#61 – 6 ways to avoid & overcome burnout

Does photography feel tiring to you?

Are you forever angry and irritated?

Do you feel like you’ve lost your creative fire?

You may be experiencing burnout!

Contrary to the belief that it’s impossible to feel tired doing what you love, burnout is actually fatigue and long-term tiredness.

If you feel like you might be losing your interest in photography, check out episode 51 where I’ve shared the signs of burnout. Identify burnout before it’s too late. 

In fact, most creatives balancing a full-time job while pursuing a passion get hit by it, at different times and in different ways.

A short vacation or break isn’t enough to fight burnout.  It takes a series of steps and rewiring to overcome it so that it does not return and the change is lasting.

Today, I want to share with you six ways to overcome burnout.

Before we begin, though, the first step is to acknowledge you are feeling burnt out.

Ask yourself if you are just tired or fatigued? How long has it been going on for? Is your brain jammed? Are you unmotivated and irritated? The only way you can fully address burnout is if you’re aware of how you’re feeling.

Below, I share some steps that can help you feel less overwhelmed, more inspired, and back to the creative individual state you’re meant to be in.

Even if you’re not struggling w​ith burnout, I believe some of these can be applied to streamline your workflow and improve your creative process.

Step 1: Evaluate everything you do and whether you need help

List down everything you’re currently doing in your creative life or in your business. This includes everything you’re doing aside from personal duties such as Instagram posts, pitching to brands, and professional or personal photoshoots.

Now, take a deep look at everything  you’ve written down. Are you doing work that’s meant for one person or for a team? Given your other commitments, are you doing too much?

You need to be realistic in recognising whether what you’re doing is sustainable and whether it’s allowing you to move forward. If it isn’t, perhaps it’s time to get some help and set up a simple team.

Step 2: Do a reality check

Perhaps you realise you’ve taken on too much but what if you’re not financially capable of hiring a small team?

Maybe, then, it’s time to reevaluate the amount of content you’re churning out. Can you honestly keep up with 4 posts a week? Can you continue to make reel after reel? Can you go from shoot to shoot without a break?

More importantly, is your workload sustainable and you can see yourself doing it for a long time?

If it’s sucking your energy, your drive, and your love for something dear to you… then it might be time to pull back or even let go.

It’s far better to excel in 2 things than juggle 5 things without being able to thrive in any of them. You’ll actually be surprised at how doing less can actually result in bigger results and better quality.

Step 3: Manage your time

If you’re looking around and wondering how others seem to be doing more in  the same 24 hours, it probably means that they are managing their time better.

Some simple changes that you can make to help with time management include:

• Planning your day the day before
• Keeping only 3-4 big tasks on your to-do list
• Identifying your most productive hours and keeping those hours as distraction-free as possible.

Planning and managing your time effectively can make a world of difference.

Step 4: Prioritise

The only way to power through your tasks in a dedicated time is knowing what needs your attention. To quote Marie Foreleo,
“Don’t prioritize your tasks, work on your priorities.”

List down what you need to do and prioritise what is important to your business before moving on to other tasks. 

Align yourself with what is most important to you and what you do. This will save you countless hours of figuring out what you need to do next. So that you can spend those hours focusing on what actually matters most.

Step 5: Align yourself with your why

I’d argue this could be step 1 as well, given how important it is. 

Going back to our why can be incredibly overwhelming for most of us. After all, you do what you do because you love it right? Why do you need to spell it out?

Sometimes, we do the same things so much over and over again that it gets us into a rut. We get to a point where the initial inspiration fizzles away and we can’t figure out what kept us going in the first place. 

Take a moment and ask yourself why you do what you do. Dig into who you really are. This is vital because it becomes your compass.

Every time you question whether you should be taking up a project, if a shoot is worth it, or are looking for inspiration – your why will guide you. It will give you clarity to move forward.

Often, burnout involves feeling lost – having a strong why will act as that roadmap you can go back to. This is key.

Step 6: Create space

By that, I mean find a way to set yourself up to take action. Often times, it’s impossible for us to think openly and without restraints when we are in the same environment.

So, find a way to create a physical space for yourself. It’s equally important to create that mental space in your mind as well in order to absorb and embrace your new way of thinking and working.

Use that new space to find answers and indulge in activities that inspire you. Even if it’s just for a few hours a day or a few days a week, create space for the new energy in yourself.

Get away from any environment that stresses you or distracts you. Let yourself breathe. It will calm you, remove the pressure of performance, free your mind for ideas to flow in, help you find answers and most importantly, get your mojo back!

So, there you go – 6 solid action steps that you can immediately start tapping into to burn away that burnout.

Use all of them or pick and choose what fits you. Even if you’re not burnt out, adopting these practices can help you stay focused and fresh without letting fatigue set in. Don’t let burnout enter your creative world.