Overcoming creative blocks and burnout (with personal musing)

avatar

PicsArt_12-01-03.26.08.jpg

I had a hard time writing and creating content for my blog or doing the research I am currently doing. I felt disappointed that things didn't work out no matter how hard I tried to juice out my brain. I can't finish writing a blog or even think of a creative solution for my research. I always got stuck halfway to the content I was creating or with simple coding errors. I never lack ideas to blog, but I can't finish what I started. It was the same with my research. I had good ideas, but I had a hard time implementing them that I left them out unsolved. Maybe, creative block is hitting me.

I always remind myself that I should not be concerned, but I often worry about not being productive. We will encounter mental barriers from time to time, but it does not mean that we won't overcome them. It will take time. Most of the time, the reason behind feeling blocked differs from one person to another. It is not one reason fits all. Often it is due to burnout and stress or just mental exhaustion. Some of us felt blocked after finishing a project or juicing out all our mental energy.

PicsArt_12-01-03.17.09 (1).jpg

Creativity got stuck

Our creative block may not always be from burnout. Sometimes we are scared that people will not like it, or it will not turn out well. We trapped ourselves to the perfectionist syndrome that we often doubt what we do. That is what happens with my research. Everything seems too good to be true. But I can't help to invalidate what transpired. By doing so, I run in a circle and do the same thing, as if it was an unending marathon. I am a bit hard on myself. Although everything turned out good, it didn't feel good.

Some friends have that feeling too. We are unable to finish what we started. It is seemingly too hard to find a light in the cave. Two months ago, I was moving well with my research and blogging as well. Time management was perfect, not until my workload increased and have to work for long hours. I had to work more than 12 hours since we lacked some people to work for it. I am thankful for having it, but I find it very taxing.

The workload stress is getting into my nerves. I am a procrastinator but effective and productive. However, the schedule seemingly affects my creativity. I find the workday stress presses down and puts more weight. It keeps getting heavier. I felt I was about to burn out. Vacations alleviate and keep me afloat, but they seemingly did not help much with my creative block.

PicsArt_21-12-01_15-23-24-395.jpg

Cost of Burnout

We all are familiar with burnout. It feels like we have little left to give. Being burnt out is considerably more severe than simply having a terrible day. When we don't burn out unchecked, the trade-offs are costly. It will affect our health, happiness, and even what we can accomplish. Many symptoms of burnout are close to depression. Although burnout link to workday stress, whereas depression, is much more than that.

We may find ourselves running out of gas. It resonates well with me. After having to deal with a lot of workloads, I felt mentally exhausted. I tried to write, but I ended up staring at a blank screen. Words were too scarce that I was not able to finish my blogs. I always end shaftway. My research got halted due to my inability to translate my mathematical algorithm into codes. I finally reached a point where I was not able to focus no matter how hard I tried.

I may not be in an extreme burnout state, but I noticed that I was almost there. It manifested to a creative or a mental block that executing a regular task like blogging and my research seemingly too hard. But what was weird is, I still function relatively productive for my day job. However, I have days that I find it too hard to get out of bed. Work has been more of a hassle than ever. We may find ourselves canceling plans merely because we lack energy. I did that with one of the technical webinars that I was supposed to give a talk.

PicsArt_12-01-03.12.55.jpg

Obsession of finding the cause

I was obsessed with explaining what I was going through and what caused it. I did find my creative block culprit. It wasn't burnout but lack of sleep and long work hours. The long work hours drain my mental energy. For months now, I was not sleeping well due to hectic schedules with work and graduate research. I think straining and overexerting myself caused me to deplete my creativity and productivity.

Finding the cause of our creative block will not cure it, but it will help us understand why we're missing the passion and put us in a position to start working through it. We may get mental blocks because we are so overburdened with work that we don't know where to begin. I am glad that I unloaded some of my workloads. Taking a small task off our plate is one of the simplest methods to overcome a creative block. It helps me get into clear out my mind, which can assist with motivation and creativity.

When we strive unsuccessfully to overcome a mental barrier for a lengthy time, we tend to focus on our mental block rather than the task at hand. We fall trapped in our obsession for finding what causes and a means to overcome it. We need to take breaks to clear out our minds. We need to see it from a different perspective. For me, a cup of coffee helps. Finishing minor tasks can help us a sense of success. It may be enough to rejuvenate our minds.

PicsArt_21-12-01_14-55-08-563 (1).jpg

Conclusion

Everyone has their limits. I forget that. Having to deal with longer work hours and a heavier workload, I always feel exhausted. While it is good to be known as the person willing to go above and beyond, we never want to bite off more than we can chew. We should not commit to tasks that can be overbearing to what we can only do. Overcommitting can increase our stress that may result in creative blocks and burnout.

