How to Avoid Burnout as a Creative Service Provider and New Business Owner
Signs of creative burnout: The work you were once passionate about doesn’t make you happy and feels tiresome. Sound familiar? Read on!
The regular rest (sleep, going out, exercising, etc) doesn’t help. You feel like you’re never doing enough as the amount of work doesn’t seem to get smaller. It’s a snowball effect - you get overworked, demotivated, and procrastinate. You feel like you’re suffocating.
One sign that I know is a huge marker of creative burnout for us service providers is when a client sends a bunch of edits/feedback, and we get angry. Even if the feedback is quite constructive.
What should you do to get out of a rut and despair? I’ve been there a few times and have some tips for you.
Stop overworking yourself
For small business owners sometimes it’s just hard to stop. If you’re working at a job, you have regular hours. If you’re an entrepreneur, tasks never end. See a problem?
Cut your to-do list in half. Cancel some things. Slow down. Work 3 hours per day instead of 8. Say no to things. Focus on the important stuff and cut down the unnecessary stuff. Easier said than done, right?
I often tend to get sick if I overwork myself for a long period of time - my body just refuses to work and shuts down completely (I tend to get these migraines that put you to bed).
Go on a vacation - well, easier said than done in the midst of a pandemic, especially if you have little “monsters” and “bears” at home (also known as “kiddos”).
The real professionalism as a creative entrepreneur lies in an ability to keep such a work-life balance that won’t make you go on vacations to get the necessary rest. You would go on vacations for fun and pleasure and not to heal the wounds of overworking yourself to death.
Stop mindlessly scrolling
Are you on your phone 24/7 and respond to every message right away? Put the phone away and don’t touch it. Schedule your time off.
Read a physical book, talk to a friend. Cook a diner but put that phone away. Draw in a notebook, write in your diary! Do something with your hands.
Stop checking your phone 100 times a day - it might feel good, but really, it drains your energy and stresses out your nervous system.
Go on a so-called dopamine diet. It’s when a person avoids dopamine triggers for a certain period of time - checking social media is one of such triggers. Unplugging from a world will make you more grounded, balanced, and calm. You will respond better to everyday challenges if you maintain specific digital hygiene (whatever works for you).
I remember when I had a baby in 2018, my phone was bursting with notifications. I deleted Facebook and Gmail apps from my phone. I brought back Facebook quickly - just disabled all notifications. I remained Gmail-free for several months in a row. Whenever I wanted to check my email, I would log in using the browser app - but hey, that required some effort on my part. It didn’t become a habit. In my tender season, I refused to check my phone, receive all the notifications, and be continuously distracted. It was the best time!
So I highly recommend going on a digital detox.
Create a holiday for yourself
Do you feel guilty when you spend time away from your business?
Break the cycle by scheduling guilt-free time off. It can be anything for you and just you.
I call it “a personal holiday” - a personal event that refuels you. For example, a SPA visit, a trip to a book store, a shopping spree, etc. Treat yourself!
Celebrate your business and how far you’ve come in life. One of the reasons why you are burned out is because you are probably constantly comparing yourself to other business owners on social media - and it feels like they’ve built bigger and more successful businesses. In this comparison, you forget to look at the most important person - yourself.
So step back - you can only see the big picture from a distance. Holidays, weekends, romantic getaways - we need that to distance ourselves from everyday hustle and bustle and see everything in a different light.
Create a routine to recharge
For me, that’s taking a daily walk with my headphones on - listening to songs or a podcast. Getting out in the sun and running small errands.
Figure out what helps you recharge and make it a habit. Don’t let yourself go to the zone of burnout - know what helps you and practice it.
In February 2021, I had six custom website clients. All these projects ran simultaneously and I was overwhelmed with the number of emails, Instagram messages, concepts, and proposals I needed to send.
By the time I was able to sit down to do the actual work, for which I was hired, I felt really tired. I spent a lot of energy on fluff - being always on, responding right away, and engaging in conversations. February projects carried over into March. In April, I was suffocating. I have a little palm tree in my kitchen - it lost nearly all its leaves. I forgot to water it.
I don’t let myself go into burnout again. Right now I hold space and approach client work in a resourceful state. I sit down to design a client project when I feel I have energy and ideas.
Each day, I ask myself - how are we feeling? Do we have enough energy to do X Y Z?
Some creative activities refuel me - like, creating new website concepts! Some drain me - like, responding to emails and sending proposals or contracts.
Look, you’re just one person, yet you are trying to do the work of a six-people team. No wonder you are burned out!
Read more about my journey and what I learned while running a successful Squarespace template shop for over a year.
Learn to roll with the punches
Hey, creative burnout is a part of running your own online business. Everybody in the field experiences it in one way or another. Some give up and go to work for another boss. Your boss will tell you what to do - but can you be your own effective manager?
You will survive this business thing and succeed not because you are the most talented person, but because you have discipline and strength. Most people will give up, but not you. You will refuel, recharge and continue to show up.
Avoiding creative burnout and not letting yourself go into that scary place, knowing when to stop and what to do will elevate your business.
Make burnout precautions a part of your business operations! See you on the other side!
Happy creating,
Olga
P.S: Don’t overwork yourself with designing your business website from scratch. Use a pre-made template from our shop to make life easier and to give yourself the time off. Templates are created so that you do not need to change much. Upload your photos and copy to the website and you are good to go.
