If you’ve experienced creative burnout — or burnout of any kind — you know how discouraging and frustrating it can be.
A few months ago, I hit burnout due to a variety of factors. I was dealing with lingering medical issues, mental and physical fatigue, deadlines for commissioned works, and all the preparations for a busy holiday season. And I was forcing myself to create specific artwork, week after week, according to very particular specifications. Thanksgiving came and went, and all of sudden I just couldn’t create anymore. It was more than a lack of inspiration: my creative juices had just plain dried up from overuse and exhaustion. I was running on empty. I think I completed one piece of art in the entire month of December, and that was one I’d nearly finished a year before — all I had to do was redraw a few lines and add some color.
Four or five months later, I have slowly crawled back from that point and am creating on an almost-daily basis again. Time, of course, helps the most. But there are also some specific things I did to encourage the process. Your exact circumstances and type of burnout may look different, but hopefully they can help you, too.
1. Take a Deep Breath
Breathe, literally and figuratively. Pause, full stop. Refuse to give into panic or ‘what ifs’ — your spark will return, it will just take some time and intentional behavior. Seek God’s help and His quiet strength to get you through this period. Find solace in His greatness. Soak in the Psalms, the poetry-prayer book of the Bible, instead of scrolling endlessly through social media (and ending up feeling worse about yourself). And figure out what you can step back from, especially activities that may worsen your burnout. Just like a physical injury requires a period of rest before physical therapy, so a creative burnout requires margin before returning to full busyness. Of course, some things in life cannot be paused — but consider honestly whether those activities are actually non-negotiable, or whether you’re just trying meet perceived expectations (your own or others). You need to heal before you can resume peak effectiveness, so it’s okay to say “no” for a time!
2. Get Organized
Organize your supplies, plans and calendars, goals and priorities. Sometimes clearing the mental clutter is as important as clearing the physical clutter. Buy a planner or some organizing containers, start writing down those thoughts flitting non-stop through your mind, and take 5 minutes to start putting things in their proper place. I find it helps to re-read my goals and work through my art supplies — and as a bonus, I always discover project drafts or fun tools that I’d completely forgotten about. Sometimes, that’s enough on its own to get me feeling inspired to create again!
3. Savor the Little Things
Take a moment to remember what used to bring you joy in your more carefree days, and find those things again. Even if it’s marketed for people in a different season of life. If Legos used to give you a thrill, go pick up a small set at Walmart. If baking was more your jam (pun intended), go make something tasty for a friend or neighbor. If flowers always make you smile, buy a $5 bouquet at the grocery store. Go to a show, gather with friends in a relaxed setting, read a book just for fun, or revisit a favorite activity from childhood. Find reasons to laugh a little, and take some pressure off mentally (and off your blood pressure, too!). There are little things all around us that can spark joy and delight — and revive a little of that inspiration.
4. Eat Something
If you’re like me, you often get engrossed in a task and completely forget to eat lunch. If you do that once in a while, it’s no big deal. But if it’s a regular thing, that might be contributing to your exhaustion and burnout. A handful of almonds and a few crackers isn’t enough, and neither is a limitless supply of caffeinated drinks. You need real fuel for both your body and brain! Make sure you’re getting a hearty and healthy balance of carbs, protein, and fat. You need the nutrients that all three can provide to recalibrate and refresh yourself. And don’t neglect the natural sugars from whole fruit and veggies, for a great and tasty form of energy. Try a bowl of pineapple and melon instead of your afternoon coffee or tea, or a dessert of strawberries and whipped cream instead of cookies or cake. You might be surprised how much healthy sugars can boost your body and brain!
5. Move Your Body
There is a surprising link between physical activity and mental acuity. Go for a short walk — make it a daily thing. Even 5 minutes is great to start with. If you can’t walk outside, pace the hallways inside (maybe do something on your phone or listen to something enjoyable while you’re walking, so you don’t get bored). If you’re outside, take time to soak in the nature around you. Name what you can see or hear, and find reasons to enjoy it all! But there’s other ideas besides walking. You can do some basic stretches (just try to move every single muscle), dance to your favorite song, follow along with a short workout video, or even play with your pet for a few minutes (tug of war is great for getting the blood flowing!). Anything that boosts circulation and relaxes your mind will help you return to your work with refreshed clarity and new ideas. And done on a regular basis, it provides a continual boost to your mental flow and creative juices!
6. Think Differently
Sometimes we exhaust our mental resources from staring at things the same way, over and over again. It helps to see things from a different perspective! Look for a book that considers the why behind your work, or a magazine that contains a variety of ideas for your field. Follow along with a tutorial or how-to guide. Take a limited amount of time to search social media for related posts. Virtual workshops are also a great way to test out new-to-you styles and techniques! For instance: I might pick up a book about Christian perspectives on art, flip through a calligraphy magazine, follow a tutorial for a new painting technique, or take 10 minutes to scroll through Bible lettering posts on Instagram. It doesn’t need to be life-changing, just perspective-shifting!
7. When You’re Ready, Start Small
Think baby steps, not marathons. No matter how much you need to get back to work, you can’t afford to rush things. Give yourself permission to create freely. It doesn’t have to be fine-tuned or finished. It doesn’t even have to make sense to anyone else! Try a new format or type of tool. Play around with new styles or techniques, just to see how they work for you. The goal is to get back to having fun in your work, without the pressure of creating just for a deadline or specific audience. For me, that looks like doing basic (mindless) drills on paper, doodling things I don’t plan to share, and making lots of messy mistakes — but nobody else needs to see those things! I’m creating purely for the joy of it. And the more fun I have, the more I can create. Deadlines and demands will return, but by then I’ll be able to face them with renewed energy and lots of fresh ideas!
Creative burnout is a hard thing to work through, but when handled with patience (and prayer!), it can result in new direction and inspiration. Just remember to breathe, take care of your body and mind, shift your perspectives, and give yourself time. If it’s something you truly care about doing, pausing to rest will only help you become better and more effective in the end!
Have you ever gone through a creative burnout? What else would you add to this list?