The Burned Out Diaries

They called you a "Resource".
We call you Human.

You survived the color-coded spreadsheets, the 7 a.m. stand-ups, and the meetings that could have been emails. Now let's unlearn the language they taught you.

YOU'VE THOUGHT THIS
"Another meeting that could have been an email."

YOU'VE SAID THIS
"I don't have the bandwidth for this right now."

YOU'VE GOOGLED THIS
"off-grid cabin listings Europe under €150k."

YOU'VE SURVIVED THIS
"Let's circle back and align on next steps."

You are not
burning out.You already did.

The exhaustion that lives behind your eyes at 9 AM on a Monday. The Sunday dread that starts at 4 PM on a Friday. The smile you put on for the all-hands call. You know exactly what I'm talking about.The Burned Out Diaries is where we stop calling it "a challenging period" and start calling it what it actually is.

- STEP ONE - BEFORE THE DETOX

How toxic is your
corporate vocabulary?

Six questions. No right answers. Just painful self-awareness.

THE CORPORATE JARGON DETOX - PREVIEW -

The language they gave you.
Translated back into human.

SYNERGY
[noun]
Asking three people to do the job of one while everyone stays late.

CIRCLE BACK
[noun]
I have no answer for you, I'm overwhelmed, and I'm hoping you forget you ever asked.

BANDWIDTH
[noun]
The finite amount of soul I have left to give this company today before I start looking at off-grid cabin listings.

ALIGNMENT
[noun]
A polite hostage situation where you agree to a deadline you know is impossible just so the meeting will finally end.

ONBOARDING
[noun]
The process of slowly realising
you've made a terrible mistake.

PIVOT
[noun]
We have absolutely no idea what we're doing and we're hoping this new buzzword hides the panic.

60 terms. Complete edition.
Yours free, below.

Empty executive chair on the mountains

"For twenty years, I spoke a language that wasn't mine.
This is me translating it back
— for both of us."

— PETRA PIPERATI, BURNED OUT DIARIES

  • We believe in the power of "no."

  • "Hustle" is a four-letter word.

  • Success is measured in moments of peace, not promotions.

  • This is group therapy. With more swearing and less unsolicited advice.

Crumpled office paper on floor

The Corporate Jargon Detox

From "Bandwidth" to "E.O.B."
The HR manual they conveniently forgot to give you during onboarding.
60 terms, translated back into plain, honest human language.
Enter your email and it lands immediately.

You'll also join the Burned Out Diaries.
Unsubscribe any time. We won't guilt-trip you about it.

Are You Fluent in Corporate Nonsense? · Petra Piperati
Burned Out DiariesBurnout ends where the trail begins.
The Corporate Jargon Detox · Quiz

Are You Fluent
in Corporate
Nonsense?

Six workplace scenarios. Six jargon crimes. One uncomfortable question: how long have you been speaking a language you never chose?

6Questions3Minutes0LinkedIn Energy
Question 1 of 60 correct
Question 01 / 06

Your manager sends a calendar invite with the subject: "Quick Sync — Circle Back on Q3 Priorities." No agenda attached. Scheduled for 45 minutes. You had plans for that lunch hour. Those plans are now gone.

What does "circle back" actually mean in this situation?

Question 02 / 06

It is 16:47 on a Friday. You are putting on your coat. Your inbox pings. Subject line: "URGENT — Need this by COB." The sender went home an hour ago. The task requires three hours of focused work. The acronym "COB" means Close of Business.

What is the hidden message inside "COB"?

Question 03 / 06

Your skip-level manager calls you into her office and says she wants you to "Bring your whole self to work." She has warm eyes. There is a succulent on her desk. She listens carefully as you share something real about your workload. She nods. She takes notes.

What is the most accurate translation of "Bring your whole self to work"?

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Legal

Privacy Policy
& GDPR

We're not a corporation. We won't sell your data, rent it, or put it in a spreadsheet with a colour-coded tab.

Last updated: May 2026  ·  Applies to burnedoutdiaries.com

Plain-language glossary of terms used in this policy:

GDPR — General Data Protection Regulation. The European Union law that protects your personal data and gives you rights over how it is used. It applies to any website that collects data from people in the EU, regardless of where the website owner is based.

EEA — European Economic Area. The 27 EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. GDPR applies across the whole EEA.

Data Controller — the person or organisation that decides why and how your personal data is collected and used. In this case, that is Petra Piperati.

Data Processor — a third party that handles data on behalf of the Data Controller (for example, Substack stores your email so we can send the newsletter).

Personal data — any information that can identify you directly or indirectly, such as your email address or IP address.

Legal basis — GDPR requires a specific legal reason to collect and use personal data. We explain ours in Section 3.

IP address — a numerical label assigned to your device when it connects to the internet. It can indicate your approximate location.

