Navigating Burnout: What’s Next
If you saw our last blog post, you know I’ve been experiencing creative burnout these past few weeks. It’s a common feeling many of us face, regardless of our field. whenever I try to find resources about burnout, I can only find generic ‘here are 3 of the most generic steps to get through burnout’ that I gain literally nothing out of reading.
I wanted to share my journey and how I’m dealing with it from an authentic perspective.
Hit Pause: The Power of Small Breaks
The first thing I could’ve done differently is take a small break when I felt the fatigue coming. Like many other business owners, I struggle with knowing when and how to take effective breaks. Usually, I only take a break when I'm exhausted. However, Running like the Energizer Bunny until your out of fumes isn’t good for anyone. So, when you’re starting to feel stumped or slightly unmotivated, taking a small break can be highly beneficial—even if that break means taking it easy for the rest of the day and picking back up tomorrow.
Peeling Back the Layers: Discovering the Root Cause
I also took some time to think about the root of the problem. I realized, as I mentioned before, that we were unintentionally surrounding our business with things that didn’t align with us. This is why brand alignment is so important. When it’s missing, the wrong people and things get mixed in with your brand, which made me question my worth.
It’s hard for a small, growing brand to set strict boundaries because you tend to think all business is good business, but that’s simply not the case. I took a step back, sat down with Jon, and realized we needed to shift our brand messaging. We’re not as ‘one size fits all’ as we originally thought.
Social Media Shuffle: Adjusting Our Strategy
In the last blog post, I mentioned that our social media posting schedule was thrown off amid this burnout. As a social media manager, that’s truly painful, lol. You’d think it’d be easy to spend an hour or two putting together some posts, but it doesn’t always work out that way. When you’re not feeling creative or inspired, and are overall exhausted in a creative industry, it can prolong those tasks. I had to conserve as much creative energy as possible for clients and ongoing projects. Plus, this isn’t our only job. If I’m unable to complete tasks for our marketing business on the day I’ve dedicated to it, those tasks might take a couple of days to get done because I have to attend to my other job too. These factors can really cause delays.
In the meantime, while quality posts may be less frequent, I’ve made sure to stay as active as possible on stories. It’s a great alternative way to show up. Sure, analytics may take a minor hit, but if it’s for your mental health, a month or two of lower numbers is worth it. Don’t be afraid to be a little more gentle and kind with yourself. I promise people likely don’t even notice you’re not as active. And if they do, that might be more their issue, hahaha.
Reigniting the Spark: Finding Inspiration Again
To help regain some inspiration and get my creative juices flowing again, I took on a design project for my friend. We’re hairstylists, and she loved the pinned posts I designed for my hair brand, so I asked if she wanted some of her own. I created a mini brand kit for her, shot some updated content,
This project helped me regain inspiration by working for an ideal brand and client. I love being able to help my friends with what I can do, so this was perfect. I’ll likely share more about her project soon!
Final Thoughts: Listening to Your Inner Voice
To sum it up, be aware of your feelings and listen to them. Taking a small break to prevent a huge, unexpected one from pure exhaustion will help you so much. It’s okay to feel spent and need a minute to gather yourself. Our email and DMs are always open if you ever need to share or have any questions.