Burnout and How to Cope
Hi Friends! It’s been a while. I hope you’re doing well out there.
This week I want to address creative burnout. Keep scrolling for more on how this came about and what I have been to doing to get through.
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PENSIVE
Mixed Media on Libretto Page
Libretto Series: Dream of the Un-Erotic
8 x 8”
2021
Creative Burnout: How did we get here?
Creative burnout can take many forms. For me, this was not a burnout of inspiration or ability to create my art. Amazingly, that ability rarely leaves me, even in the worst periods of my life (I count this as an incredibly fortuitous gift, as I know many creatives who lose and gain that inspired ability like waves in a tide). I am incredibly lucky and grateful that inspiration has never been a problem for me (knock on wood).
The burnout I was dealing with, and am still getting through, is about business, time management and the increased pressure from social media (mainly Instagram) to be a perfect artist, running her own business, selling lots of work, and doing everything herself all the time. This is, unfortunately, the view that Instagram and other media give us, and it can be extremely detrimental to progress within our real life situations.
How to Cope With Creative Burnout
If you are experiencing burnout, you will know it. This is a step further from the (unfortunately) normalized stress and pressure which can manifest as physical illness, continuous stress and anxiety throughout the day, and feeling downright exhausted by just about everything.
I am not a medical professional and so I am giving my advice from personal experience. If you are struggling with serious burnout, I highly recommend and urge you to seek professional advice from a certified psychiatrist, psychologist or therapist.
So what can we do when we are having serious work burnout?
Stop.
The gut reaction to dealing with burnout is to continue pushing, to try harder, to figure it out more. This, however, very basically leads to more burnout. The smartest and simplest way forward through exhaustion, creative blocks and energetic burnout is to stop.
It may feel unnatural, believe me it did when I took a major break from work, Instagram, emails and pushing myself to sell and make more art. The drive was so ingrained in my daily life I hadn’t realized just quite how much daily mental pressure I was putting on myself.
However, getting clarity, taking actual rest, and using a break period to reset may be the only thing stopping you from a complete burnout breakdown. Do not continue pushing or trying to figure everything out! Stop, take a minute, and re-asses after the pause.
Sit, Breathe, Write.
These are the steps I reflected on, wrote down, and followed to my best ability (not perfectly) during a two week stop from my creative business. Identify what you need during this time. It could be different from my goals, how to’s and lists. Take your time to really sit and think on this, and then write as authentically and as much as you can to gain clarity.
My goal:
Liberate my mind and soul from the crushing pressure to do everything right, all the time.
How?
Take the full two weeks (your set amount of time) to stop, re-asses, and free your worry about 1) Being tired, 2) Finances, 3) How to “Make it work”, 4) Your situation, career and life, 5) Whatever is worrying you the most right now.
Start trusting that…
Things are working.
You are living your dream.
It is all going to be okay.
Your process is creative, vibrant, slow, and arriving.
Take your time.
Take your time to do one thing each day that is absolutely necessary and nothing else.
Take time to consciously lift the pressure off of your own mind, in order to free your energy to live, not just to work.
Rest.
Rest. Allow rest. Practice doing nothing at all. Work when it feels good, if it feels good, not because of your Self-imposed task enforcer who believes the only way forward is strict and unbending.
Avoid Social Media.
For me this was mainly Instagram as I run my gallery and basic social life from this app. I started with a goal to just check Instagram once a day, but I quickly realized the main idea of the pause was to try a full break. So, I eventually took a full week off the app entirely.
Be intentional about your space.
Stay clear and give time to clearing, decluttering and generally giving care and attention to how you keep your living space.
*A note on pausing: obviously, some things cannot be paused - your salaried or part-time jobs, taking care of your kids/family, everyday tasks that we all need to live, etc. The focus here is on taking a break from your own mental pressure and pausing whatever and wherever it is that you can pause in order to best facilitate lifting off that pressure.
Re-asses
After a week or two, set a few days aside for getting clear on where you want to be in your creative business and life. For me, this was five days at the end of the two weeks to sit with and really take a hard but necessary look at where I am and where I want to be.
Write clear goals on large paper.
These could include income goals, personal goals, client focus, dream clients, collection ideas, budget situation, etc.
Sit with your vision, do not rush.
Give space to this written, beautiful, ever-changing dream life and vision that you have written. Look well and look truthfully at where you are, not where you think you are, but the exact situation you are in currently. Remind yourself that you are succeeding, success has no end point.
Define your version of success.
Define in your mind, heart and soul where exactly you want to be in your business, your personal life, or wherever it is you need focus and change right now.
Use the full time you have set out! Write and rewrite, sit with these beautiful and clear ideas.
The final day
On the final day of your break period, solidify your vision in your heart, meditate and go to your “sacred” place - whether that be somewhere in nature or a special place to you like a church, ceremonial center or a certain room in your house.
Set your values and remind yourself everyday…
My values which I will not compromise for anything or anyone (especially my own critical voice):
My health
My creative passion, art practices
Friends and family, my community
Rest
My space
My cat
Listening to and following my intuition
Being kind to myself and those around me
Resources for Creative Burnout
Free to Focus - Michael Hyatt
An excellent dive into how to re-organize your time, this book also addresses what to do at that crucial moment of burnout, when you want to change how and what you’re spending energy on everyday.
Emily Jeffords - Instagram
Although not a formal course, I find Emily to be a huge inspiration when feeling burnt out. Her hashtag #doitfortheprocess as well as her repeated mantra of “Progress is quiet and slow” reflect in everything she posts, creates, and brings to her audience.
If you have a resource which has significantly helped you with burnout, please comment below or send us an email! We would love to add to this list.
Fields outside Aix-en-Provence, 2021, Avery Ches
What I realized during MY reset
Time is on my side, rushing does not get me where I want to go.
I am living my dream, not perfectly, but to my highest ability.
Doing everything, all the time, all by myself is not effective, is exhausting and does not bring me joy, a fulfilled life or closer to my goals.
There is generally no significantly “better” place to be living: most burnout is mental exhaustion and not reliant on external circumstances (of course, this is not the case in dangerous living situations, extreme poverty, serious illness, etc.)
Focusing on what works is much easier than forcing what doesn’t (right now).
Instagram and social media are not fake, but they show a gallery front. Every page and every artist (and every person, for that matter), has their own struggles and complications. Instagram exists to showcase a curated side of life. With this in mind, it is much easier to work with and let go of other artist comparisons.
Other artists are not me, I am not them, I do not need to be exactly or even a little bit like them to find my version of success.