11 Ways to Avoid Burnout and Reinvigorate Your Creativity

July 16, 2013 by Daniel Sharkov|

The following is a guest post by Matt Boyd. More about Matt you can learn at the end of the post!

Everyone gets burned out from time to time. Thinking through the different aspects of my career, burnout is a fairly common occurrence.

After all, we’re all human so no need to worry about it.

For whatever reason, certain areas of focus within our work can carry negative baggage so it’s important to get the situation under control as soon as possible.

As a designer, I know burnout all too well. I remember specific instances where my brain knew that the work needed to be done but my mind just didn’t want to release control to my fingers. From the most skilled professional to the newest newbie, It’s something that we all deal with. So the question is, how can we avoid burnout and protect our passions from this troubling problem?

“I have a theory that burnout is about resentment. And you beat it by knowing what it is you’re giving up that makes you resentful.” -Marissa Mayer

1. Diversify Your Work

If you’re burned out on specific activities such as writing, programming or designing then diversify your daily schedule by pulling back and spending time on the activities that excite you.

Strategically avoiding certain tasks while focusing on other important things allows you to stay productive while giving your mind the necessary break it needs.

2. Strategic Procrastination

In today’s society, procrastination is generally viewed as a bad thing but sometimes, it can be used for good. By prioritizing your work and putting off certain tasks until you’re ready is another great way of resting your mind and avoiding burnout.

Let’s face it, we all get burned out and if we’re gonna procrastinate anyway, might as well do it with purpose!

3. Micro-Work

Sometimes a classic work schedule can be somewhat overwhelming. One primary ingredient in professional burnout is the 9 to 5 grind. The question is, what can we do about it? I recommend micro-work?

Micro-work is the idea of an always on mindset where you do bits and pieces of work throughout your natural 16 hour awake cycle. This way, you can mix in a healthy dose of daily activities while still accomplishing a whole lot.

It’s important to note that this isn’t always a sustainable work schedule and requires a ton of self control. A couple days per week will usually suffice for avoiding burnout.

4. Work Weird Hours

When I’m feeling burned out, I like to shake things up. One thing I shake up is my work schedule. As you can tell from my previous point, I love thinking of creative ways to stay productive while shifting my schedule and sometimes that means working very strange hours.

I really enjoy the feeling of changing my scene, even if it’s to 4am infomercials.

Not only does working weird hours give me a new sense of purpose but can also allow some peace and quiet because everyone else is sleeping!

5. Change of Scenery

I’ve found that places have a tendency to carry negative feelings, which can ultimately lead to hardcore burnout. By sticking to one place, you can limit your scope and allow feelings of stress/anxiety to surface in your work.

One way to avoid this is by changing your workspace often.

Whether it’s something simple like carrying your laptop to the couch or a bigger solution like traveling overseas, changing your scene is a great way to run from burnout.

6. Don’t Stress Out and Overwork

Make sure you’re working to your maximum potential by avoiding the natural inclination to stress out and over-work in a fast paced environment. Stressing out only inhibits your productivity, creativity and the ability to process information rapidly.

These are two sure-fire combinations to spark a downward emotional spiral that, if left alone, can eventually become difficult to manage. Relaxing and working at a comfortable pace allows you to stay in control and avoid professional burnout.

7. Travel, Travel, Travel

It’s no secret that I love travel. I’ve found that a consistent regimen of travel allows me to see the world from a different perspective with a lens that’s focused on bigger problems than my own. This change in focus can redirect your thinking and generate a more positive attitude.

8. Examine the Problem by Writing

I write a lot, even if it’s just for my personal growth. There’s something about writing that allows me to examine myself from different perspective, particularly if I’m writing in third person.

It’s important to step out of your own mind and view your current situation from a certain level of objectivity. Writing about your burnout can help you identify the source of the problem which will naturally lead you to a solution.

9. Identify the Source

Writing can help you understand the problem a bit deeper but it’s also important to self analyze and identify the source of your burnout. Identifying the source will allow you to avoid whatever’s causing the problem and restructure your workflow based on your newfound understandings.

The quicker you come to a conclusion on the source, the quicker you’ll move past the problem.

10. Acquire a New View on Your Existing Passion

Sometimes, it’s important to start over. Acquiring a new a love for your passion is a great way to move past the burnout and make time disappear. It can be difficult but one way to accomplish this is by constantly learning something new and fueling the fire of knowledge. I can remember back to an earlier time when my passions for software and design were being formed.

The source of my passion was (and still is) a deep desire to master something and mastery only comes through the consistent application of knowledge. Become a learner and burnout will disappear.

11. Realize It’s Only Temporary and There are Solutions

As I mentioned before, it’s extremely easy to stress out, even if it’s related to our burnout. If you head down this path, I can promise you that it’ll be difficult to dig your way back out. Just realize that burnout happens to everyone and there are always solutions to the problem.

Think about yourself and analyze the problem from a systematic mentality. Realizing that it’s all ok is the best way to move past the problem and start loving your work again.

Conclusion

No matter what you’re working on, the risk of burnout is fairly high. Just realize that you’re not alone in this situation and it probably happens to everyone at some point or other (unless you’re super-human).

Don’t freak out and most certainly, don’t stress over it.

Stress only makes the burnout worse. Whether it’s by using the tips above or creating your own methods, do whatever you can to get the situation under control and move past your burnout. Where there’s a will, there’s a way!

Now on to you friends!

What are your ways to fight burnout and stay creative and productive? Please take a minute to share in the comments section!

Matt Boyd is co-founder of Sqwiggle, an app designed to make remote working a more collaborative experience. Follow him and his journey as a productivity blogger, remote worker and distributed team builder at http://blog.sqwiggle.comor http://www.twitter.com/mattboyd

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