5 Steps to Overcoming Creative Burnout

Too much of a good thing isn’t a good thing—even with creativity. Creative burnout, whether you’re burning the candle at both ends with a creative career or a passion project, can lead to excessive stress, resentment, and fatigue. The biggest culprit to burnout? Overworking yourself. When you have too much on your plate, even if it’s something you love, increases your chance of draining out your creative spark.

What is creative burnout, really?

Creative burnout is reaching a state of complete exhaustion with your creativity. It can manifest into physical symptoms—like brain fog--to mental and emotional symptoms like procrastination and feelings of unworthiness. (Sounds like a blast, right?) Thankfully, creative burnout isn’t chronic and is easily treatable. Here’s everything you need to know:

7 symptoms of creative burnout

Burnout can take on multiple forms. If you’re experiencing a few of the following, you may have reached a state of creative burnout:

1. Procrastination

2. Brain fog

3. Self-doubt

4. Exhaustion

5. Frustration and irritability

6. Low creative energy

7. Headaches or stomach aches

5 ways to overcome creative burnout

The good news is that creative burnout is treatable with a little time and effort. The major takeaway is incorporating rest into your routine, whether it be physical, mental, emotional and/or spiritual. Here are a few simple ways to kick burnout to the curb:

1. Prevent it

   One of the best ways to overcome is to prevent creative burnout all together (annoying, right?). It’s frustrating, but it is true. It’s better to stay on top of taking breaks and overworking yourself than working backwards to set up boundaries.

2. Learn how to say no

   It’s okay to not be a “yes” person. Honestly, I advise against it. Saying “no” to something that drains or overworks you is liberating and provides more space for you to create better work. I heard this quote once that said, “If it’s not a hell yes, it’s a hell no” and I’m sticking by that as my life mantra (and you should, too).

   Obviously, there are times where you have to say yes even if you don’t want to, like at work or for a client, and in those instances, I recommend making a priority list and crossing off the things of most importance first and communicating them to your manager or clients.

3. Take breaks

   Let’s be real: the work will still be there in a couple of hours or days. Take the time to slow down and gain mental clarity by taking a short 10-minute break. Or try the pomodoro technique—where you work in 25-minute intervals with 5-minute breaks. The pomodoro technique has saved me more times that I can count for long creative projects that seem impossible to finish.

4. Get inspired

   Sometimes the best thing you can do during creative burnout is to put down your work and turn to others for inspiration. Scroll through Pinterest, consume your favorite creative’s content, or pick a book. Besides looking to other creatives for inspiration, you could try heading to your “source” of creativity—like a long drive or a hike in nature.

5. Take a step back

   Don’t forget to give yourself some grace. Taking a step away from your work doesn’t mean you’re failing or you’re not a creative—every creative has been there (and if they say they haven’t they’re lying). Sometimes all you need to solve creative burnout is to allow the mental space for new ideas to flow to you.

Find more tips on my creative burnout podcast episode with Mattea LinAe, advertising agency co-founder and photographer. Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts!