If you're a writer, an artist or a person in general, you've burnt out before. Well, probably. If you haven't, please share your secrets. I implore you. You'd help a lot of people.
Burning out is a fact of life. There comes a point in everyone's life where they've simply had enough and have to stop whatever it is they're doing and recharge. Some people, like my dad, ignore their burn outs and rarely take the needed time to rest and recharge. And that's when I wish I could approach him and say, "You need some time to yourself. Not just a day or two, but a week or two." If you set aside your personal health when you're already burnt out and continue trying to push forward for years and years and years, there stands a good chance that your recharge time will need to be a heck of a lot longer than it would have been initially, or that you may not recharge at all.
Some people burn out faster than others, and some rarely crash. To those people, wow. I'm glad that you're able to push forward when the rest of us want to collapse. Kudos. :)
As for the rest of us who tend to burn out on, whether on a cycle (pretty much every time I complete a project, I need a few days to recharge and not think about anything) or not, it's about learning to manage your time and your burn outs properly so you remain productive. Now, note that there's a huge different between being tired and burning out. Honey, everyone is tired. All the time. As soon as you become an adult, you're never well-rested again. That said, a good night's sleep is always a bonus and helps me focus a lot better than my average night of sleep, during which I'm lucky to get three or four solid hours of deep slumber.
How do I manage my time when I've burned out on writing and art? I typically focus on my house, my yard, and other chores. I want to keep busy, but rest the part of me that is too far gone to function. Typically, that's my mind. Chores are menial, which means I can give my brain a break while still being productive. If you physically burn out, find something else to do that won't cause your body stress. If you're burnt out physically and mentally, dude, take a hot bath or a nap. That will help, and you can get back to work faster.
Allowing yourself time to rest is crucial to a productive lifestyle. I may be on the computer almost all the time, most of the time writing, researching or trying to amp up my marketing skills, but I do realize the benefits of walking away from the screen. In the evenings, I watch Netflix with my husband and relax, because it's good for us to spend that time together. This is different from using burning out as an excuse to binge-watch my favorite TV show. I want to keep being active, keep doing things, because I always feel more accomplished and a heck of a lot better after I do something. Weeding the yard, planting flowers, straightening the house, doing laundry--these are all things that I need to get better about doing on a regular basis, but I have found I'm more effective at getting them done during days where I'm too burnt out to write more than a few hundred words.
So, I guess in a way, this is my secret. I've had a few people ask how I can write so much so fast and not burn out. Well, I do. Like I said, most people do. I just manage my time away from writing differently than other people. When I write, I write. When I don't, I find other things to keep myself busy.
That said, I need to go weed the back yard. It's too beautiful to stay inside right now, and there aren't too many weeds anyway. ;)
How do you recover from a burn out? What are your methods? For me, Netflix isn't a method, but I know some people feel much better after they have watched a few episodes of their favorite show. If you're one of these people, what shows do you like the best? Share in the comments below!
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