BfDI — Bundesbeauftragte für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit. Germany's Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information — the supervisory authority you can complain to if you are in Germany.

Contents
  1. Who we are
  2. What data we collect
  3. Why we collect it (legal basis)
  4. How we use your data
  5. Where data is stored
  6. How long we keep it
  7. Your GDPR rights
  8. Third-party services
  9. Cookies
  10. Minors
  11. Changes to this policy
  12. Contact & complaints
01

Who we are

Petra Piperati operates The Burned Out Diaries at burnedoutdiaries.com. For the purposes of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation — the EU law governing personal data), Petra Piperati is the Data Controller — meaning we decide how and why your data is used.

Contact: [email protected]

This policy applies to all personal data collected through burnedoutdiaries.com, including the newsletter subscription form, email correspondence, and any interactive features on this site.

02

What data we collect

Data you provide directly

  • Email address — when you subscribe to the newsletter or download the Corporate Jargon Detox guide
  • Name — only if you voluntarily include it in email correspondence
  • Message content — if you email us at [email protected]

Data collected automatically

  • Browser and device type — collected by Substack and Carrd for functional purposes
  • IP address (your device's internet identifier) — used only for security and anonymised analytics
  • Page visit data — anonymised analytics such as pages visited and time on page, collected via Google Analytics (see Section 8)
  • Cookie data — see Section 9 and our full Cookie Policy for details

We do not collect sensitive personal data such as health information, financial details, political opinions, or biometric data.

03

Why we collect it (legal basis)

GDPR (Article 6) requires us to have a specific legal reason — called a legal basis — for each type of data we collect. Here are ours:

  • Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)) — for newsletter subscription, lead magnet delivery, and analytics cookies. You can withdraw consent at any time by clicking "Unsubscribe" in any email, or by adjusting your cookie preferences.
  • Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)) — for basic site security and understanding how visitors use the site in aggregate. We have assessed that this does not override your privacy rights.
  • Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)) — if required to comply with applicable law.

We never rely on pre-ticked boxes, bundled consent, or vague "by using this site you agree" language. Consent is always specific, informed, and freely given.

04

How we use your data

  • To deliver the Corporate Jargon Detox PDF you subscribed for
  • To send The Burned Out Diaries newsletter (you can unsubscribe at any time)
  • To respond to direct email enquiries
  • To understand how visitors use the site via anonymised analytics (Google Analytics, with your consent)
  • To monitor site performance and fix technical issues
  • To comply with legal obligations if required

We will never sell, rent, or share your personal data with third parties for their own marketing purposes. Full stop.

05

Where data is stored

Your email address and subscription data are stored by Substack, Inc., a company based in the USA. Substack is certified under the EU–US Data Privacy Framework, which means it meets the EU's standards for protecting personal data transferred outside the EEA (European Economic Area — the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway).

The website is hosted by Carrd. Carrd stores minimal technical data and applies Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs — legal agreements approved by the European Commission) for any data transfers outside the EEA.

Google Analytics is used to understand how visitors use this site. Google may transfer anonymised data to servers outside the EEA. Google LLC is certified under the EU–US Data Privacy Framework. Analytics cookies are only set with your explicit consent via the cookie banner.

Email correspondence sent to [email protected] is stored on our email provider's servers within the EEA where possible.

06

How long we keep your data

  • Newsletter subscribers — your email is kept for as long as you are subscribed. After unsubscribing, it is removed from the active list within 30 days.
  • Email correspondence — kept for up to 2 years, then deleted.
  • Analytics data — anonymised and aggregated by Google Analytics. We have set the data retention period to 14 months inside Google Analytics.

You can request deletion of your data at any time — see Section 7.

07

Your GDPR rights

Under GDPR, you have the following rights. To exercise any of them, email [email protected] with the subject line "Data Request — [right you are exercising]". We will respond within 30 days.

  • Right of access (Art. 15) — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
  • Right to rectification (Art. 16) — ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data
  • Right to erasure (Art. 17) — ask us to delete your personal data (the "right to be forgotten")
  • Right to restrict processing (Art. 18) — ask us to pause how we use your data while a dispute is resolved
  • Right to data portability (Art. 20) — request your data in a common machine-readable format so you can move it elsewhere
  • Right to object (Art. 21) — object to us using your data based on legitimate interests
  • Right to withdraw consent — unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email, or update your cookie preferences at any time

You also have the right to complain to a supervisory authority — the data protection regulator in your country. In Germany, this is the BfDI (Bundesbeauftragte für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit — Federal Commissioner for Data Protection) at bfdi.bund.de. In Greece: Hellenic Data Protection Authority (dpa.gr).

08

Third-party services

We use the following third-party services. Each acts as a Data Processor on our behalf — meaning they handle data according to our instructions and are contractually bound to prote