Throw Me a Lifeline: The First 5 First Steps From Burnout as a Creative
Burnout isn’t just “the worst.”
(It can repeat itself if we’re not careful.)
As the seasons of our lives change, the world around us changes too. We change as people. What we used to prioritize may not matter to us anymore.
Change is the natural way we grow.
But change also leaves us vulnerable to stress. Sometimes the stresses of our lives build up over time. When there’s no release, we eventually burn out.
Back in Spring 2017, I burned out—hard.
• I felt lost
• I didn’t know where to turn
• I didn’t see how out of balance my life was
• I didn’t understand how to get out of burnout
Since then, I’ve turned my life around in healthy, profound ways.
But every now and again, burnout tries to make its way back into my life.
Recently, I felt it creeping back.
The Return of Burnout
I’ve been working on a large project at work.
It’s a complex, engaging, and meaningful project.
But it’s also stressful.
This past week, I saw the red flags of burnout once more.
I felt like a shadow of myself.
I was exhausted.
I was worn out.
The stress manifested as a dull, weighty cloud behind my eyes. It wasn’t a headache so much as a feeling of numbness. I didn’t have the same “pep” in my step.
For better or worse, I knew what was happening.
I was on the precipice of burnout.
I immediately made course corrections to get myself far away from burnout’s clutches.
So I asked myself, “What would I do if I ever burned out again?”
The First 5 Steps I’d Take From Burnout
For me, there are five steps anyone can use to turn their creative lives around again from burnout.
Step 1 - Admit
Step 2 - Record
Step 3 - Reduce
Step 4 - Plan
Step 5 - Build
Let’s dive into each one.
Step 1 - Admit
It may be the most difficult step of all. In order to beat back burnout, we have to admit that we are either on the path to burnout or already burned out.
This is only difficult because of ego.
We don’t want to admit that we’re failing.
So we cover up the failure with excuses and tell ourselves little, white lies to hide the truth. Admitting we’re burned out allows us to take a moment and stop the bleeding.
If we don’t acknowledge the burnout, we’ll continue the cycle and fall deeper.
Step 2 - Record
The next step is to sit down and write out all of the stressors in your life right now.
Ask yourself a simple question, “What is stressing me out right now?”
Whatever comes to mind, write it down. It doesn’t matter how big or how small the issue is. If you’re thinking about it, you need to bring it out into the open.
Your mind is trying to help you uncover the mystery of your burnout for you. All you have to do is listen.
Step 3 - Reduce
Now that you can see how your life is stressing you out, you need to identify the pieces you can remove (temporarily or permanently) from your life.
You need space to recover from burnout.
That’s because overwhelm is likely one of the key reasons you burned out in the first place. More room to breathe means more space to rebuild later. Say “No” to any and all new opportunities for the time being.
You need to focus on your mental health.
Nothing else matters.
Pare back your life to the most minimalist version possible so you can rebuild it into something stronger.
Step 4 - Plan
You’ve admitted your burnout. You’ve identified the sources of your stress. You’ve removed as many obstacles as you can.
Now you can plan how you’d like to rebuild your life.
Designing a sustainable and healthy creative life starts with identifying the priority areas you hold most dear.
Work/Life balance as a binary separation of the two isn’t real. Your life is more dynamic than that.
Common areas that represent the whole of your creative life include:
Family
Health
Love
Fun
Career
Learning
Friends
Hobbies
Of these areas, what’s most important to you? More specifically, what’s most important to you at this moment in your life?
Once you have an answer, think about how you’d like to do more in that area. What pieces of your life have to get smaller so you can make room for that priority?
• Are you focused on building up your career?
• Are you focused on time with your family?
• Are you focused on a new hobby like running?
In general, there’s no wrong answer.
But there are wrong answers for you at this moment in your life.
Step 5 - Build
Once you find your “north star” area of your life you want to focus on, start slowly bringing more of that into your life.
Be cautious of new opportunities. But allow yourself to explore and enjoy life. If you go too fast, you’ll find yourself right back at burnout.
This is especially true because right now you’re trying to get away from it. Burnout has you at your most vulnerable place.
Build slowly and build strong.
Final Thoughts
Burnout can happen to anyone, at any time, repeatedly.
Once you go through burnout though, you start to see the patterns.
There are some simple steps to get you out of the cycle and back into the life you want to build for yourself. It’s just a matter of recognizing the path to burnout and saying, “No. This is my life. I’ll choose a better path.”
If you find yourself burning out, take a moment to admit it’s happening and accept that you can change it.
Because you certainly can.
TL;DR
Burnout is the result of repeated or continuous stress
Burnout can happen multiple times in your life
5 Steps to Get Out of Burnout
Step 1 - Admit
Step 2 - Record
Step 3 - Reduce
Step 4 - Plan
Step 5 - Build
Quote of the Week
Motivation for the days ahead of you.
“If you don’t want to burn out, stop living like you’re on fire.”
— An Anonymous Priest (retold by Brene Brown)
That's all for now.
Stay creative, my friends—and have a great week!
