How To Tackle The Overwhelm For Creatives Before It Happens
This post contains affiliate links that will reward me monetarily or otherwise when you use them to make qualifying purchases. Your support is greatly appreciated!
Do you ever feel like you are just spinning on a hamster wheel all day? Creating another social media post or another blog post. Honestly, creativity is a blessing and a curse!
As an entrepreneur or even someone who has a creative mind, we can get overwhelmed fast! I noticed that two years ago when I started working for my mom and becoming an entrepreneur there were times when I couldn’t ‘shut off’ my brain. Stepping into this role has sparked a good amount of creativity but when your brain can’t unwind for the night, burnout steps in faster than we would like. Today I wanted to share with you some things that I started implementing in my life to tackle the burnout phase when it starts to creep in.
The first thing I love to do on a Sunday is plan out my week.
I began to realize when I plan for my week (even if the plan takes a left turn) I’m a lot calmer on a Monday starting my work week. I must credit my Full Focus Planner for this one because at the beginning of the week they have pages for a weekly preview. Sitting down and seeing what worked the week before and what didn’t, can help implement different strategies for my week ahead. This is also where I start to plan my meals for the week. Am I getting dinner with someone, that week? I can pencil that into my schedule for the day or at least remind myself of the appointment. From here I can go through each day, is there a day that would be slower than others, can I maybe fit some personal time or go home early that day? Looking at what is ahead just keeps my mind in a calmer state because I can start to expect what the day is going to look like!
Taking the time to exercise or get fresh air.
This may sound cliché but taking the time the exercise can really help your mental state. When I worked in a corporate job, I used to take long walks either across the street to the store or in the park by my office. My co-workers would join me every so often but sometimes when my anxiety built up or I started to feel the overwhelm creep in, I would just try to get some fresh air. Taking a walk or even pausing your day for an hour to work out can help your mind think about something other than work. Exercise really does give you endorphins, so utilize them! My parents have a Peloton bike and there are times when I bring my workout clothes so on my lunch break, I can get a quick workout in but also shut my mind off from thinking about what’s next. What’s the next social media post going to look like, how should I set up the camera angles for the reel I need to film, and so on. I’m not sure about you but I think in a visual way, I imagine how things are looking when I’m thinking of a to-do list and it can make my brain very tired!
Spending time doing something that helps your mind ‘shut off’.
This is like the last point but what is something that helps your mind just shut off for the moment? Some people like to cook or bake, others take a bath or meditate. Personally, I have a few ways to do this, and one is breathing. I will stare at something and just take a deep breath. Take a full inhale and exhale. I may do this a couple of times then get back to what I’m doing. For me, this just helps my mind pause and regroup, especially when I’m starting to feel really overwhelmed. Another one of my favorite ways to shut my mind off is to take a yoga class or go through a guided meditation. This helps my brain focus on another task rather than the one that’s stressing my mind out.
Spending time before bed to relax your mind.
Again, I’ll give a shout-out to my Full Focus planner here because it has pages for a morning and evening ritual as well as a workday startup and shutdown ritual. I had never thought of really creating a routine or ritual until getting this planner, but it helps. Keeping something consistent in your day can help your mind know what’s coming rather than rushing. I’ll be totally honest here and say that I‘m still struggling to get my routines in place, but I have a decent grip on my evening routine! For an evening ritual, I usually like to clean my kitchen by just getting all the dishes cleaned or wiping the counters down, nothing crazy! Then I may do a nighttime yoga class or jump straight into my skincare routine. After that, I make sure my room is picked up because I feel like a messy room is a messy mind and it makes me happy to wake up to a clean room in the morning. Finally, I read for 10 or 15 minutes, but a random book not a business or self-help book. This just helps my mind calm down and get into the nighttime mood.
Taking weekends off.
One thing I learned early on is that I needed to take the weekends off. There are times when I still don’t take the weekends off, but I pay for it by Wednesday that next week. My creativity and productivity just starts to shut down. When I take the weekends off I am able to regroup and relax. I may be super busy during the weekend but it just helps not to worry or stress about work. As an entrepreneur, we feel the need to work 24/7 but we weren’t built to do that. We need to rest. Maybe you love to work Saturdays, then try to take Mondays off. Give yourself a break when you can! Your life shouldn’t be all about work.
These are just some things that have helped me over the two years that I’ve worked for myself and worked from home. I stepped into a new position when I left my corporate job and some days things can look exactly like a corporate position but there are other days that look like an unconventional job. Being in a creative role is one of my favorite jobs yet, but sometimes it comes with a price. My mind has always been a whirlwind of thoughts and I’m just now starting to realize that, that doesn’t have to be my everyday. I can give myself that break, I can take the steps to get excited for my work week! My challenge to you is to start implementing one of these habits and see if it works for you, I would love to hear your thoughts below!
