3 Things To Do When Facing Creative Burnout
Over the years I have discovered three strategies to jump start my creative juices and allow me to avoid burnout, or even the choice to…
I am a dreamer and a visionary, and my worldview is one filled with creative ideas and solutions. I dream in technicolor. Black and white doesn’t click well with my brain. The world is always half full, ready to be tackled with some creative insight. Sometimes that vision gets cloudy, full of gunk, and needs refocus. Like maintenance with an automobile, you need to do regular service along the way to avoid it being a costly and expensive fix later on down the road.
Over the years I have discovered three strategies to jump start my creative juices and allow one to avoid burnout, or even the choice to rise from the ashes if you’ve already gone over the cliff.
Media
Are you listening to podcasts throughout the week? I was skeptical when they were first recommended to me but I have come to enjoy these little moments of gold. On my playlist are fellow creatives throughout the industry in different roles. Those different voices speak into my creative juices. I tried to overwhelm my account with tons of different personalities but found that vetting them down to a handful of different types in each category I want to grow in is fine for me. They challenge me to always be growing and sharpening my creative skills. It's as simple as playing them as you are shaving in the morning or along your commute later on in the day. I keep little notes in my phone that stick with me as I’m listening to stew on afterwards.
A fantastic stream to dive into is also your classic books. You can find a plethora of knowledge in about every subject you can imagine, and even a couple that you cannot. Libraries around the country offer ebooks as well as Amazon Prime. The latter will let you check out ten different titles at once with no limit. You can fill your mind up and push yourself to learn new skills. Committing to growing in this way has been a fun challenge for myself. As the world keeps moving forward with ever-changing trends, fine-tuning your existing skills and learning new ones are always a must.
Journaling
I started doing this interesting take off of your classic journaling and highly recommend it. Dig out your favorite journal or buy a new one, sit down with no distractions for fifteen minutes. Journal through a situation you are at a dead end with with your non-dominant hand. It is in using the hand you don’t primarily use you will get flustered, angry, and just plain irritated. Hardly writing as much as I normally would do, I viewed it as a failure the first few times I did it. What I realized during this process was that I would use the creative side of my brain instead of the logic side. It was unlocking my brain to create new pathways in the uncomfortable process of writing. When I find myself stuck in a creative rut I will take a few minutes to write about it with this process. It’s intriguing that the juices will start flowing with this simple exercise.
I also highly recommend regular journaling as well. Recording your thoughts in the present is a good way to get your feelings recorded for two purposes later on. You will, first of all, be able to have a record of where you have come from to look down the road. Secondly you will help organize your thoughts more than you can just by having them bounce around in your head. Looking back at old journals is also a great way to encourage yourself when you get stuck in a rut to see similar times when you thought you were in the same place, but at least you can see the results afterward with these past entries. I’m not a huge writer and like to type as my primary journaling. Whatever method you like, I encourage you to get your mind written out. Get out of your mind.
Spontaneity
Remember those moments when you were a kid and you had no worries in the world? Well, except when you were going to go to recess and when was the next time you were going to play outside? It was a glorious time with no responsibilities. How do you capture some of the simpler times in this chaotic adult life? Simple. Be spontaneous. Often.
Every day I take a new route home. I never plan ahead what I’m going to do. It is important for me to use different parts of my mind. In taking different routes I have been able to learn the city I’m in fairly quickly. An easy way at being spontaneous that doesn’t take a lot of investment. You are already commuting, you just might find a couple new routes that are faster or you may find a new place to live or the most beautiful tree you would have never seen if you hadn’t taken the ‘road less traveled’.
Trying It All Together
Media, journaling, and spontaneity are all simple and easy ways to grow and sharpen your creative mind. In my most recent career I was responsible for a very creative program with aggressive deadlines. The requirement to be a top producer applied a lot of pressure. Many of these tips and tricks enable my mind to be able to keep up with the demand. My portfolio of accomplishments became vast and laser focused the longer I was in the role. While some may not jive well with your personality, I can vouch for these in my life. Take a risk today and give at least one a try. What’s the worst that can happen?