I had a hard time writing and creating content for my blog or doing the research I am currently doing. I am recovering from my creative blocks and hopefully kickstart content creation. I felt disappointed due to my inability to be creative and productive, but It is not all disappointment. I still find a silver lining in what transpired. While mental blocks have much reason to occur, stress and burnout afloat. We should always strike a balance between work, life, and play.


Feature Photos: All photo is courtesy of the author

Researches about Creative blocks and Burnout

  1. C. Maslach, Understanding the burnout experience: recent research and its implications for psychiatry, NCBI

  2. Panagiota Koutsimani et. al., The Relationship Between Burnout, Depression, and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, NCBI



0
0
0.000
15 comments
avatar

Dear @juecoree, I felt you were under the pressure of developing your own content that could be praised and admired by others.😦

I think you've been creating great content so far. So, you will be able to create great content in the future without feeling burdened.

My friend, I think you should be more generous with yourself by giving yourself more rest.

0
0
0.000
avatar

I felt you were under the pressure of developing your own content that could be praised and admired by others.

Maybe. But I think the pressure is much more on the research that I was conducting. I drowned myself to a self-inflicted deadline and I always try to rush everything.

I think you've been creating great content so far. So, you will be able to create great content in the future without feeling burdened.

I appreciate the word. Thank you!

My friend, I think you should be more generous with yourself by giving yourself more rest.

Thank you for the advice. Yeah, I really need to give myself a good break and rest. Actually, I am doing that for the past few days. A good rest was able to clear out my mind.

Enjoy a slice of !PIZZA

0
0
0.000
avatar

Hi, @juecoree your post gives scenarios and events that come up. Sometimes reminding us to take action in time, sometimes alerting us that we are on the edge of a line, that if we pass it situations with different nuances will be triggered. Yes, as you point out, there must be a balance. Thank you for addressing and somehow moving us internally to observe and act.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Good to hear that my words resonates with you. We really need to be self-aware and when to draw the line before we burn out. Enjoy a slice of !PIZZA

0
0
0.000
avatar

Don’t worry, we are all in the same ballpark with started but unfinished stuff. And actually also for what concern ideas (I have a list of hundreds of them, and definitely not enough time to tackle everything within a single life). I would say that we should just do things one by one, little by little, and be happy with what is achieved. Then it will get better on the psychological side. I tag @mobbs here, as we had a similar discussion earlier today.

Going back to burnouts, note that it is good that you managed to notice something was wrong. In my case, I most of the time don’t notice and I am brought back to the real world by others (family, friends), often almost too late...

0
0
0.000
avatar

Don’t worry, we are all in the same ballpark with started but unfinished stuff...

Thanks for the words. Sometimes we just need to hear world like this one to reassure that things sometimes doesn't fits well with plans.

I would say that we should just do things one by one, little by little, and be happy with what is achieved.

This works for me. When I tried to take task simultaneously, things git missed up and unfinished. I guess taking some task off from our plate little by little will surely help.

Going back to burnouts, note that it is good that you managed to notice something was wrong. In my case, I most of the time don’t notice and I am brought back to the real world by others (family, friends), often almost too late...

I glad too that I noticed it by myself. I had similar experience before that I drowned myself that others was the one who pulled out me from burn out.

Enjoy a slice of !PIZZA

0
0
0.000
avatar

Thanks for the pizza (I had no idea such a thing existed on Hive... I was away for too long) ;)

0
0
0.000
avatar

Thanks for your contribution to the STEMsocial community. Feel free to join us on discord to get to know the rest of us!

Please consider delegating to the @stemsocial account (80% of the curation rewards are returned).

Please consider including @stemsocial as a beneficiary to get a stronger support. 
 

0
0
0.000
avatar
(Edited)

PIZZA! PIZZA! PIZZA!

PIZZA Holders sent $PIZZA tips in this post's comments:
juecoree tipped goldgrifin007 (x1)
@juecoree(4/9) tipped @lemouth (x1)
juecoree tipped alfonsoalfonsi (x1)

You can now send $PIZZA tips in Discord via tip.cc!

0
0
0.000
avatar

We should always strike a balance between work, life, and play.

This is my takeaway from this post. It is simple and profound.
Thank you for writing the post

0
0
0.000
avatar

Waaah this is the exact thing I'm feeling right now. My mind wants to write but my body says no.

0
0
0.000
avatar
(Edited)

@juecoree my brother.
Take some rest sometimes. Exercise some act of recreation, enjoy your leisure. Remember all work without a play makes jack a dull boy and that's exactly what's affecting you brother. Find some rest man.

Nice content sir

0
0
0.000
avatar

Congratulations @juecoree! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s):

You distributed more than 34000 upvotes.
Your next target is to reach 35000 upvotes.

You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP

Check out the last post from @hivebuzz:

The Hive Gamification Proposal for 2022
Saint-Nicholas challenge for well-behaved girls and boys
Feedback from the December 1st Hive Power Up Day
0
0
0.000