I have mentioned it a lot in this series, that creativity is something that needs to be fed and nurtured, but it is also something that needs to be listened to. Throughout the month of February, I was starting to feel the burnout coming on. It came from a few different directions, but the first impact is usually on my studio time. I took a look at what I was able to do for myself to get nicely reset and back on a new track. This doesn’t always have to be something big, sometimes the adjustments can be very simple, so don’t let this cause you more stress. 

1. Tried taking something off my plate: 
   When I took the March illustration of the month off my list it was followed by quick relief, and then a flood of inspiration. That tiny bit of pressure was removed from the way and everything started moving. The coffee might have also been using its powers for good, but it was a good feeling I hadn’t had in a while.
2. Look at stressors: 
   I was finding that I was getting stressed with my posting schedule and trying to make sure that I was on top of things. I removed all of that as well. I didn’t pressure myself for two weeks. No deadlines, no must posts, nothing, unless I felt like it. Eventually I became excited for projects again. I looked forward to posting content. I was interested in learning more, creating more, and wrapping up idle projects.

Creating is supposed to be fun, even if it is how you make a living. For me it’s an outlet. I use my studio as a place to get centered, to calm down, and to express myself, so I am extra sensitive to the mood there. If something is out of alignment, and it doesn’t bring me happiness or joy, it causes me to become more stressed. If I don’t have my outlet, what do I do now?

The key is to make sure you don’t get to that burnout point, and if you do, to have tools on hand to help get yourself back to where you want to be. Taking this small break was great for me, it took pressure away, I could create for fun, and enjoy what I was doing every day. It is unsettling to be out of the groove, but recognizing it and acting on it really helped me out. These small adjustments were all I needed to get back into it, because I didn’t leave it for too long. Ideally I’d have a set up that isn’t “burn until you crash”, and that’s a balance I am currently working on. Level for longer periods would work better for me, but everyone is different. How do you take care of yourself? 

For this week’s post, I am coming back to the origination of these posts. Everyone is creative, and everyone has something to offer. How your creativity comes through and how you feed and present it is completely up to you.

I think a very easy mentality to fall into is, “it’s easy for me, so it must be easy for everyone else”. Chewing, maybe. But making something, creating something, deciding something, not always. Or, you can see someone doing something and you fall into the old “that’s to easy for you, I could never do that”. Please stop this. Here’s why.

To get to the point of something being, or more often “appearing”, easy, hours and hours and hours of trial and error, misused materials, cut fingers, missed hammer swings, broken tools, and probably a table flip and a swear or two have gone into getting to that point. The reel on Instagram making that painting look easy, is actually the result of hours of work on that single piece, and hours of previous pieces to get the artist to this piece. You cooking a full meal didn’t just happen, those skills were built up from all the meals you cooked before it. Boiling water is a skill, I have roommate stories to tell to prove this point. You picking out an outfit that matches and works for your style, believe it or not came from many other outfit choices, some good, some bad. We’ve all been there.

What I am getting at, is that something you find super easy, as a result of hours of work and learning, could be something that people are looking for. For example, I always took my illustrations as me “just drawing”. People might want to see the final result, but they probably don’t care about the process. Then I started doing my live streams. These sessions are just me drawing on my iPad most of the time, and explaining my process. The response has been unbelievable. I get way more hits on the videos were I am working through my process than the ones where I am just finessing the final piece. So even though I saw this as “part of the process”, and “just something everyone does”, it’s something that people are interested in, they want to see MY process.

What I am saying here is don’t write yourself off. You have worked hard to get to where you are at. The things you can do that are easy are that way because you powered through, kept trying, kept learning, and kept experimenting. Don’t sell yourself short in that people think you are uncreative. It’s more likely that they are inspired by your creativity and are ready to learn from it.