How To Replenish Your Creativity And Limit Burnout

Consistently creating and publishing a podcast can be really tough work at times. Creativity isn’t always available when you need it most and burnout is a very real thing that can lead to a podfaded podcast. We here at Q’d Up Audio aren’t about to let that happen, however.

On this week’s episode of the Q’d Up Podcast on Podcasting, we’re talking all about replenishing your creativity and limiting burnout. We take you through a few tips that help us find our creativity and keep us moving forward so you can too.

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Episode transcript:

I want to kick off the new year on the Q’d Up Podcast on Podcasting in a unique way. Normally I provide some advice for elevating your podcast to the next level. While this episode will certainly help you do the same, I’m focusing today’s advice on you – the person, not the podcaster.

For most of us, the last two years have been tough. A global pandemic started and the podcasting space has become packed with competition. If you’re anything like me, there’s a certain amount of stress constantly in the background and it might finally be taking its toll on you and your ability to be creative.

This episode of the Q’d Up Podcast on Podcasting is going to be a little bit of motivation mixed with real ways I’ve found to replenish your creative energy.

In talking to the creative people I know — both personally and professionally — a lot have mentioned feeling burnt out at the close of 2021. They’ve been stuck at home far more than usual because of the pandemic and they’re filling the time as a way to distract. That means working later hours, starting up new business ventures, learning new skills, and a feeling of constant pressure to be hustling their way to success all without as much time off to decompress.

At a certain point, their well of creativity runs dry and they struggle to do even the simplest of creative tasks. And because society doesn’t typically like talking about mental health, people just keep it to themselves, growing more frustrated and burnt out with each passing day. It all builds up until they break in some form. 

Whether this is you already or you can see the writing on the wall, let’s pump the brakes a bit and remind you of your greatness.

You kick ass! You’ve not only been doing your day job, but you’ve also been creating a podcast at the same time. You’re putting pieces of you out into the world and if you have even one listener, you’re making someone’s life a better place because of what you do. I can think of nothing better in life than someone getting enjoyment out of my creativity and you should be infinitely proud that you’re doing the same.

But it’s hard work and you have every right to feel overwhelmed. Regardless of your beliefs, we’ve all been going through a, hopefully, once-in-a-lifetime pandemic that will be featured prominently in history books forever. We’ve all had some form of restriction over the last two years, which has likely dramatically impacted our ways of managing stress while adding heaps of it on top. 

Add to that a culture that heavily promotes a “grind and hustle your way to success” mentality while ignoring the toll that takes on mental health, and it can be easy to see how you might be struggling right now.

As someone who has previously dealt with these very issues and will undoubtedly go through them again, I’ve developed some ways to not only stem the feeling of burnout but actually recharge my creativity.

Let’s kick things off with some general tips for fighting burnout.

Step 1 is getting up and getting away from things. For a lot of creative people, there’s a feeling that you have to constantly be doing something in order to move forward. But you don’t. You can just get up from your desk right now and go do something else for a little bit. It doesn’t have to even be for hours at a time, just getting up and focusing your brain on something else can be enough of a pause for things to open back up.

So get up from your computer. Go to the bathroom. You probably need to drink more water, so go get a big glass and chug it down. Go take a walk around the house and pet the cat. If you have a significant other also at home, go interrupt their day for a minute by giving them a big hug and saying you love them. Do 5 minutes of yoga. Whatever you do, get up, stretch your legs, and focus your whole brain on a task for a few minutes. When you return, you’ll likely find that you have a little more energy and things are coming easier than they were before.

You also need rest and while not every person is this way, a lot of creative people are night owls with awful sleeping habits. Studies have found that deep sleep not only allows your brain to finish processing all the background tasks of the day and rest, it actually clears out toxins and repairs sections. If you’re stressed during the day and not getting enough deep sleep, your brain is still full of things it needs to process in order to get back to 100% and it’s not going to be nearly as good at the things you’re struggling with.

Finally, turn off your phone! This is especially poignant for podcasters who are constantly using social media to promote their podcasts. Those people who stare at Slack and their email are in the same boat. While it can be beneficial to multitask during the work day, the phone and all that comes with it tends to invade our personal time as well. And if you’re struggling to refill your creativity, multitasking on work and relaxing means you’re not really relaxing at all. 

You can develop your own rule here but I tend to turn off the sound of my notifications and put my phone in another room when I want to relax. It keeps me from subconsciously looking and thinking about it, which allows me to get more invested in the relaxing activity I’m doing, giving my brain entirely over to it. I’m often rewarded with a wealth of new ideas when I allow my brain to return back to work tasks.

With the general tips out of the way, let’s get into the things that can replenish your creativity and even make your podcast better.

First and foremost is getting a little notebook or using an app on your phone to jot down ideas as they come along. I tend to have great ideas late at night and I’ll never remember them if they don’t get written down somewhere. So, I write down those creative ideas when they come to me in as much detail as I need to execute them later, allowing the creativity to come to me rather than getting frustrated when I can’t conjure it sporadically.

Secondly, go expose yourself to new art that you normally wouldn’t consider. Look at virtual art galleries. Listen to new podcasts. Go play a video game. Watch a television series or a movie. Just whatever you do, do things that are outside your normal sphere of influence. Basically, if you like classic rock music, listen to some jazz to get exposed to new things and maybe find some new ideas.

In a similar vein, you should create some artwork that you normally wouldn’t, all with 0 expectations. For me, my creativity can vanish if I try too hard to be perfect. By switching mediums and holding no expectations for how it’ll turn out, you let your mind just do what it wants without the pressure of performance. That means if you don’t paint, picking up a set of watercolor paints and having fun with it knowing you’ll just throw it in the trash after you’re done.

You should also surround yourself with creative people. I’m attaching a huge asterisk that you need to avoid the people that are really just looking for promotion or will talk about needing to “grind.” The aim here is to put yourself in a highly-creative environment without having to worry about performing or meeting any goals. Essentially, you’re simply looking for muses that will get you in the creative zone.

Finally, look into projects and organizations you really want to work with. It could be doing some work for a non-profit that you love or doing a creative project with a friend that you’ve been wanting to work with but haven’t had the time for. I’ve found my creativity flows when I’m working on something I’m passionate about and it can extend to other, less interesting projects. 

Regardless of what you do, be kind to yourself. It’s hard to be creative on demand, especially when you’re going to put that thing out into the world for all the joy and critiques it’ll bring. Keep doing the things that are working and take some time for yourself, and you’ll be just fine.