CONTENT CREATION 301: Burnout Happens

I honestly did not think I would find more things I wanted to share about content creation but recently, I started thinking again about how I approach it. So even as I create stories and art and share them with the world, I wanted to be honest with myself and with others.

CONTENT CREATION 101: Commit To What You Create
CONTENT CREATION 102: Find Your Own “Write Drunk, Edit Sober”
CONTENT CREATION 103: The First Draft Is For You
CONTENT CREATION INTERLUDE: The Procrastination Problem
CONTENT CREATION 201: Believe In Your Message
CONTENT CREATION 202: Compare Only To Yourself
CONTENT CREATION 203: ‘One Size Fits All’ Does Not Apply
CONTENT CREATION INTERLUDE: Imposter Syndrome

The fact is that sometimes, the periods of “blocks” I suffered from were not just creative blocks, but creative burnout.

And that is something we can and should acknowledge.

Sometimes trying to power through these blocks and work on projects anyway can result in one falling into a rut. Just the thought of working on your project exhausts you mentally and emotionally. It drains you and turns you away from all sorts of creative pursuits if you try and push past it stubbornly. Everyone’s approach to dealing with burnout is different – maybe you need to switch projects or focus, maybe you need to step away completely. But pretending it is not happening and continuing on anyway will only make things worse.

Burnout happens, and that’s okay. What matters is taking care of yourself when it does, because if not, it will negatively affect your mental and emotional well-being.

Take this time to switch gears, look at yourself and find out what works and doesn’t work for you. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Acknowledge it, and take this as a sign to take a break.

It might take a while to come out of it, to find your creative spark again, but if you try to force yourself to keep going, you might lose it all together.

Anyone can find themselves at the point of burnout, so remember you’re not alone. And take care of yourself.

• Have you ever experienced burnout? Do you have a way of handling it?
• People’s burnout looks different – do you know what yours looks like?
• What would be your ideal break?

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