Find Your Comfy Medium between Productivity & Burnout
Feel like it? We ball. Don't feel like it? Nah.
A dear subscriber wrote to me the other day: Where are you, Sanjay? Please come back as soon as possible.
Yes, I know. I apologise for being away for two weeks.
I had to break free from the creativity-numbing monotony. Don’t get me wrong: I still enjoy writing about psychology and productivity. But soon, I realised that when I tried to build a routine out of writing newsletters in my niche once a week, my creativity took a hit, and I was fast approaching my burnout phase. I knew this because I’d been there before.
So, I decided to take some time off because being creative was exhausting for me and my soul. I could see the past few articles gaining less and less popularity because I couldn’t flex my creative muscles much. I can’t fathom how many writers on Substack consistently write daily or weekly without getting burnt out.
The problem is that I can write about an idea for six hours straight and feel great, but working on the same idea the next week seems like the last thing I want to do.
On the flip side, I may be working on an article for an hour a day and suddenly not care anymore because I feel like I’m not making any meaningful progress. I get burnt out regardless of the amount of time I spend.
Do you guys feel the same way? Let me know in the comments below.
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🔥Burnout
Burnout is challenging to identify, especially in the creative space, because each person's creative process is unique. It happens to everyone at some point. When we get busy with life, responsibilities, family, and work, we sometimes forget to take a step back and rest.
Burnout is a form of exhaustion caused by constantly feeling swamped. Burnout is often related to one’s job, but you can be burnt out when you experience too much emotion and physical and mental fatigue for far too long. In the creative space, I have experienced burnout even while doing things I enjoy for far too long.
Here are some questions that I had while researching burnout.
Is Burnout the same as Stress?
No, they are not the same. When you are under a lot of physical and mental pressure, or when external entities are demanding too much of your time, attention and energy, you are under stress.
Burnout is the opposite. When you have too little motivation, emotion or care for the things you do, you experience burnout. You feel depleted or used up.
Burnout vs. Depression
Burnouts can look like depression, but it’s not the same. Depression is a medical illness that has to be treated with therapy or medication, and it affects all aspects of your life.
Burnout, on the other hand, disappears with some rest or time off. Plus, burnouts are usually related to one aspect of life—your work, family, or creative space.
In the graph below, I have tried to explain burnout graphically. The orange line represents burnout, and the blue line represents laziness. We should aim to be in the green line, the “comfy medium.”
🛋️ The Comfy Medium
So, how do you find yourself in the comfy medium?
Personally, it took me time to find the right balance. And yes, even to this day, as evident from my short disappearance, I still struggle with it. I will not hide this fact from you because, in today’s day and age, it is okay to talk openly about mental health.
In short, a comfy medium is your comfortable zone of productivity. We all have it, and it’s good to recognise where it’s at. If you’re too far away from it, you may either get frustrated and burnt out or feel incapable of improving. Give yourself small victories, and keep reminding yourself you’re capable.
I take time to “check in” with my artistic self. You can do this by meditation, listening to your favourite pep talks, journaling daily, etc.
My favourite way to connect with my artistic self is by “disconnecting.” I completely disconnect from the monotonous cycle that is pushing me to burnout and don’t feel bad about it. I take as much time as I need to recover mentally and physically.
During my recovery time, I spend time with my family, go on vacations and road trips, and do anything and everything outside the cycle that I enjoy.
⛓️ The Consistency Problem
I used to plan out my days to the minute. I don’t create every day anymore, and I realised that it ruined me personally. Nowadays, I just set goals for the week. Two or three times a week, I do self-check-ins to see if I am still aligned with my goals and take notes on my productivity. I check if I am in my comfy medium; if not, I re-adjust my goals to position myself in the comfy medium. I also make sure that I am getting enough rest periods throughout the day.
It’s all about consistency, and consistency doesn’t have to mean every day! It’s essential to set goals and rest periods that work for you and put you in the comfy medium. Please don’t follow my schedule or some random schedule off of the internet. This approach has made me feel more creative and motivated, and I have plenty of time to relax and think of ideas. I am confident this approach will help you, too.
🌯 Wrapping Up
In conclusion, it’s important to be consistent with your creative outlet rather than overproducing or underproducing. The key is to operate in the comfy medium to avoid laziness and burnout.
I hope you’ve learned something new in this week’s edition of Hustle Heads.
Thank you for reading.
Sanjay.
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