Happy New Year! Welcome to 2025! As we roll into a new year and move forward from the disappointments of last year, it’s a good time to take stock of life.
Maybe you’ve already set your goals. Maybe you’ve already made your plans. But if you’re anything like me, by now you’re already beginning to question what you thought you could accomplish.
The holidays are always so much more exhausting than I think they will be, and this year was no exception for a variety of reasons. But I realized something about myself in the beginning of December, maybe even toward the middle of November—something I don’t want to admit out loud: I’m burned out.
I’m burned out in every possible way, physically, mentally, emotionally, but most of all creatively.
Stories have always come naturally to me, and getting words on a page has always been easy. As a younger person, I could easily write more than 20,000 words in a sitting. Granted, they weren’t very good words. But they were words.
As a professional, a 10K day isn’t a challenge for me. Well, it didn’t used to be. Now? At this stage in my life? If I can get 1,000 words I’m doing good. And some days I can’t even get that. And, what’s worse, those 1,000 words aren’t fiction. They are blog posts like this one or devotions.
And that’s great. I’m not complaining about that, but it’s really hard to maintain a career as a fiction author when I can’t write fiction.
I still have ideas. I still think of things that would make great stories. But something has happened to that muscle that takes words out of my brain and gets them on paper. (There are valid reasons, and I know what they are, but I just don’t like admitting it.)
I’m tired. So tired. And starting the year tired isn’t a good idea. So I’m working on making some intentional space for myself to recover from creative burnout in this season, and I figured I would share my process with you guys in case you find yourself in my same shoes.
And maybe, by the end of 2025, I’ll be back to full capacity again. Maybe we all will. Wouldn’t that be lovely?
Here are the things I’m going to do this year to (hopefully) help restore and refresh my creativity:
4 Things Writers Can Do to Fight Creative Burnout
1. Intentionally limiting my phone time
I started keeping track of how long I spend on my phone every day, and—you guys? It’s horrific. Granted, I do a lot of work on my phone. I answer emails, and I bank. But the amount of time I give to my phone on a daily basis doesn’t return an equitable amount of productivity.
So I am deleting my social media apps off my phone. If I need to connect on social media, I can use my computer. I am also going to be relocating my phone away from my bed and going back to an old school alarm clock. The temptation to doomscroll at midnight is a siren call I struggle to ignore.
This will be a big inconvenience, mainly because I’ve learned to do so much of my communication through phone apps. But I suspect that my focus will be so much better if I’m not grabbing my phone every few minutes to make sure I haven’t missed a comment or a post from a friend. Nothing anybody posts is that important.
2. More focus on reading and journaling
I already journal pretty regularly, but I need to put a greater focus on it. And I am planning to integrate it with my morning quiet time. Something that is essential for Christian creatives to remember is that we are partners with God in our creativity. He gave us our imaginations, so trying to use our imaginations without His help is only going to slow us down.
I want to journal with God, to write with Him, to make this journey one we can take together where I can learn more about myself AND Him at the same time. And the same is true with reading. Whether I’m reading the Bible or reading a non-fiction book or a fiction book, I want to keep my mind and spirit attuned to what is true.
Truth refreshes and restores us. God’s Spirit can use it to invigorate our imaginations.
3. Start and finish a small project.
Nothing builds confidence like finishing a project. So start something that you can finish. Maybe it’s building a bookcase. Maybe it’s baking a cake. Maybe it’s cleaning a room in your house. Whatever it is, do something that you can see immediate results from. That will do more for your mental health than just about anything else.
I have several small home projects that I’m going to be working on throughout the year, and I intend to only start them if I can finish them in a few hours.
4. Touch grass
I’m not big into a lot of the Gen-Z idioms, but “touching grass” is one I can get behind. It’s so easy to bury ourselves in our word processors and forget about the outside world, especially if we are on deadline. But that’s a recipe for burnout. We need to be engaged outdoors. We need to get out in nature and breathe and marvel at the trees and watch the sun rise or set.
Get away from your screens. Sit in the grass or walk down the street or listen to the birds sing. Unplug and listen to the silence. Don’t be afraid of it. Don’t run away from the silence because it makes you think things or feel things. That’s what it’s supposed to do.
I’m going to be spending more intentional time outside. Maybe it’s going to be going on walks. Maybe it’s going to be sitting out in the yard and watching the sun rise (once it’s warmer lol). Whatever form it takes, I need to spend more time in God’s Creation, because it reminds me that if He is still taking care of the Earth, He hasn’t stopped taking care of me.
How are some ways you want to try to manage your creative burnout in 2025? Share the goals you are setting for yourself, and maybe we can all help each other.
TWEETABLE
Invaluable, even for a nonfiction writer. I've resolved to put all four into practice, starting today, although "touching grass" will be impossible here in the Great White North. Another exercise in creativity, I guess.
ReplyDeleteGreat suggestions! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis was great. I'm older than you and life can take its toll even if I am not a huge fan of time on my phone. I still have a real alarm clock. I struggle sometimes with insomnia which sucks the energy right out of me. I've found if I don't read on a blue screen later in the evening, I tend to sleep better. I find keeping notes on paper and doing puzzles and coloring can refresh my brain function and keep my creativity flowing. I find writing on my patio gives me more Vitamin D. And times of fellowship with other people helps clear the fog of daily writing alone. Running errands with my husband and sharing time together also helps reset my creativity. Writing solitary existence is the biggest part of burn out. Thanks for sharing these tips.
ReplyDeleteI am going to create a chapter by chapter outline for my neglected WIP, once I know where I've been, I can resume drafting.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I will proceed with the groundwork to resume my six-year, illness-neglected blog. Please pray for me. I have been wanting and struggling to do this for a long time. Thanks!
Thank you for these important reminders as we launch into an exciting, intentional, productive 2025!
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful advice. Thank you, A.C. These strategies will be helpful at anytime we're struggling or in a rut.
ReplyDelete