Marking the Water Line
Thoughts on Creating Through Burnout
I’ve started coming to grips with the fact that I am completely burnt out. I have allowed the well to run dry and now I must wait for it to refill.
Burnout like this doesn’t come quickly, it takes months to accumulate, for you to take just a little too much out of the well each day without realizing that it isn’t quite refilling.
Over the past year, as I’ve burnt out, I’ve also been writing consistently on Medium. What I find particularly interesting about this public record of my thoughts, is that it also provides an indicator of my level of burnout.
I sat down to write most days this year, and I write whatever is occupying my thoughts at the time. Looking back, I can chart how empty my well was by looking at how frequently I publish and whether or not I am writing satire.
When I write satire, it is done mostly in one go, springing forth from the ineffable space of creativity. If I am running dry, I still have insights and bring cool ideas from books together but I lack that unbridled, joyful freedom that I tap to make satire flow.
Looking back at this year-long creep to exhaustion reminded me of a quote from a beautiful mini-documentary on Jim Carrey’s painting:
