TacoTalks

Let’s talk about burning out and creativity

I’ve been thinking a lot about burning out lately, mostly because I’m going through a stressful period at work and it’s making me conscious about how I’m physically and mentally handling it (answer: not as good as I could). As I’ve gotten busier at work and have had less time and energy outside of work hours, I’ve had to really choose what to do. Things that used to be “and” activities (i.e. blogging AND instagram) quickly became “or” activities (blogging OR instagram).

For the most part, I’m okay with this. Thanks to listening to my resistance/levels of burnout, I’ve streamlined my social media presence to basically this blog and I’m really enjoying blogging and visiting other people’s blogs as well.

But sometimes, work is still a bit too much. I’ll come back with my energy drained and… then what?

Burnout is a state of mental and physical exhaustion. I think many of us have experienced some form of it (perhaps to differing intensities) and I’ve definitely seen one or two people talk about blogger burnout. The temptation for me, when I’m getting burnt out, is to cut down as many things as possible (even things that are good for me, like exercising) in order to conserve energy. But that reminded me of something that I heard when I came back from Japan and was mildly depressed and undergoing counselling:

We have to be careful about self-fulfilling prophecies.

In this scenario, the thinking that we don’t have the energy to blog or read or do other things that refills our creative wells leads us to, in the long run, neglect our creative pursuits altogether.

Perhaps you stopped blogging for a week, and then two, and then your backlog was so big that you didn’t ever want to come back to blogging because there was so much work to do.

Perhaps you didn’t feel like you could handle revising the first draft of your novel, so you put it aside. And you put it aside. And then you realised you’ve completely forgotten the story and how to even revise a novel.

Perhaps you have 123456 thousand videos in your phone, waiting for you to put them together for a youtube video.

Sometimes, “taking a break” can be bad for our creative selves because what we need to do is to fill our creative wells… or as a friend put it: “I need to do this [creative work] for my sanity.”

Of course, I’m not advocating for pushing through. Sometimes, what we think our “creative work” is has become a duty because our interests have changed. If we force ourselves to continue our “hobbies that feel like work”, it’s not going to refresh us. Sometimes, we do need to take a break to see what we want to do next. But I’m still going to advocate that you do something that excites you next, rather than withdrawing and possibly prolonging your slump.

Tell me, how do you deal with burnout/higher levels of stress? Do you focus everything on one hobby, or do you just veg out until you’re ready to face the world?

17 thoughts on “Let’s talk about burning out and creativity

  1. I’m so sorry to read that, Eustacia. But I’m very happy that you don’t mind sharing your story. Because it’s by being open about it and talking about it, that you might hopefully find what you need to feel better.

    My creative pursuits definitely cost me a lot of energy. I know that. And that can definitely feel a bit too much at times when I’m already absolutely exhausted from work. But I also get so much from it in return. It makes me feel happy and satisfied. So I don’t want to give up on that. Though I do occasionally feel the need to take a very little break. Like taking a whole Saturday off. So I can hopefully come back to it on Sunday with renewed energy and passion.

    The only real advice I can give you is: when you feel like your batteries are running low, do whatever it is you need to do to recharge them. Whether it’s spending a whole day just watching Netflix, or hiking through a forest all day, or spending a whole day drinking tea with someone you love. It doesn’t matter what it is. Just do what makes you feel happy. And take your time. Rome wasn’t built in a day either.

    1. Hi Thibault, I did wonder if I should be sharing but I felt it was important just in case others thought the same way.

      Thank you for the advice and encouragement. I agree that sometimes we need a break – as long as we come back to the creative work after.

      All the best to your endeavours as well!

  2. I love this post! I definitely had my hiatus moment after every major event or spiel, like 2mths MIA after Yaji. 休息是为了走更长的路。 but also I will wake up at 12midnight after falling asleep with cc at 10, to continue my own creative pursuit or enrichment for the later part of the night. We need it for our sanity as long as it is sustainable (I.e. rest a while then chiong then rest..) lol

    1. You are already a superwoman to do so much with cc and a full time job!! But yeah, the chiong/rest life chose us hahaha if we wanna do all the Hanfu Girl events + our own hobbies really just need to chiong when we have the energy

  3. I’m sorry work has been stressful. I dealt with a similar circumstance in 2021 and 2022, so I understand how it feels. I also agree that taking a break from creative things sometimes doesn’t lead to best results. The scenarios you listed there, especially the first two, happened to me. Yet sometimes a break from everything is warranted if you’re super stressed out. I did so on and off last year and the year before because the stress and busyness led to bouts of reading and blogging slumps too.

    1. Hahaha that’s what I get for upskilling myself at work! But yes, I don’t think breaks are bad, I just think we have to be careful how we take breaks because it’s so easy to get into an extended reading/blogging slump and the purpose of the break ends up getting lost (if that makes sense).

      1. Lol it’s funny, but I had a similar thought over the past two years. I was like, “That’s what I get for ‘leaning in.'” 😄 The extra work came with some nice benefits, but sometimes I wished I hadn’t bother to step up like that.

