Category: Burnout Diaries
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By Ken Hollow, freelance by choice, regret by default When I quit my last real job, I walked out of the office with a box full of succulents, pens I definitely didn’t buy, and a smile so wide it bordered on manic. Freedom. Finally. No more dress codes. No more awkward team-building exercises. No more…
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By Ken Hollow, algorithmically ghosted and emotionally contagious You ever post something, watch it tank, and then immediately question every life choice that led you to this moment? Yeah. That’s me. Twice a week. Every post dies.Every reel flops.Every story reply is a spam bot or someone DMing me about their course. Meanwhile, the only…
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By Ken Hollow, professionally lost and brand-consistent There was a time when I had a job title. Graphic designer. Easy. Understandable. You say it and people nod politely and think of logos and Helvetica. Then came the pivot.Then came Instagram.Then came the bios. Now I write things like “Creative strategist for emotionally burnt-out brands,” and…
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By Ken Hollow, certified human (barely) There was a time when I scoffed at AI-generated content. “Oh please,” I said, adjusting my ethically sourced hoodie. “People want real voices. Authenticity. Personality.” That was before I found myself, at 11:47 PM on a Tuesday, staring blankly at my 19th carousel caption of the week, whispering, “What…
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By Ken Hollow, currently trapped inside his own brand voice It was supposed to be a joke. I had five minutes, an iced coffee, and a dangerously low tolerance for content calendars. I slapped together a quick reel — a satirical bit about client red flags using a trending sound, bad lighting, and a face…
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By Ken Hollow, professionally stressed and personally short-circuiting It happened on a Tuesday — because of course it did. One second I was resizing a client’s Canva template, the next I was absolutely convinced I was dying. My chest tightened. My heart fluttered. My vision pulsed. I clutched my sternum like a Victorian widow and…
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By Ken Hollow, typing this with Slack notifications disabled and inner peace restored People like to romanticize freelancing. “Oh, the freedom!” “You make your own hours!” “You work in your pajamas!” All technically true. All mostly lies. Because the real reason I became a freelancer isn’t the freedom or the flexibility or the promise of…
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By Ken Hollow, part-time ghost in the algorithm machine Let me paint you a picture. You’ve crafted the perfect post. It’s clever. It’s formatted. You’ve picked the best carousel covers. It’s scheduled to drop at the peak time, on the statistically optimal day, during a cosmic alignment that allegedly boosts engagement. And then it goes…
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By Ken Hollow, sentient content shell and personal brand in terminal decay There comes a time in every creator’s journey when you wake up, stare blankly into your fourth existential crisis of the week, and ask yourself: Do I even have a personality anymore, or am I just a brand voice wearing a hoodie? If…
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By Ken Hollow, professional scheduler of posts I didn’t really write anymore Ah yes, imposter syndrome — an old friend. But in 2025 it’s evolved, mutated, and found a terrifying new form: the AI-powered flavor of fraudulence. Because here’s the truth I don’t really want to admit (but here I am writing this anyway): I…