Author: Anna Wilkens-Reed – 5 minute read
Creative Burnout: a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion from creative work.
Since quarantine first began last year, I have been in a constant battle with fighting burnout. Like many people, my creative burnout has always had a strange tinge of desperation to it, where I often think
"Okay, so I am barely hanging on right now, and yet how do I still feel like I'm not doing enough?"
Does this sound like you?
In undergrad, my standard reaction to feeling burned out was to ignore it, because I'm a musician and music school is inexplicably stressful ( I always believed I could handle it) and there was always too much work to be done. Taking time to rest always appeared to be a waste of time. However, that coping mechanism quickly proved to be unproductive, unhealthy, irresponsible and most importantly, unsustainable. My mental health suffered as I began to dread making music. My exhaustion knew no bounds and I was in a constant state of self-doubt and shame. I had become so used to being in a perpetual work mode that by the time I realized I had reached my capacity for productivity, I was already miles beyond my limit.
So over the past year, I began paying attention to my body's signals for rest, which has proven invaluable for me to maintain attention and stay proactive. As writer Nathalie Sejean says: “Creative burnout is not a fatality, it’s an injury. And, that’s an essential one to remember in your art practice. You haven’t dried up your well of creativity, you’ve overworked your creative muscle. You forgot to stretch it. You repeated too many times the same movements, over-developing sections and weakening others.”
As I am still combating creative burnout, here are some guidelines I've set for myself to stay productive, keep my creative juices flowing and ensure my body and mind are well-rested. Please know that these are guidelines that have worked for me personally and are only offered as a means of support!
First, I had to train myself not to see creative burnout as shameful. There is nothing wrong with me, I have simply overused my creative muscle and now need to take time to recover. This pandemic is exhausting in and of itself, and forcing myself to work in the same unhealthy way as I did pre-Covid 19 is simply not feasible anymore.
"What am I watching/reading? Can I change my surroundings? Can I limit my screen time? How am I sleeping? What duties could I possibly delegate?” We know that these environmental factors can help or hinder our productivity, so why wouldn’t our rest periods be similarly affected? So, if possible, take time to assess what you need to adjust and/or change about your current lifestyle and environment. .
As I currently work from home, I try to plan my entire day as best I can, meals, breaks, practice sessions, gym, and downtime included. This way, I have a clear understanding of where my energy and time are going and what my return on investment should be. This type of detailed planning took awhile to get used to, but the benefits of knowing exactly which tasks and priorities I’m to accomplish each day gives me peace of mind.
I try to direct my energy into being creative in areas that are completely unrelated to the topic I'm currently burned out in. This could mean journaling, pulling out my watercolors again, photography, etcetera. What areas in your life could you refocus your creative energy towards?
I have also learned when it's time to stop, put down whatever I'm doing and be done for the day. This has probably been the hardest thing for me to incorporate in my life, as I never feel like I have accomplished enough to “deserve” the downtime. However, I've experienced the hard way that I will work myself to ill heath if I don't set clear productivity limits for myself. Ask yourself: “What signals does my body give me to alert me that it’s time to stop?” Learn to recognize these signs as best you can (and trust me, I know it’s easy to ignore them) and listen to what your body is trying to communicate.