Working in a creative industry has its perks. I absolutely love what I do, and it rarely feels like work to me. In fact, I hesitated in making my hobbies into a business for years because I thought I couldn’t truly enjoy what I do for a living. I thought that there was a hard line between work and hobbies, and I was worried about turning my relaxing pastimes into chores. I’ve seen it happen before, and I didn’t want to be the next link on that chain. Thankfully, though, that hasn’t happened because I have been intentional in avoiding burnout.

Burnout is very common in entrepreneurship. Look up any entrepreneurial podcast, and I can almost guarantee there will be at least one episode on the subject. Unfortunately, in the recent past, burnout was seen as a sign of hard work and even worn as a badge of honor. The more you ran yourself into the ground, burned the candle at both ends, and “hustled hard”, the more successful you were considered. It’s easy to slip into this mindset, and even easier to do when you are your own boss and can literally work all hours of the day and night.

Thankfully, though, I have felt a shift in this entrepreneurial landscape towards reasonable work hours and practices. I am grateful to have learned from those who have gone before me in the small business space (shoutout to Jenna Kutcher and Jordan Lee Dooley)! I have learned from them, and also from my own experience, that no one wins when I work myself to the bone. I don’t do my best work, and it makes me want to stop completely. That would be a loss for both me and my community.

With all of that said, here are three strategies I use to prevent myself from becoming creatively burnt out:

1. Change Mediums of Creation

I’m a fiber artist, which means I work with thread, yarn, material, etc. I have four main skills that I rotate through: crochet, knit, embroidery, and sewing. Most of what I sell is crochet; that is just what seems to be the most popular. It can get redundant, though, when that is the only skill out of my four that I am consistently using. I can feel an itch to do something different after a certain amount of time focusing on just one medium.

So, when I am in a season of mostly using just one of my skills, I like to switch it up and pick up a different medium. It’s like a breath of fresh air to both my hands and my soul when I do that! I get out of the monotony that can sometimes come with creative work.

I feel the rhythm of the needles clicking back and forth while I knit.

I design an original embroidery pattern, and I revel in the slow, steady stitches that I make by hand.

I actually use some dusty math skills when I measure, cut, and line up fabric to be sewn by machine.

No matter what you do, switching it up can renew your love for it. Try and see it with new eyes. For example, if you are a wedding photographer, try some portraits or nature photography, just for fun. Remember what made you love your art in the first place. Explore different sides of it, and by doing that, you will stave off burnout.

2. Create for the Sake of Creating

This is my go-to when I am feeling burnt out! I have made a business out of my art, so I am constantly showing it to others. Whether it’s on Instagram to share with fellow creatives, on Etsy to sell, or even just texting my friends and family because I am proud of it, my work is consistently being seen, and therefore judged, by others. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it can become heavy sometimes, and can set an expectation that my work is only for others.

If you know me, you know I am all about relationships with people! I’m a 2 wing 1 on the Enneagram (the helper), and I absolutely love serving people. A downfall of that, though, is I can sometimes go too far with that and make myself the last priority. When that happens for an extended amount of time, I can become resentful and grumpy. I’m not proud of that, but it’s the truth. So, in order to be my best self, I must do some things purely for myself and my enjoyment.

This is true in my work as well! In order for me to continue enjoying what I do, I often create for the sake of creating. I don’t even share it – I may, if I want to, but there is no expectation that anyone but myself will see it. It can be whatever I want! It may not be the most popular or trending thing, and that’s okay, because it’s not for sale. It’s just for me. It’s like a little secret, which makes it even more enticing.

If you are a creative entrepreneur, when is the last time you made something for yourself? Is there anything you haven’t shared to social media or put up for sale? Remember to take time for yourself and reconnect to your craft. This will also help to keep the burnout monster away.

3. Take a Break

This one is the most obvious. I’m a solopreneur, which means it’s just me in my business. Since everything is purposely handmade by me, I am in charge of how much I take on. I cannot and do not delegate creation to anyone else, so that entirely falls on me. That’s fine with me because I love it, but if I take on too much, I can become frazzled and stressed. The crafts I once enjoyed won’t be fun anymore.

Because of this, I have to be very diligent on how much I take on. I try my best to balance the seasons of my business. In retail, there are always ebbs and flows. Right now, for example, I am a few days out from vending at the largest craft show I participate in. This month I dedicated a lot of time to making inventory for that, which means I focused less on custom orders. I have a couple in the books, and I have been slowly working on them, but I made sure not to give myself a ton of custom order deadlines at the same time as this massive craft show. I know myself, and I know that I would be very overwhelmed if I did that. That being said, once this craft show is over, there will likely be a lull in inventory sales. I plan on focusing more on custom orders during that time and stepping back from making inventory.

Notice that I am talking about balancing the seasons of my business, and not necessarily walking away from it. While I think time off is important, I don’t usually step away unless I really need to. I can feel in my bones when it is time to do that. Signs of needing to take a break for me includes feeling resentful, overwhelmed, and unhappy when I sit down to work. In those cases, I set down my hook or needles for a short time and focus on something else that is restoring to me, like reading a book or even taking a much-needed nap.

Most of the time, we know deep down when we need a break. Often, our brain tells us otherwise, reminding us of all of our impending deadlines and overflowing inbox. Intuitively, though, we know in order to do our best work, we need some time to step away. Ultimately, we come back refreshed and even better than if we were to push through the burnout.

If you think you may be on the road to burnout, I want you to do two things for me please!

First, identify that you are on that road by how your mind, body, and soul feels. Are you weary? Do you dread going to work? What emotions come up when you think about your creative endeavors?

Second, make a plan of what you can do to prevent burning out. It is not a badge of honor to be endlessly busy and worked to the bone. What strategies could you implement to keep your work enjoyable? Feel free to use the three methods I shared in this post!

Thanks for reading this blog post! I hope it was inspiring and helpful to you. Drop a comment to let me know you read this, and also tell me if it was enjoyable and useful.

I appreciate you!

Katelyn