How to Overcome Creative Burnout

From Writerslife.org:

Expressing your creativity is one of the best things about being a writer. However, there is always that worry at the back of our minds that one day the ideas might run out. This could happen when you are halfway through a book or when you are trying to come up with your next new idea.

While some people may be more naturally creative than others, creativity still requires time, effort, focus and energy. Even the most creative people could suffer from ‘creative burnout’ at some point, and if this does happen to you, it can be very troubling indeed.

So what exactly is creative burnout? Feeling uninspired, being unable to come up with new ideas, feeling demotivated, procrastinating, feeling emotionally blocked, feeling unable to write, a lack of self-belief, writer's block and wanting to give up on your writing are all indicative of creative burnout and can be very damaging to your writing career.

So how do you minimise and manage instances of creative burnout, to ensure they pass quickly, or, even better, don’t occur at all?

Here are some things you can try:

Practice positive habits

Positive habits can help free up your mind, refresh and refocus. These can be positive habits around your writing, but also in your day to day life. Some people find that going for a run, a walk in the countryside, baking a cake, painting a picture, meditating, socialising with your favourite people, reading a great book and so on can help to inspire them. In short, focus on what makes you feel creative, free and motivated and make these the habits that you fit into your daily routine.

Allow yourself to take a break

Often when we have bouts of creative burnout, we can immediately start to beat ourselves up about it, which just leads to a vicious cycle of self-loathing and feeling even more demotivated. Instead, just be at peace with doing nothing, step back from projects and give yourself a break. It may well be that you have simply overworked yourself and need a break to be able to get back to it once more.

Talk to others

Don’t bottle up the way you are feeling, talk to other people around you, fellow writers will be able to give you advice and sympathy, and friends and family will lend you their ears and be supportive. Sometimes just talking about how you feel can lift your spirits and help you feel unburdened, lighter and more able to focus.

Get to the cause of the problem

Understanding why this is happening to you will help you tackle the cause of the problem and therefore fix it all the sooner. Often there is something quite specific, however subconscious, that has made us feel this way and is blocking our path to creativity. Figure out what it is and then devise a strategy to help overcome these obstacles and get back to work once more!

Believe it will pass

Feeling uncreative and uninspired can be frightening for anyone who works in a creative role. However, there is no need to panic if this happens to you. Just take a deep breath and follow the above tips. Hopefully, by doing so, you’ll be back to your fabulous creative self in no time!

 

I have been taking a  break from writing my stories, but just last night began looking over what I had last written on my memoir. Just yesterday at my psychiatrist appointment he asked me if I was still writing my memoir and I confessed I hadn't been working on it as of late. But I have been telling tapers I intend to get back on it soon. So last night I began reading over the manuscript until I got too sleepy! Just to get a fresh perspective. I'm not sure just yet what I need or even want to redo. I began thinking last night that I think I have said most of what I wanted to say. But then again, I may have something else I just want to add. This is how the process goes.