When Creative Burnout Strikes
Creative burnout is something we all face at some point. Whether you’re experiencing it in a snack-filled office surrounded by coworkers, or from the solitude of your living room like most of us have for the past year and a half, it’s a struggle. Everyone can experience creative burnout no matter what their job title is, but when it comes to working in the literal ‘Creative team’ of your company where your role is to come up with snappy copy every day, hitting that wall can be tough. No matter how much I enjoy what I do, there are still days when I feel like I can barely string a sentence together, let alone think up a catchy slogan for a campaign or inspiring copy for a new brand.
Everyone has their way of dealing with times like this, but there are some things that can be helpful for everyone to remember along the way.
Engage in something creative that isn’t directly tied to your work
Partaking in some form of creative activity — whatever that means to you — that isn’t directly related to whatever project you’re currently working on can give your brain a break while getting you to think creatively in a more organic way. Whether it’s a quick tutorial, an educational article or something else entirely, the distraction can be a welcome break from the tasks that you’re hitting a wall with. In the copy team at Wayfair, I run a biweekly ‘Book Club’ where we share articles, videos, pictures or podcasts and talk about topics that are connected to, but not solely about, copywriting. It’s a great way to have a relaxed chat, form some opinions that you didn’t even know you had and potentially find some new ideas. We don’t necessarily come out of every session bubbling with inspiration, but it is a consistent source of new content or conversation that can help plant a seed for future projects.
Talk to the people around you
When we’re feeling totally bereft of inspiration and our ideas have well and truly dried up, it can feel like a personal failure. There have been plenty of times I’ve been confounded by the difficulty of writing a few email subject lines when just weeks before I’d successfully put together an entire brand book. At times like this, it’s important to remember that it can happen to the best of us — yes, even that one person who never seems to lack in those creative juices. Don’t be ashamed to reach out to someone and say ‘Hey, I’m drawing a blank, what do you think of this?’ Hearing someone else’s perspective could help nudge some of your own ideas into the spotlight that you didn’t know were there, or sometimes they’ll suggest something so glaringly obvious that you’ll want to kick yourself. Either way, if you’re really struggling, don’t keep it to yourself. Bouncing thoughts off other people can bring forth some really great things.
Inspire yourself
Remove yourself from the situation entirely and do something you enjoy. Is it trying a new recipe? Going to a gallery? Reading a book? Seeing a great movie? Forget about whatever it is that you’re struggling with and try to find a creative outlet you can enjoy purely for the sake of it, without worrying about ‘being productive’. Introducing yourself to new creative content is great for firing up your brain and getting those cogs turning again. Even reintroducing something we already love can put us more in touch with our creative side — there’s nothing wrong with watching that movie for the 100th time if it sparks something in you! You might just be inspired afresh when you next sit down to tackle that project.
Look back at your previous work
Digging out some of your previous work from a time when you were feeling a little more inspired, or something you enjoyed or are proud of making, can be really helpful for two reasons. Firstly, because creative burnout can be a hit to our self-esteem as well as highly frustrating, so in my case, seeing some of my better writing reminds me that I am good at my job and I do have good ideas, even if it’s not the case at that particular moment in time. Secondly, because it means I can steal from myself! For me it might be a certain turn of phrase or a few sentences that could be reworked. Best case scenario I get some inspiration, worst case scenario I can dip into a bank of copy that can be tweaked and updated if fresh ideas are slow to come.
Learn when to accept defeat
That’s not to say to just give up! What I mean is, if you’ve been sitting staring at your screen for hours or days and are at the point where you want to pull your hair out, realise that now may be the time to let it lie for a while and move onto something else. If deadlines are looming and switching it up isn’t an option, accept that while your best might not be up to your usual standards, today it might just have to do. Agonising through work will send you into a vicious cycle of feeling uninspired, then frustrated, then getting stressed which isn’t conducive to feeling inspired…and so on. Being able to recognise when to call it and cut your losses is something that sometimes, as creatives, we just have to make our peace with.
