We’re talking about burnout again, yes one of my favorite subjects. I’m writing a book on this as we speak and I’ll be speaking in a workshop about it later this month.
How are you doing? Are you being honest with yourself? Are you a writer that’s experiencing burnout? Even if you aren’t a writer, this might help.
Let’s get into it.
Defining burnout: Emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, reduced sense of accomplishment.
Burnout isn’t just “being tired.” It’s the bone-deep exhaustion that sets in when your brain has been in survival mode for too long. For authors, it looks like staring at a blinking cursor for hours with nothing to give, even though you want to write. It’s not a lack of passion; it’s a system overload. Your creative circuits are fried, and no, it’s not because you didn’t plan your week better.
Planning your week isn’t going to get more done, faster, better, or in any other way if you don’t pay attention to the signals your body is throwing up on your dashboard with claxons so loud you can barely hear yourself think.
I describe burnout as like moving through mud. Your limbs are heavy and it takes great effort to do even the simplest things. You want to do them, but you physically can’t bring yourself to do them. It’s worse than procrastination, it’s a clinging sensation that won’t let you go. A second skin, something deep within us that whispers “You can’t do this.” even though we know we can. I mean we used to, so why can’t we do it now?
It’s like our inner child, or at least mine, pitches a fit at the very thought of doing *anything*. And not just in a way that says I hate my job or my life. We love our job (as writers), we want to write; we want to be doing all the things. But there are so many things expected of us we push and push until…
Bam. Burnout.
And then we wonder what is wrong with us.
I’ll tell you nothing is wrong with us. With you.
Why burnout hits creatives hard: Writing isn’t just work. It’s identity, self-expression, purpose.
When your creative work is tied to your sense of self, burnout feels like you are the problem. Not your schedule, not your environment, not your expectations; but you. And that’s a lie burnout loves to whisper. Authors pour their soul into their words, so when the well runs dry, the panic sets in. “What if I’m just… done?” you wonder.
But you’re not. You’re just depleted; not defeated.
You’ve got this and there are so many people that understand. We’re a solitary bunch, authors, but we have communities that cheer for us, guide us, and most importantly, lift us up. Find your community and get involved, make friends, network, support and be supported in turn.
Find your why in your purpose. Why are you writing? Do you do it for joy? Do it out of passion? Do you do it out of need for something to express yourself? To heal? What ever it is, it’s time to come back your why and figure out what got you started on this journey in the first place.
So, let’s go back to basics.
The difference between burnout, procrastination, and depression.
It’s important to name what’s really going on. Procrastination says, “I’ll do it later.” Burnout says, “I physically can’t.” Depression says, “Why even bother?” Sometimes they overlap, but they’re not the same. And if it’s deeper than burnout? You’re not weak for needing help; you’re brave for seeking it. (Seriously, how you feel is valid.)
Really sit with those feelings and ask yourself, why does this scare me? Why do I feel like I can’t do this anymore? Why do I…?
If you have to, journal about your feelings. Some people find this very useful, others, like myself use different ways to sit with our feelings. Whatever way you find useful and that gets your brain down on paper or whatever medium you decided to use, get it out.
Personally I use digital journals, mostly because my brain being as it is, runs a million miles an hour and my hand can’t keep up whereas typing I can. If you’re like me, as it seems a lot of creatives are, I have ADHD and it can make it difficult at times to focus.
But these aren’t times to just push through and burn myself out. No, these are times to sit with those thoughts and feelings, find ways to cope that help me do what I’m passionate about. And that’s sharing my stories with the world.
Just like you deserve to do the same.
Yes. I’ll say it again.
You deserve to put your stories into the world.
The world needs our stories more than ever now, and you never know, one day someone might be sitting there reading your book and read something profound that either changes their life, or might even save their life.
Your stories matter. You matter.
If you can’t believe in yourself, I’ll believe for both of us.
I believe in you and want to help you get back to that place where you can write again without the guilt, without the lack of motivation, without the busy work that throws you into a tailspin of endless responsibilities, and yes you guessed it, burnout. That’s why I write these posts and am writing a book.
Validation without pity: You’re not lazy. You’re depleted. And you don’t have to stay there.
If you take nothing else from this, let it be this: burnout is not a moral failing. You didn’t mess up. You didn’t “fall behind.” You’ve been swimming upstream in a storm with rocks in your backpack, and now your arms are tired. That makes you human—not broken.
