On Dealing With A Pandemic Burn Out

So how do we deal with burn out really? How do we recover that energy to create and be our best selves again? I’ve listed down 4 things that helped me get back to my feet in no time.

A glass of Sauv Blanc, designer bathing suits, sun kissed skin, and a nice house music playing in the background. This was me last year B.C. as in before Coronavirus. I found myself scrolling endlessly through folders and folders of photographs trying to refresh my memory of what has been. I have always been a highly visual person myself. I’m used to telling stories through photographs once upon a time, and slowly ventured out by collating influences and amplifying purposes through creating different brands, visual identities, and marketing campaigns.

Because believe it or not, travelling has been an integral part of my creative process. Imagine me coming home with a pile of Below-the-line marketing materials from cafes, museums, local brands as souvenirs. But because of this Pandemic, it has caused most of us to pause and stay put wherever we are. The effect was quite massive and it slowly began to sink in.

“There has to be something that I’m missing here.” I muttered to myself after I repeatedly travelled back and forth from one folder to another. I was lacking the inspiration to create something. Unlike before, I could easily book a trip somewhere and soak in all the culture and experiences to influence my designs. For some reason, I was missing the feeling of experiencing new things for the first time. And then it dawned to me… as a creative entrepreneur, I am experiencing a Pandemic burnout.

Burnout is a new term coined by Herbert Freudenberger and he defined it as “the extinction of motivation or incentive, especially where one’s devotion to a cause or relationship fails to produce the desired results.” Simply put, when you begin to notice the heaviness on your shoulders, a lack of inspiration coupled with a bit of exhaustion, and that feeling of being paralysed and incapable to move, then you are showing signs of burnout. In fact, the concept of burnout is not new to most of us. As high-functioning SHEeos and creative entrepreneurs, we always experience burnout at a high rate. And of course, our belief that time is always of the essence doesn’t contribute at all. We tend to forget that we are high intentional beings and that our energies are more important to keep us in tip-top shape for our businesses to get going.

So how do we deal with burn out really? How do we recover that energy to create and be our best selves again? I’ve listed down 4 things that helped me get back to my feet in no time. Hoping that you can use the same techniques especially during this Pandemic.

1. Prioritize rest above all

Ever heard of the Italian Phrase “Dolce Far Niente?” The first time I heard about it was in a scene of Eat Pray Love. Now it makes sense more than ever as we shift from a Work-from-Home set-up as it blurs the line between work and rest. How to prioritize rest? Have a day for yourself and do nothing. As this will allow you to restore all the energies you’ve used up.

2. Find your Soul Medicines

In other words, do what you love apart from work. As creative entrepreneurs, most of the time our jobs don’t feel like work at all. However, as living beings there has to be a more simpler way to enjoy our day to day lives and these are your Soul Medicines. It can be listening to music, reading a book, joining a yoga class, and etc. The idea is to allow your soul to nourish and grow that will inspire you to create more.

3. Disconnect to connect

With this Pandemic, our place to have human interaction is through social media. And while it’s true that it made the world become closer than ever, it’s important to disconnect once in a while to reconnect to the energies within us. Take some time to reflect and see how the real benefits of being disconnected (for a while) will bring you your much needed clarity.

4. Call your loved ones and engage in a genuine conversation

This Pandemic shouldn’t stop us from nurturing our relationships. Today, even my grandparents learned how to FaceTime. This is a great opportunity to reconnect with your loved ones and listen to them intently, and engage in meaningful conversations with them.