Burnout means you’ve pushed your creative energy beyond the point of recovery. Like a well of water, creative energy replenishes itself slowly over time. A person who has pushed their creative well too hard for too long will, like its watery counterpart, one day find it empty. They’ve pushed too far. Usually by the time you notice something is seriously wrong, there’s very little left to work with. Burnout then is something, once experienced, a wise person learns how to avoid and manage (which we’ll talk about later). But right now, lets cover some of the common signs that you’ve become toasty:
- You dread getting up in the morning (unless this is not unusual for you)
- You don’t care anymore about something you were passionate about
- You saw the title of this essay and felt a ray of hope
- Inspired motivated creative people annoy you
- Everything seems gray and pointless
- You’re drinking more or eating more, or showing whatever your signs of depression are
- You find it hard to relax
- It seems impossible to do basic work you know you’re capable of
via scottberkun.com