A Guide to Avoiding Creative Burnout

As content creators, designers, writers, marketers, artists, photographers, musicians, illustrators and every other type of creator existing in the era of CONTENT, CONTENT, CONTENT, it can get frustrating trying to create 24/7 for yourself and others.

Speaking from my personal experience, I find content creation “blocks” are more common with the rise of content marketing.

Our clients now understand the power of educating the consumer and providing valuable insight consistently. For us? This means we are on… ALL THE TIME. And then, add the pressure of instant gratification. It’s like brands are begging for the next big thing and it’s your job to bring that.

I’m sharing what I’ve found helpful to avoid frequent burnout and to get me out of a creative “block”. These tips are when you can’t afford a vacation or a missed deadline.

EXERCISE YOUR MIND, BODY AND SENSES

We all know exercising is good for you, and blah blah blah. Some of us aren’t ready to commit to exercising consistently, but, it helps to exercise your mind, body and senses. I enjoy completing a tough Sudoku puzzle, trying a new food and jogging in place. I’ve never tried doing all of these at once but hey, go for it.

TIP: Try one exercise each day that challenges your mind, body or senses.

THE GENERIC: WALK AWAY

You don’t have to go all “FTS” but, you should physically move away from the current project. A lot of us work in tight timelines so walking away can make you feel guilty. If time is short, walk away for 30 minutes instead of 2 hours. Take your mind towards something else.

TIP: Work on each project no longer than 2-3 hours per day.

REPURPOSE OLD CONTENT

You don’t have to create new content every time. For designers, templates can help. For photographers, using an old photo in a new way can help. For videographers, sharing bloopers and BTS from a finished project can be repurposed. This is my go-to method whenever I’m out of ideas and creative capacity.

TIP: Batch create all content whenever you are the most motivated. Add to a content bank. Use whenever you need “fillers”.

GET INSPIRED

This is the most infuriating advice I’ve ever gotten around creative blocks. I never understand why people believe you can just “get inspired” when you have tight deadlines and demanding clients. It actually works the opposite way. You have to search for inspiration. It rarely ever comes. I’m writing this here because I’ve cracked the code to finding inspiration in the times you need it the most.

TIP: Research projects in your field daily and add them to a Google drive titled “Motivation”. Crack the folder open whenever you find yourself in a block or burnout.