaphors for overachievementgoing the extra mile, raising the bar, going above and beyond, overdelivering, overperforming
burning the candle at both endstaking it easy
Deliberately slowing down
moderation · self-care · balance · conservation · restraint
burning the candle at both endsrecuperating
Regaining health gradually
recharging · unwinding · relaxing · sleeping in · well-rested
burned, burner, burners, burning, candle, candles, candlelit, candlestick, endings