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It would be nice to think that a creative person can create effortlessly and perpetually, but it is really not the case.
Creative Burnout is a completely normal part of the creative process.
If you have ever found yourself completely out of juice you are not alone. I have 3 tips to help you overcome your inevitable bouts of creative burnout and get you back to joyful creating in no time!
What is Creative Burnout?
Creative Burnout is that mental exhaustion that saps all your ideas and motivation. I have found that the most common time for creative burnout to occur is at the end of a big creative project.
Interestingly, I find that the feeling is pretty much the same whether you are consuming someone else’s great big creative project or get towards the end of your own big hairy creative endeavour.
I’m sure you know what I mean - like when you just finish bingewatching a great tv series, or read the gripping conclusion to a novel you have loved. There is a type of withdrawal that you get when it is done. A sort of sad relief, and a feeling of loss and perhaps even a touch of fatigue.
So it is no surprise that when you complete a large creative project of your own you feel a little done in.
(And of course there is no rule to say that this only happens at the end of the creative project. It is always possible that you can expend all your creative energy well before it is over!)
My most recent recollection of this was at the end of a month long challenge called World Watercolour Month.
(This post will show you the fruits of my World Watercolour Month Labours!)
I made a watercolour painting every day of the month and recorded a video of the process which I then edited and published on my then brand new YouTube channel. A few months after that many of my art friends participated in Inktober, another daily art challenge.
These projects can be enormous fun (although not always as this post explains) and really give you a chance to produce prolifically and really see what you are capable of when pressed. Then when it is over, it is often the case that all of a sudden you are incapable of producing anything at all.
It’s normal I tell you, very normal.
A big creative project is like a roller coaster ride of creative outpouring. Just like when you consume other people’s works of art, there is an emotional investment too. The reason we find ourselves gripped by other people’s stories is that we go on that journey with the hero or heroine. When you are the one creating - that’s actually you!
There is a natural momentum to the creative process. Like the ebb and flow of the tide, or the way night must follow day, prolific creation cannot continue perpetually. A great flurry of creative activity is like an exhale. Perfectly natural then, that what follows is an inhale.
Since this phase of the creative process is so inevitable, it’s helpful to have a few strategies up your sleeve when the time comes.
3 tips for overcome your creative burnout
1.Embrace the lull
If this is a post project lull, you earned it - give yourself a chance to step back and chill out for a bit. If you just happen to be stuck, make peace with that too. It is your inner wisdom telling you that you are in the inspiration gathering phase. Nothing is to be gained by beating up on yourself for not being creatively productive right now. Far more is actually achieved by taking a nap.
Reboot, don’t rebuke.
As frustrating as a creative block like this can be, I think it has a few gifts to offer. It is a chance to look back and see what you have already achieved. Respectfully acknowledge your accomplishments. It is important to mention here, that the ‘quality’ of your creative output is an entirely subjective thing. Your achievement is to have bravely engaged in the creative process - the actual output is irrelevant in this regard.
You have earned the right to rest, recharge, regenerate and refuel.
More on that in tip 3.
2. Change it up
Sometimes you need a bit of a change.
Only you can tell what will work best in your particular situation. It may be a change of scenery. Go for a little holiday - or just a walk. Do some exercise, socialise. Whatever feels like a refreshing change to you.
Of course if you wont or cant step away from your creative work, then you need a way to give yourself that refreshing change within the bounds of your usual creative activities. Turn your attention to play and experimentation. It is a welcome relief from a focus on production.
For me, this can mean digging out an art supply I haven’t used for a while.
After World Watercolour Month, I needed to keep painting and I do love watercolour. But I remembered a form of powdered watercolour that I haven’t used for a while called Brusho.
(This post will tell you more about Brusho and how to use it, and this post shows you a Brusho painting project.)
3.Return to source
In this resting phase it is a good idea to return to your own original sources of inspiration.
What made you want to pick up a brush in the first instance?
Some of my best inspiration are the books from my favourite artists. Just a few moments flicking through the pages of Jean Haines’ World of Watercolour (affiliate link) had me remembering exactly what delights me about loose watercolour and gave me a few ideas of things I want to try.
One of the most sapping things about creative burnout is that lack of motivation. It feels a bit like depression to me. The thing that is missing is the passion. Passion is the fuel that drives us an it is by reconnecting with your passion for your creative work that you will find the spark of energy to create again.
Finding yourself in creative burnout may not be the most comfortable experience.
But it is the perfect chance to begin again. It’s like a do- over, but you get to keep the skills you acquired since the first time you got inspired.
So maybe… just maybe…. Creative burnout is not such a bad thing after all?
Are you on your own painting journey?
One of these might be useful…
Keep on reading…
