Creative Burnout- What is it? and how do I bounce back from it?

What is Creative burnout?

Creative burnout can be defined as a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion around creative work.

Creative burnout comes in many forms. It hits when you least expect it. I wasn’t even aware it was happening to me this past summer. My life has a taken many twists and turns lately. My youngest left for college, then 2 weeks later my oldest got a job in Florida, and he moved out. I knew this day was coming but I wasn’t prepared for these changes and their effect on my art practice.

I have many facets to my art business. I paint watercolor art for gallery shows and licensing collections, I design and sell art prints, calendars, and note cards, and I teach watercolor classes to both individuals and groups. Juggling it all along with being a single parent of 2 kids adds more layers of complexity.

In August I found myself avoiding my studio. I love my studio and couldn’t figure out what was going on. Once I returned from dropping my daughter at U Miami in mid August, I knew something was happening. I was procrastinating, avoiding my art, doubting my creativity and worth. It was then that I realized, I was burned out. Exhausted, emotionally, physically and creatively. Now what? How do I deal with this ?

This is why I wanted to write this Blog post to share with you some tools and tactics I adopted to help me cope.

I had planned a road trip in October to go visit my brother in Florida. I thought this would be a chance to figure out what I want to do with my life! As well as spend time with big brother, he lost his wife to cancer last year, and I wanted to spend time with him as he adjusts to his new reality. I thought it could be a chance to paint and reset my creativity. Most of all, I wanted a change of scenery, my house was way too quiet now.

I packed up my dog April, my golf clubs, some clothes, art supplies, and snacks for a road trip, and off I went on October 1st. I was excited and scared all at once. It’s about 21 hours of driving to reach the Florida panhandle from my house. I broke the trip into 3 days of driving with lots of stops to walk April along the way.

It was so liberating. I loved the feel of escaping and just driving! As I made my way into the countryside of Virginia, the rolling farmland was soothing and inspiring. I was filling up my creative resources. I stopped to take pictures when I could, but safe driving had to be my priority!

On day three, exhausted but excited, I arrived at my brothers house. We immediately walked the dogs down to the beach and a sense of relief spread over me. First of all because the drive was over, and secondly, I felt myself relax and soak in the beauty of the Gulf Coast.

One of the thoughts going through my head was that I had to paint everyday, and figure out what I wanted to do with my future! After numerous beach walks and yoga sessions with Rob, I realized that I didn’t have to make any big decisions. That I just needed to be….be present, be myself and the rest would follow.

So I only painted when I felt like it, I organized my art files on Airtable, spent time on client work. Mostly just spent time on me. I’ve spent most of my life taking care of everyone else and not myself. I realized because of this, my creativity was suffering.

I started playing, sketching and painting in my little sketchbooks again and that really helped jump start my creativity. I was sketching sea creatures for a new collaboration. I played with mixing pen and ink and watercolor. It was so fun…

I brought along several unfinished paintings and found it was less pressure to finish one of those rather than the overwhelming feeling of starting something new.

I have never taken off for such a long period of time but once I settled in and relaxed, I found what I needed. A creative reset. I dreamed about new collections and made notes. I dreamed of teaching classes in Florida, and I am making plans to do just that. I dreamed of moving down to Florida to be near my brother, we shall see about that.

I let my mind explore so much more than when I’m home. I walked daily with my brother and our dogs, I felt like a kid again. We reminisced, we laughed, we cried, we played golf, practiced yoga, drank smoothies, drank wine, we cooked, and we just embraced each day.

Coming home was bittersweet but my brain was full of new ideas. My heart was full of sweet memories and my clients and bank account needed me back in my studio!

When you are facing burnout, I have some tools to help you find your way back to creativity. These practices helped me to bounce back from my creative burnout-

* I find that escaping from my everyday surroundings helped me to reset my creativity and find inspiration. Even a simple ride to explore helps!

*taking time to play with my art supplies or take a class and learn some new technique helped me face burnout. Skillshare is a great place to do that!

*Taking the pressure off myself helps me too. For example if I’m not in a creative mindset, then I do some office related tasks instead, (or do laundry or the dishes!)

*Taking daily walks really helps me stay happy, healthy and it fuels my creativity. Many of my collections ideas come when I’m out walking!

*taking photos with my iPhone helps me see the beauty in my everyday life and provides great reference to draw and paint from in the future when ideas are stagnant.

*I write in a Gratitude journal most mornings, it helps set me on the right path for the day.

I hope some of the stories I’ve shared can help you when you face creative burnout. Perhaps you can adopt a new daily habit to help you stay on track. Thanks for reading and following my creative journey.

If you have questions or comments let me know!

I’m always available drop me a note melissa@melissahyatt.com