Exhaust one's energies or resources by leading a hectic life. For example, Joseph's been burning the candle at both ends for weeks, working two jobs during the week and a third on weekends. This metaphor originated in France and was translated into English in Randle Cotgrave's Dictionary (1611), where it referred to dissipating one's wealth. It soon acquired its present broader meaning.

To do more than one ought to; to overextend oneself: “His doctor said that his illness was brought on by stress and recommended that he stop burning the candle at both ends.”