Avoiding Creative Burnout

 

Take breaks. This is what I'm learning as I slowly build my world from the ground up in a creative process. Take breaks. Do it.

It happens. Eyes gloss over. Head feels empty. I want to write but I feel on the edge of a hollow pit inside consuming all the ideas I want to write. It's like I know I have an idea, it's just there's this void waiting to eat all my ideas, a void that makes me tired and sleepy and out of breath just thinking about it. 

In the middle of writing my first large creative project, about 50 pages in (perhaps the farthest along I've gotten besides the other novel I'm writing about the moon and the sea), if someone were to ask me what the challenge is this far along in the story right now, I probably wouldn't say writer's block or isolation or feedback. At this point, as most authors and novelists will probably say, it's just getting it all on paper. However, today I seem to have come across a familiar aspect, probably my second greatest fear in the writing process, what writers like to call -- burnout. Today I see it looming, planning evil over my shoulder and I will admit, deep inside I tremble a bit knowing how powerful the burnout can be when it has its way. Somewhere along the way all creative people are going to experience the impact burnout can have.

Creative burnout can vary from feeling too tired to pick up the pencil to lacking simple motivation, or energy, to write down a word. It doesn't have to do so much with depression or anxiety or perfectionism and more to do with just feeling creatively drained, or on the verge of being creatively drained. In the pursuit of getting better at our crafts its always important for creative people to remain, well, creative. Always, but by doing so and practicing our craft we open ourselves up to the evil villain that is burnout.

As someone who is in the middle of writing her first creative project, and challenging herself to write more everyday, burnout happens to be one of my biggest enemies. But I'm not going to let it prevail over me this time -- I'm determined to do my best in the pursuit of creating a masterful story with original narrative prowess. So in the meantime, I decided a mandatory break was in line. But what to do on my break? I don't want to seem, well, unproductive. Ah, such is the nature of our creative selves to always want to be doing something but in the battle against burnout, nothing will be our key to everything.

Obviously breaks are the clear way to preventing it but what to do? After all, I don't want to end up distracting myself, there are so many options!

Since burnout is such a common thing in the creative community, here are some tips I felt like sharing to help other creators figure out how to battle that evil little fiend who threatens to swallow all our creativity. Here are my 7 tips, I brainstormed today, that are helping me keep burnout at bay in the creative process while taking breaks! I hope they help!

1. Exercise

Uggghghhhhhhh 

Yes, I heard that groan from the back of the room. I know, it can seem like such a chore but most, if not all, creative people will absolutely tell you that exercising just helps. If you're not a hardcore avid exercise person, or if you're like me and you're just getting into it after a long period of not exercising due to perhaps slothful thinking, then try a 15 minute yoga routine maybe, or even just 15 minutes hardcore HIIT set. There are so many different sets laid out on the web somewhere, just by looking it up on pinterest one can find a multitude of exercises. Its always important to keep your physical temple in tact, or to at least take care of it, in order for a truly strong mental temple. And since our finished products come directly from the mind, it is evident that giving our bodies the exercise they need to stay healthy will make our finished creative products that much better.

2. Meditate.

10 minutes of nothing, focusing on the silence of your mind. If you haven't tried this yet then I can assure you, more often than not, this definitely helps.

3. Have a nice, warm cup of coffee or tea and just sit and enjoy it.

4. Soak in a bath

I guess one could think of taking a break during burnout or in a war with burnout one is essentially treating themself like they have a bit of a cold... 

5. Read

When I was little, the first time I knew I wanted to be an author I ran up to my Dad and told him. I remember very clearly, he told me, firstly that he was proud of me, and then he told two things I have never forgotten; "You need to write and read a lot." 

This, at the end of the day, is a true tip for battling any form of mental burnout or creative drainage. Consuming your medium in large quantity, giving your mind the room it needs to grow and take shape. I believe every word you use is part of a larger story, every project you put your time and energy into is speaking to you. But to put that larger story on paper is often where the going gets tough and we experience the trials and difficulties as creators.

