One Month of Creative Burnout (and 3 Simple Ways to Manage It)
Someone Put Out the Flames because I am Burnt Out 🥲 + A November Update
Recognizing a Creative Burnout:
You know that feeling when you pick up your apple pencil and draw something on your iPad and realize, yup I do not feel a thing.
To me, that’s how I recognized my creative burnout and as soon as it was there, I said to myself - I just have to wait for that moment to pass. I waited days, which turned into weeks until the end of November was quickly approaching. Still without a desire to return to the soulless canvas on my iPad.
Do you know that feeling? If you do, you’ll know it is not a fun feeling; it's a mixture of exhaustion and guilt from being tired and not having any creative work done.
So, I decided this time around I wanted to document the steps I took that helped me ease out of my creative burnout and share 3 simple ways to (hopefully) manage them. *This post comes with very quick sketches because hooray for more visuals!*
3 Simple Ways to Manage a Creative Burnout
Identifying What Caused My Burnout
I usually have a difficult time identifying my burnouts, but for this situation; although I didn’t quite know it yet, it was quite obvious (this is where the November Update comes in).
For starters, I started my November with the flu (tested negative for Covid, fortunately!) and was a bit occupied with transitioning to a new job, planning my move, getting a new dog, and working through grief for a sudden loss. In summary, I had to prioritize time and energy for my health and well-being.
It took me a while to come to this realization of what was causing my burnout until I really took the time to reflect and understand what was happening. Often today endless productivity is romanticized, but it leaves no room for moments like this when our focus needs to shift to other aspects of our life. Coming to that realization brought me to accept my burnout and see the time as an act of rest and repair.
2. Do Something Else
Burnouts can also happen from exhaustion from our routine and my method of healing is to do something else - as simple as that.
I crochet as a hobby. I put down my yarn and hook for a bit in late October, where things were a bit hectic. But, I found picking up on a crochet project not only helped me keep calm but helped me stay creative in a unique way. Whatever hobby or activity you decide to pick up, I think it will open up new possibilities in how you approach your creative work once you’re able to get back to it. Maybe it can spark inspiration on what you want to create next or simply give you a fresh start to enter the blank canvas confidentially.
3. Setting a Timeline
Lastly, I found setting a timeline for when I wanted to return to my creative work helped me treat this burnout more as a “vacation leave” as corporate as that sounds. The timeline allows me to understand that there will be an end to this burnout and see that there is a positive aspect to my body and mind calling for rest - aka a vacation.
Setting a timeline also alleviates pressure on why I haven’t started anything that day and all the other anxious thoughts of why I am not being productive (grind culture strikes again). This really allowed me to say okay to put down the Apple Pencil for a couple of days, weeks, etc.
Did I intend for this burnout to last for a month? Nope.
Setting a timeline, for myself, did not mean I had to follow it strictly but acted as a guide tot whenever I would feel ready to return, without any ambiguity for the time in between.
Soon enough I was able to return and was happy I had that month to take care of myself and deal with my burnout in a timely manner.
I hope these 3 tips help you with your creative burnout, please feel free to share your methods of dealing with burnout!