  4. I’m sorry to hear work has been stressful and it’s everything hard in life. I don’t take long breaks unless I’m sick or on the vacation but yes even those breaks makes it hard to come back. I’m not a schedule post person so that is another obstacle with breaks for me. But one thing I don’t stop doing is reading and that ultimately gives something to post on the blog sooner or later. If I don’t feel like writing post, I don’t post for few days but then I force myself to write short post and that eventually makes me write more to normal length post.

    For those who are feeling burnout I would say you don’t have to write long posts or publish them everyday. Make it alternate day posting or twice a week or at least once a week post. It gives enough time to recover the slump and have enough break to focus on other required areas of life. My mantra is “don’t get buried in it but at the same time don’t leave it.”

    1. Thank you for the kind words, and I love your mantra to find the balance! I agree that perhaps taking a step back may be better than stopping completely! Thanks for sharing your strategies, I’ll keep them in mind if things feel too overwhelming!

  5. It’s all a matter of priorities and eliminating what is non-essential or rewarding is a start. For example, when writing posts, ask yourself if you are doing this for yourself or for your readers? Who is actually reading this? Will it matter, in the long run, if I continue writing these posts? If you get joy from writing, then go right ahead. But, if it is becoming a chore, then determine which posts are “necessary” and which are not. As I get older, I realize I have less and less time to accomplish what I’ve set out to do. And yet, I still feel compelled to take time to just sit outside, listen to the birds, drink a cup of tea and think. Maybe that is not the most efficient, but, that depends on how one defines efficiency, especially if “thinking time” gives me ideas/material for writing, telling stories or reminiscing as I try to make sense of the world and my life in it.

    1. Hi Warren, thanks for sharing! I like the point on redefining efficiency – so often I measure myself against others, even though we may have very different goals or purposes for blogging (which makes comparisons kind of silly, come to think of it).

      You’re right, I’ve been trying to focus on doing things that bring me joy (which is how I cut out IG). So far, the writing for this blog has been a pleasure but if it ever changes, I hope I will catch myself and be able to tweak the content to something I want to do!

      I hope you’re doing well!

  6. When it comes to creativity and staying productive vs burnout. I like to mix up environment and medium. For instance if I’ve been doing a lot or reading, I’ll move to a different spot, maybe taking in nature, or switch up the type of thing I’m reading (switch genre.) When it comes to writing, the same thing applies. I’ll find a different place to write – coffee shop, library, beach, park, in a rowboat on a pond, cuddling with my dogs in bed. And if the content isn’t coming, I’ll switch projects momentarily then return with fresh eyes. When it comes to visual arts, I change up things that require different motor skills so I’m either not in the same physical position, or doing repetitive motions. And if all else fails in my creative endeavours and the wellspring has truly dried up, I switch into planning mode and structure stories, research ways to market online, design book covers, critically view other works for editing tips (either written or video editing.) Or I’ll start forward planning by months seeing how much progress I can make if I stick to the schedule and that gets me fired up. I think a balance between inspiration, variety, and planning ensures that I never burn out. You’re always doing something productive. You just have to be flexible.

    On a side note: I’ve tried refreshing you page so many times but the ‘like’ button won’t load so I can’t click to show my appreciation for you post. I hope this comment will do 🙂

    1. Hi, thanks so much for the thoughtful comment! The tip on mixing up both environment and medium is a good one – I think I tend to switch activities but I rarely switch physical locations!

      But I definitely don’t plan much, so that’s something that I should keep in mind.

      Sorry about the like button! It’s a known bug but I haven’t figured out the solution – I’ve basically got two plugins clashing at the same time ):

  7. I’m sorry you are feeling burned out! I often am, too. I find that my job requires high levels of creativity and on-the-fly problem solving, so by the time I leave, my brain doesn’t want to continue to be creative blogging and writing. I think there must be some way to find a balance, so I can have personal creative pursuits, too. But, for not, I just try to listen to my brain and do something that probably needs to be done, but doesn’t require too much intellectual effort on my part–maybe something like getting out in nature and weeding, or baking something simple. Something that will make me feel good and like I still accomplished something, even if what I really wanted to accomplish was initially something else.

    1. Thanks for the kind words! And baking is a wonderful activity for de-stressing, I wish I had more time to do it! Definitely agree that we have to listen to our brains on when to rest (:

  8. I dislike that your like button is broken because I would have pressed it immediately. The idea that being creative and passionate gives energy as well as draining it is one that I don’t think gets talked about nearly enough. Yes, sometimes you get overdrawn and the cycle breaks, but when it’s going it’s a shield against burnout in its own right.

    Part of why I blog is it’s a very easy way for me to feel creative and engaged with people. Not every creative activity is suitable for when you’re feeling stressed, so it’s good to have ones that do work. I just wish I was one of those people whom can channel all their frustrations into novels!

    I also think it’s wise to have a couple for when things seem a bit samey. Still working on that.

    And I hope your work situation gets better.

    1. I wish I was a bit more tech-savvy so I could find a solution! I keep trying different things but it’s not working as well as I hope – perhaps I’ll disable one of the plugins eventually.

      But yes, I blog because it engages me with others and I feel like I’m creating something I want to remember. I used to be able to channel my energy into novels (back in my student days) but somehow that has left me right now!

      If I ever have an extended break, I would like to try different things to see what other creative endeavours I could turn to as alternatives resets/protection against burnout.

What do you think?