Overcome burnout through creation

It’s been a long week, and it feels like there’s no rest in sight. The creative juices aren’t flowing as well as we’d like them to and we are tired, mentally and physically, stuck in a seemingly endless cycle of work, eat, sleep. Rinse and repeat. Although that may be manageable in the short term, just like a tiny crack in a structural part, there is a creep, slowly propagating as we apply more load and eventually, that crack becomes bigger and bigger until a final snap brings it to an end. When analogous cracks appear in our life, patching the cracks sounds like a great idea until they start to peek through once again. What we really should be doing is designing a structure that is not only durable to the stresses put upon it, but also use our structure in a way that minimises the chance of failure as much as possible, as in, knowing when we are about to exceed our safe load limit and take a break. Now enough with the engineering analogies, how can we do this to our body and mind?

Well physically, it’s easy. We follow the health experts, drink water, eat well, exercise and sleep, you get the gist. But our minds are different thing, especially as a creative. Resting our minds is a little harder to do than binge watching a TV series, because although that may work for some, the creative mind will inevitably wear itself out again. It’s at this point that I should make clear that I’m not an expert in these fields and can only relay ideas and thoughts from my own personal experiences, and should be taken with a grain of salt.

So what makes for burnout anyway? Why and how does it happen and what can we do about it? For me, and I suspect many others, burnout comes in the form of extreme fatigue, be it physically or emotionally. Burnout happens when you start getting more problems but we’re too tired to fix them. We get worked to the point of exhaustion and things don’t make sense anymore, it’s a game of attrition.

We need rest, not only on our physical plane of existence but most importantly, in our mind. For some, resting the mind can be as simple as binge watching a favourite TV show, meditation, mindfulness or a walk around the block. But the creative? They are most comfortable in the state of creation so to rest the creative mind, we need to exercise that creativity in ways that energise our mind. Like a cold shower on a hot day, something refreshing and soothing. Here are some suggestions for those creative minds in need of reprieve.

• Indulge! Got some new art supplies you want to try? Maybe an idea for a fan art piece? Perhaps you just want to dance to 90’s dance hits in the comfort of your living room. Do what makes your mind happy, just feel it and go with the flow.
• Make a list and tick off as you go. One of my favourite things to do it cross stuff off a list, there’s a bit of a dopamine hit and I revel in that satisfaction of productivity. We can energise our creativity by making a “To Do” list (physically, digitally or any other way you see fit) and make sure to set some small, manageable tasks to maximise the effect. Even something as simple as clearing your palette or organising your notes can quickly snowball into completing more tasks.
• Set a routine where rest is incorporated from the get-go, instead of an after thought. This one is for the long term, as a preventative measure for burnout. Remember, that the 9-5 hustle is not our natural way of working and we should be resting more than we actually do. If you like sticking to a schedule, ensure you slot in some breaks where you actively rest and you’ll notice that productivity in the creative hours are much higher.
• Consume! (Creative output I mean, not just food.) As creatives, the idea of inspiration is not new but often in the world of social media and endless knowledge at our fingertips it can be hard to be truly inspired without being overwhelmed. What is really important here about consuming the product of another’s creativity (again, sounds like a food that doesn’t look like food) is the experience that you feel. Take a controlled(don’t get distracted by the memes – it’s hard, I know) trawl through Instagram, speak to other artists, go to a concert or visit a gallery and really tap into the feelings and experiences of that visit. Let your mind absorb that experience and store it in your creative arsenal for later use.
• A change of scenery. Does that mean you have to pack up your things, drive away from it all and start living in the wilderness like a witch? No, although I won’t judge if you did. Often our environment plays a large part in our mental state, whether we realise it or not, so take a look at your workspace and see what can be done to make it healthier. If you’re in a dark and dingy corner of the room, you’ll probably be getting dark and dingy ideas, which probably won’t be helpful if you run a small business making ceramic sunflowers for children. Also look for things in your workspace that make you comfortable as you’ll likely be spending hours in this environment. Additionally, changing our normal environment forces our brain to relearn areas of the room and we are forced to adapt, preventing creative stagnation. Of course, a trip to the beach or the aforementioned forest is not bad either, but sometimes the garden or cafe down the street is just what the soul needs.

These are just a few of the many ways to get that sweet reprieve from burnout and get those lovely creative juices flowing again. Try them out if your keen and keep creating!