Whether it be a comic, a script, a novel, or even rereading your favorite fan fiction online! As long as you are reading, the burnout doesn't have time to fester. By reading we allow our minds room to grow and live and just breathe, offering ourselves the chance to relax the bearings a little, to explore our own imaginations. 

You could even do an audiobook if you don't have the time to swing by your neighborhood library or you'd rather not spend money on the latest copies of stories.

Reading is an excellent way to battle creative burnout and necessary for all authors and creative people alike. Consume as much as your imagination requires, then consume more. The more you take care of your imagination, the more it will take care of you. Eventually, after consuming ideas and daydreaming for so long your dreams will take shape, and emerge like perfect ripe fruit ready to harvest.

Give yourself time to dream; half of the journey is the time it takes to get there, and all the little moments in between.

6. Listen to a podcast while organizing your space.

Lately I've found that listening to a podcast, that has to do with anything but writing or reading or my work, really helps to get my mind off of whatever it is I'm doing. It doesn't matter who it is, or what it's about; as long as it takes my mind off things, I'm good to go. Along these lines I actually have a bonus tip that kind of fits in the same category

Bonus Tip: Call A friend. You don't have to talk very long or even about your story. Just get it all out there, and have a nice chat with the person on the other end. Sometimes social interaction can offer all we ever need to gather more ideas. 

7. Don't force yourself.

Take time. When I say take a break, take a break. Don't. Rush. Yourself.

Hyping yourself up will only stress yourself out. Giving my mind space and room to just be allows my break to feel much more like a break.

Believe me, it's okay to take a whole day or maybe even two. Just as long as you come back to put your pen on paper, that's what matters. 

8. Cook something

9. Go for a walk. 

10. Cuddle with a pet, or a friends pet.

Because pets just make the world a better place...

3 things I've found didn't work:

1. Watching TV

Some sources will tell you watching TV is a great way to relax and get your mind off things. And while I do agree, I've found using this for a break just doesn't work for me. Especially when it's with a tv show I like; I've found I enjoy it so much more when I'm using it as a reward and less of a break. When I've earned it, oh boy watching good quality drama just makes my brain go from 0 to a 10/10. 

Part of the reason I've found using this as a break doesn't work is I just end up using TV as a sort of escape. Escape from my problems, escape from my mind, escape from everything that makes me feel anxious about writing when at the end of the day the solution to most writer's block is writing itself. Escaping the problem isn't going to solve the problem. When I emerge from the warmth of another's finalized product I realize that, guess what-- the burnout / writer's block / anxiety / perfectionism / insert any creative problem here is still there. Like the black knight in Monty Python & the Holy Grail, 'tis but a scratch. Watching a show only gives me momentary relaxation, and while sometimes that can be a good thing, it isn't good for stimulating my creative mind and giving me the energy I need in order to write.

2. Going out with friends.

This works more as a vacation or a treat for me. Now, I do need to keep socializing and keep up with my friends for mental health of course, but when it comes to doing work I find using friends as an escape, once again, just doesn't get the words on paper. However, it can make me feel better sometimes, so that's something I always keep in mind.

3. Analyzing other peoples work

You are not them. It's always okay to learn from the masters, in fact highly encouraged, but I really believe our culture has placed too much emphasis on strategically placing a story. When we are creating it's important we learn how to shut our inner critic off. We can't do that by comparing our work to someone else's constantly and critically. I've found planning my story in my mind while taking a break just takes away from the, well, break. There are said to be two types of novelists -- those who write freely and those who risk over plotting. But I believe anyone is at risk in both realms. There will always be a risk in being creative, but that's what makes it so gosh darn fun when we get it right.

I hope these tips were able to help. Now, I'm going to go splurge on dark chocolate and soak in the bath while reading All the Light We Cannot See. I wish you luck on all your current creative endeavors today!

Thank you!