If there is one feeling I really hate as a writer, it’s when I reach the point of burnout, where the words won’t come, and that sense of creativity has disappeared, leaving me wondering whether I’m ever going to be able to write again. Thankfully, this doesn’t happen all that often. Usually I feel a great sense of excitement whenever I sit down to write. I’m eager to put words the page, and have a thousand and one ideas bubbling away in my head. My biggest problem is finding enough time to get them all down on paper. Even when I’m spending long periods of time editing, which is the most labour intensive and exhausting part of the process for me, I have fun playing with the pieces and choosing just the right words to convey what I’m trying to say. I can usually work for months editing and re-editing the same book until it’s just perfect and not feel the pinch of burnout. Which is probably why it’s so devastating when I do finally reach that point.
I think every writer has their own strategies for dealing with creative burnout. Certainly there’s a lot of advice out there for how to deal with burnout. Some of the most common suggestions for refuelling your creative energy is to get more sleep, or to take a step away and consume books and movies from other people for a while and refill your creative banks. They’re great suggestions, and I tend to do a lot of these things in general, and especially when I’m starting to feel the pinch of creative exhaustion. But I’ve also been finding recently, as I recharge after the marathon that was Camp NaNoWriMo, that I’m finding inspiration for my writing life in some surprising places too.
I’m not reading a lot of fiction at the moment. I’m at the point right now where investing in someone else’s high stakes adventures really doesn’t appeal to me all that much. Instead, I’m filling up on a lot of non-fiction. I’m reading books on being a creative person, or being more effective when working. I’m absorbing all sorts of new ideas for how to structure my day better, how to create better habits, and how to declutter my digital life. There’s a lot of Cal Newport and Todd Henry on my reading list at the moment. I highly recommend their books if you’re interested in picking up some new tips that will challenge and inspire you to make some changes in your life. Certainly, these books are giving me some great ideas and motivation to get back to work and try out some of their advice. It gets me excited to sit down and write.
I’m also trying to get outside more. I tend to spend more time than I should sitting at my desk every day. It doesn’t even face the window, so I don’t have the consolation of looking at the outside through the glass every now and then. It takes a lot of effort to stop what I’m doing and go outside for a while, though having a dog that would go on eight walks a day if she could convince anyone to take her is certainly good motivation. But it’s worthwhile going out for a while, walking through the bush, getting some sun and fresh air, and just leaving everything behind for a while. I can listen to a podcast and use that time for self improvement, or I can listen to some music and enjoy some good songs, or I can just want in silence and relax for a while. I always come back feeling much more refreshed and ready to tackle the task at hand with a clear mind.
Another thing I’m doing is creating in new ways. Instead of writing, I’m knitting blanket patches. Or I’m playing around with blog posts in different ways from my usual lists and pieces of advice. I’m exploring new hobbies and stepping away from my technology a bit more. Letting myself play around with different forms of creating gives my brain new challenges to tackle, while it rests from all the writing and story building that I usually make it do. It’s an active kind of rest. I don’t like to end a day without achieving something, or challenging myself in some way. That to me feels like a bit of a waste. But if I’ve given myself some different challenges, like knitting a blanket patch, or laying out the groundwork for a new blog post, or planning a new daily routine for myself, those refresh me, and keep my brain active and happy.
I’m never happier than when I have something to work on, and burnout is so frustrating because it leaves me unable to work on the things that matter most to me. But I’m also finding it interesting to see what sort of things are refilling my creative well this time around. I’m not just reading fiction. I’m not just watching movies. I’m alway trying to sleep better in general. What’s helping me most at the moment is not immersing myself in books and stories more. It’s branching, giving myself new ways to be creative, filling my brain with different ideas, breaking out into a different routine. It’s been surprisingly effective in inspiring and motivating me, and making me excited to return to writing and creating in my favourite ways once again.
Photo by Christopher Sardegna on Unsplash
