Burnout is real and I often fall victim to it by constantly trying to do far too many things at once and pushing my limits when I don’t have to and 99% of the time it’s very self-inflicted (say it ain’t so!)
I’ve compiled a handful of things that work for me and may work for you too 🙂
- Listen to your body. If you need to rest, rest! Do not push yourself to the point of no return for no reason. It sounds pretty simple but it can be SO difficult to do. I find that I constantly try and ‘fill’ time to be as efficient and productive as possible but it is okay to just put your energy into one thing at a time.
- Avoid screen time. Make sure to take breaks away from your phone/iPad/laptop/etc – you may think you’re doing research or gathering inspiration but more often then not you’re stuck on Instagram in a doomscroll. You’re wasting your own time and also not listening to yourself when you need to switch off.
- Eat something nourishing. Try and eat things that are going to make you feel good or provide you with energy. I have been loving making myself little snack platters of random fruit, crackers, dip, just really picky things so I can have fun while eating and not get bored.
- Avoid over caffeination. Girlies – I have anxiety and it gets a lot worse if I am slamming down 6+ coffees in a day. I previously would lock into my studio for over 10 hours straight with cup after cup but I have found in recent years that it is not something that helps me. I thought it would make me more productive!!! But it really just made me anxious, shaky, and not want to do anything. Super counterintuitive.
- Don’t force yourself to be creative if you don’t feel like it. Huge statement coming from me! If you have deadlines, absolutely pace yourself and get through them. However, one of the worst things I have found for my creative practice is forcing myself to make something at all times, something new! something fun! something different! When I am bored or overstimulated and just need to live my life a little to gather inspiration (this has been the BEST thing I have found for my creative practice).
- Go outside. Take yourself for a walk around the block, a hike, to the beach, to the park, around the city, even in your own backyard! Nature is honestly so revitalising – getting out and moving will help your body and brain.
- Stop putting so much pressure on yourself, you muppet!!!
- Make something else. If you have a small business or sell your art – make something completely different. It is extremely energising to step out of your comfort zone! If you paint > make something with clay, if you illustrate > take up embroidery. Your options are endless and this will spark you.
- Rest. Take breaks when you need to, don’t overbook yourself, have some solo time to take yourself out on a date. Being booked and busy isn’t always sexy and fun, it can be so draining. Lean into what energises you and if you are feeling like it’s a bit much – take a break and rest.
- In dire circumstances (not really) – take a hiatus (if you can). Look, this sounds a bit dramatic and it might be but honestly the best thing I have ever done for myself, my art and my small business was to take about a 2 year long hiatus. It took a very long time for me to come to this conclusion as it was just after the best year my business ever had! Which ultimately lead to major burnout because I was making so many things constantly, pushing out content, running my business, having no time to have a life. I found that the art I was making mainly ended up being specific requests from people and not actually things that I wanted to make. So when it came time for me to stretch my creative legs and play, I felt stunted – I just couldn’t do it. I filtered back here and there as I was missing parts of my practice as well as this was a huge connection source I had to people and other creatives. I would get so envious if I saw people popping off (really silly but very human) so I just decided to shut my shop and work on myself. It honestly was the best thing I have ever done and I do not say this lightly because it was confusing and hard as fuck but being able to live my lil old life and gain experiences, actually feel major life changes, and get inspired again worked wonders for me. I’ve been able to reopen my shop, to create art that I actually like and to redefine my art style to ensure my art is as ME as it possibly can be. I recommend just dipping off if you can, step off of socials, and find what brings you joy. You’ll come back a thousand times more energised.
