What Is Burnout (and what can you do about it)?
So what is Burnout?
Well, burnout is where I have been the past few weeks - the summit of a stinky, foggy, smoldering heap of burnout and overwhelm. I’m picturing that, are you?
If you know, you know.
But let’s step back a bit and talk about what burnout is before I explain how I’ve started digging my way out of the overwhelming fog… the fog of burnout. The burning burnout fog. (Ok, I’m going to stop now)
Let’s just be real with each other a sec… life these days is stressful. Burnout can cause you to feel like your routine work tasks, taking care of the kids and pets, and doing your usual household chores are all impossible… ESPECIALLY when things don’t go the way you want them to (or the way you imagined). Burnout can lead to exhaustion, isolation, irritability, overwhelm... and yes - overwhelm is a symptom of burnout! Unfortunately, we (Yes, I’m talking to you Moms out there too) have been pre-conditioned to think that it’s totally normal to be completely overwhelmed and instead of asking for help, or paying someone to clean our house for us, or forcing ourselves to slow down and enjoy some “me time,” we respond to those day-to-day stresses by working even harder. I read this most PERFECT quote one time and I don’t remember where it came from (sorry if you’re the OP… I love your quote though)
“[Doing your best] does not mean working yourself to the point of a mental breakdown.”
I don’t know if it’s obvious or not, but I’m totally talking to myself here. I have let myself get completely overwhelmed these past few months and unfortunately that led to a serious case of burnout! It has manifested in every area of my life: my work, my social media (AKA: I haven’t been posting regularly), my house, my relationships, my health… Why have I been overwhelmed? Well… grab your favorite bev and settle down for a bit - this is gonna take a sec.
It all started with Huge Project #1 (I can’t technically talk about this one yet, so I’m going to refer to this project as HP1). HP1 is a massive client coloring book project with an almost impossible deadline. Back Story: My previous three Amazing States books took me 9-14 months to finish drawing and writing from start-to-finish. Then you add on an additional 3-4 months (for editing, printing, and publication) before they actually arrive on my doorstep ready to sell. That’s 12-18 months total. Well, HP1 had a ”books in hand” timeline of LESS THAN 12 months. YIKES! But fast-forward 9 months (NINE), I’m finally finished, and it’s almost through being edited and proofed… so I can finally breathe a bit now.
Besides HP1, I had several other (smaller but just as involved) design projects and I was/am in the middle of a nasty tummy flare-up from stress, eating bad, quarantine, ALL.THE.THINGS… basically I’m having trouble eating anything normal right now. PLUS - my house was a mess. Like, I hadn’t dusted in over a month, I couldn’t remember the last time I had cleaned the toilets (gross - I know) and I hadn’t vacuumed in at least 2 weeks. If any of you know me or have read this blog for any period of time - I don’t particularly like to clean (I mean, who DOES?), but I can’t function if I know my house is messy/dirty. And on top of all that stuff, don’t forget to tack on all the social media + email newsletters + blog posts… AAAAAACK!!!!!!
So ALL.OF.THIS.STUFF combined with all the other day-to-day stuff thrown in = a massive case of BURNOUT!
… And burnout leads to overwhelm, so here we are.
Enter: Self-Care
Why is self-care important? What is self-care (and what isn’t it)?
Y’all, being an adult is overrated. Adulting sometimes comes with overwhelming responsibilities, AMIRIGHT? Self-care is a general term that describes anything and everything you do deliberately for ONLY for the betterment of YOUR mental, physical, and emotional well-being. You might think that self-care is selfish (I used to think that too), but it's far from that. When you pay enough attention to your own well-being, you're not JUST considering your needs... you're taking care of yourself so that you can be the best you that you can be. The best version of yourself! Everyone around you also benefits from the renewed energy and joy (and lack of stress) you exhibit.
Here’s a quick test:
Do you feel anxious or full of worry?
Are you unable to concentrate?
Are you achy or sick more than usual?
Do you think you’re sad or generally unhappy?
Are you overwhelmed and constantly worried?
Does your family think you’re irritable or short tempered?
