Burnout: Getting out of a work or creative slump

The feeling of being uninspired is inevitable and comes in phases where it seems to take more push to get things done. A creative slump is a period when you may feel uninspired, have doubts, or struggle to find the extraordinary in the ordinary. While Occupational burnout, also known as work burnout, is a syndrome that occurs when chronic workplace stress is not managed effectively. To experience burnout out is equivalent to having a reduction of fuel or a substance reduced to nothing through use.

I’ve experienced both, occupational and creative burnout.  Each result in actions that are stained with lackluster performance. Staying in a slump leads to self dissatisfaction. It is beneficial for yourself, and others who may be relying on your outcomes, to attempt to get out of a burnout state. By no means is it easy and requires consistent practice to maintain, in particular, a thrill for your job. But once mastered, avoiding burnout can yield superior results.

Getting out of a Work slump:

• Consider taking a break. Taking a few days off or going on a temporary leave of absence can regenerate your mental health enough to return to work rejuvenated.

• Engage in self-care activities like exercise, hobbies, or even going to the salon. I found that going to the nail salon helps me to stay committed to work. It encourages a work to live mindset.

• Re-evaluate your routine. I am a big believer in having a routine. There could be something out of place in your daily habits impacting your overall appeal.

• Set small achievable goals. Aiming for what’s obtainable is realistic and will set you up for success.

• Connect with supportive people, in or outside of your workgroup. Sometimes seeing how committed a colleague is to a job can rub off on you.

• Address potential underlying causes like stress or lack of sleep. Lack of sleep, I can truly attest to being a cause of burnout and is sometimes all that’s needed to get out of it.

Getting out of a Creative slump:

• Be innovative by trying something you don’t do often in an attempt to reignite a fire for what you do daily.

• Ditch your biggest time waster by pinpointing what’s chewing up most of your time and determine how you can eliminate the temptation. For example, if you’re lurking through Instagram instead of exercising, delete the app until you’ve finished your workout. If you’re texting friends instead of working on that big project, put your phone on silent or leave it in another room until later.

• Engage in your biggest time waster. It contradicts the previous tip, but doing wasteful activities (like watching YouTube) can cause you to gain inspiration from others.

• Focus on one thing at a time. This will help to keep you from not finishing a project. But be weary of committing publicly. Making a public commitment will just add unwanted pressure which will leave room for burnout to creep in.

• Give yourself an incentive. Adding an incentive or award for completing could be applied to any goal. It provides you a reason to continue making progress.

If nothing seems to get you out of the slump, then it might be time to change your course. A change of careers or even discovering a new passion, while scary at first, could be the answer to addressing burnout.

With the best intentions,

Alisia Latoi

Research Tools Used:

Google ☺️