Creative Burnout: 5 Ways to Avoid It

Guest Post By: Christina Huynh

As a creative, your passion is endless – and so are the tasks on your to-do list. While your determination to meet your goals is admirable, the constant pressure to accomplish them is why your days always seem to end in anxiety. With your mind racing to make content and your body struggling to keep up with this expectation, it should come as no surprise when the progress you’ve made at work begins to be replaced with the panic of realizing your ideas are at a standstill and you’ve hit complete creative burnout.

We’ve all been there – whether it’s the blank computer screen in front of you or the dread of waking up to face the day ahead of you, your motivation is at a loss and your mind is suffering because of it. Best known as a creative burnout, this occurrence tends to cripple our ability to appreciate the beauty around us and discover the inspiration within us. Although you can’t necessarily plan for this type of experience, you can prepare for it. To enhance the quality of your work and the efficiency of your routine, here are 5 ways to avoid a creative burnout.

1. KNOW WHEN TO TURN OFF

From checking your email during your Netflix binge to using the time you can’t sleep to finish up a design, your creative work should add to your life – instead of take over it. Despite the fact that you love what you do, there’s a difference between controlling your workload and letting it consume you. In order to ensure your mind the break it deserves, create a schedule for your daily tasks and allow yourself to relax outside of that time frame. By putting in the effort to separate your passion and your pastime, you’ll allow your brain the time to rest and your ideas the time to come together.

2. HAVE REALISTIC GOALS

Similar to how you should control the hours spent on your work, you should also be mindful of what tasks you hope to achieve during it. Sure, editing and photo sourcing 5 articles in addition to rebranding your entire website sounds like a productive afternoon, but the stress you put on yourself to do this is the perfect recipe for your inevitable guilt – once you recognize you can’t finish all these tasks in the time frame you’ve given yourself.

Although it’s natural to have (what seems like) an endless amount of responsibilities on our plate, it’s helpful to know your capabilities and base a plan around them. Through your willingness to form a practical schedule, you’ll not only appreciate the process you’ve created, but also accomplish all the tasks that come with it.

3. INTERACT WITH OTHERS

You can only be as inspired as the people you surround yourself with. Thus, sometimes the best way to guarantee new perspectives and create different thoughts is to simply seek them. Reach out to a friend with an admirable side hustle, connect with a coworker who has your dream job, and make conversation with the coffee barista during your morning stop. In the end, your exposure to various ideas will help you become more relatable as a person and strengthen your skills as a professional.

4. CHANGE UP YOUR ROUTINE

While your schedule is the explanation for how you get your work done, the constant routine of it could be the reason for why you feel bored. Whereas you can’t change your duties, you can tweak how they’re accomplished. For instance, go to a different location to work or leave your favorite task of the day for last.

Regardless of how passionate you are, it’s difficult to feel the same level of interest in responsibilities that you do daily. With this being said, your ability to use numerous approaches might be exactly what you need to feed the inspiration in your work and the ideas in your mind.

5. REMIND YOURSELF THAT WHAT YOU DO IS IMPORTANT

Amongst the many routes you could’ve taken, there’s a reason for why your creativity is one you decided to pursue. Maybe it’s the way the world goes quiet when you decorate a home or maybe it’s the pride you experience when people relate to your words. In general, what you create is a representation of who you are – and remembering why you’re passionate is a great way to reinforce your commitment to it. After all, in a world that focuses on functionality, the feeling you receive from your creativity is one that should be enough for you to continue fighting for it.

Christina is a 20-something-year-old writer and dreamer. You can find her photos on her Instagram and her words on her blog. You’ve read her work on BuzzFeed, Thrive Global, Thought Catalog, Sugar & Cloth, and The Everygirl.