Are you tired a lot of the time?
Do you feel lonely or alone?
Are you having trouble remembering things?
Have you used drugs or alcohol to help you de-stress at the end of the day?
(no judgement)Have you been sleeping too much or too little?
What about weight gain or loss - have you been eating too much or too little?
Have you been neglecting your responsibilities? (like me with my housework)
Do the things that USED to bring you joy not do it for you anymore?
If you answered to yes on ANY OF THESE questions - it could be a sign and/or symptom of stress. If you think stress-overload might be affecting your life, there is something pretty simple you can do about it… practice some self-care!
Let me tell you a little secret… I answered yes to A BUNCH of those!
So now that we’ve established the fact that I suck at being overwhelmed, what are some of the things I've done to try and lessen that burnout from the first quarter of 2021?
I ALWAYS try to have a good book on hand - one I'm looking forward to reading. I usually also have a self-help or biz book at the ready, but when I’m feeling down or my tummy is angry - a fun easy read is what I’m going to gravitate towards every time!
I also love working on my crochet projects. There’s something incredibly relaxing about the repetitive motion of twisting the soft yarn through your fingers and weaving it into a masterpiece!
If I’m really stressed, my GO-TO activity is sitting on the back patio and painting.
Getting enough Vitamin D is also a super mood-booster for me. I just take a 5 minute break to walk out the front door and let the sun warm the top of my head.
Something I really love doing on lazy weekends is getting out all my cookbooks and designing a super menu for every night of the upcoming week. I know this isn’t going to be some people’s cup-of-tea, but this really relaxes me.
Playing Animal Crossing (there. I said it. I'm a 12 year old).
Something I recently did for the first time was pay someone to clean my house for me. I had let it get way too dirty and didn't want to clean (and I honestly didn’t FEEL like cleaning).
Taking a big long soaking bubble bath is another of my FAVORITE ways to help get rid of some of that burnout. I’ll take my book (or the Switch… shhhh….) and soak in a super hot mineral bath.
A nice mid-afternoon “quick fix” for me is making an oat milk latte for myself. I’m trying to cut back on caffeine (I usually only have 1 cup of coffee each morning), but the occasional afternoon latte feels completely luxurious to me.
Another quick food-booster is going to Kroger to buying some flowers for our kitchen table. Flowers make everything better, AMIRIGHT?
I know I've already mentioned this, but one of my favorite ways to take care of myself is by exercising my creative muscles. I will take my markers outside and do some watercolor painting (link back to blog). Or I'll pick up a few $1 wooden crafts to paint from Michael's and go sit outside under the umbrella and paint. Even if you don't consider yourself an artist - creativity is really important in taking care of yourself. Pull out your favorite cookbook (or go to Pinterest) and pick a recipe that you LOVE. Cupcakes, some homemade salad dressing, smoothies, homemade bread... Cooking is one of those acts of creative self-care that benefits more than just you (everybody will love sampling your "creativity")! Do you want to try your hand at painting but you don't own any (or don't know how to use them)? Go check out this post of mine where I teach you how to “paint” with crayola markers! OR… get some comfy clothes on, pour yourself a fun drink, pull out some coloring books and colored pencils, and turn on your favorite tunes instead! (There’s something so relaxing about coloring.) Don't have any coloring books (or don't have any that a toddler hasn't completely filled up with nonsensical scribbles) - NO PROBLEM! Go to the FREEBIE link on my shop page and print yourself some coloring pages.
What I’m trying to say is ANY creative act helps you to calm down. It causes your brain to slow down a bit and focus. Being creative has even been compared to meditation due to its calming effects on the brain and your body. So next time you’re feeling super stressed out, or you can feel the fog of overwhelm creeping back in - take a break and get creative! Paint, bake, dance, sing, color, paint your fingernails a wild color, go buy yourself a bouquet of flowers, go on your own mini scavenger hunt…
And remember:
“Take time to do what makes your soul happy”
So what was your main takeaway from today’s post? What are some of YOUR favorite (CREATIVE) activities to do for self-care? I’d love it if you could tell me in the comments.