There's No Avoiding Burnout. Focus on Overcoming it.

Author: Kelsey Philie

We’ve all been there. You sit down at your computer, you have your marching orders, and the deadline is coming up. But then, you sit down to work and …. nothing. The creative well is dry. It’s a terrifying feeling. You start to doubt everything.

It’s textbook burnout – and it happens to all of us, creatives and strategists alike. And since no one wants to start the year off in a rut, here’s how I – and our team of veteran creatives at FLEX Partners – get past it:

1. Check in with yourself. Are you exhausted? Sleep deprived? Hungry? When was the last time you saw the sun?
2. Step away from the computer and move around, ideally outside. It’s normal to feel guilty about doing this, but do it anyway. Movement shakes the mind loose. Go think about it over a run, or better yet, don’t think about it at all and just run.
3. Be ready for fleeting moments of clarity. Have a small notebook and pen handy or record a voice memo on your phone when inspiration strikes. Odds are it will happen at 3am. Write it down.
4. Change your environment. Even if it’s moving your laptop from one room to another. Or heck, from one end of the kitchen table to the other.
5. Listen to your self-talk. Most people say to quiet your inner critic, but not so fast – clock what it’s saying before you send it away. It could illuminate the root cause of your burnout. For example:

I hate this screen = You are working too many hours. Is this temporary, or have you created a lifestyle out of saying yes to too many things? Be honest.

This treadmill is moving too fast = It’s time to level set with clients (and yourself) on realistic turnaround times. You haven’t lost your touch, but you have lost the thread with the space-time continuum.

Nope, delete, this isn’t good enough = Creatives are perfectionists, and you are getting crushed under the weight of your own expectations. Give yourself permission to write the worst first draft in the world, and to viscerally hate every word of it. And then, once it’s on paper, go for a long walk or take a nap, and come back and improve it with fresh eyes.

The root cause of creative burnout is almost always a solvable problem – and for some reason, if you can identify it and commit to addressing it after the work is done, this all becomes so much less existential.

When all else fails, accept 80%.

Humans are usually our own worst critics. Odds are, in the creative domain, your 80% is not qualitatively different than 100%. That’s why people pay you to deliver this work.

Unlike hobbyists, professional creatives can’t take sabbaticals to eat, pray, and rekindle our love for work. But there are physical routines and mindful frameworks we can use to both rally during crunch time and prevent burnout from happening again.

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