When burnout catches up with you, what do you do?
As entrepreneurs, we are all things to our business. We wear all the hats, work all the tasks, and hold all the titles. If you’re like me, your to-do list is never-ending. Millions of auditions, classes, emails, gigs hopefully! and on and on it goes. We can easily end up working 80-90 hour weeks. Working like that makes one thing possible... Burnout. Yikes!
One day you’re working hard, thriving with your business. And the next day, the idea of working just makes you mad. You’re groaning, knowing that you need to work, yet every cell in your being now hates what you do.
I tend to go through cycles with my burnout. For weeks on end, I can be honing my craft, creating content, submitting over 20 auditions a day... then nothing. I hate the idea of getting out of bed. I don’t even want to look at my microphone, much less my PC as the entirety of my creativity has dried up and nothing is left but sheer exhaustion.
There is a question though - Is it possible to avoid burnout?
My answer? I’m not entirely sure. I think it also depends upon other stresses in our lives, not just how hard we’re working.
But I do know one thing. We may not be able to fully avoid it, but we can PLAN for it. Here’s how:
Take frequent breaks during the day. Every hour or so, get up, walk around, do some stretches. Change it up.
At least one FULL rest day a week is a must. No work. Try to find something outside of the house that is engaging and fun. My rest day needs to be something that restores me, not just a distraction. So, I tend to exercise, walk around the city, take a class, go to a ballgame, etc.
Don’t beat yourself up if burnout finds you. It’s something we all experience and it’s ok to take a step away. Just communicate to those who are expecting things from you that you need extra time.
Reset personal expectations. When we experience burnout, we’re just not going to produce as much as we usually would. And that’s ok! Resetting expectations of ourselves and our work will help us better find our way out of the burnout zone.
Our mental health is a critical factor to the success of our business and to our creativity. If we’re trying to “stay strong” and work our way through burnout, we are adding unnecessary stress and anxiety to our lives. There will always be more auditions. The work will still be waiting for you.
Take a breath. Take a break. Take some time to rest and enjoy your life so that you can enjoy your work as well.
all the best,
Christy