WEEK 15 - the antidote to creative burnout
Hey there, thanks for joining us for Week 15 of HOMwork 2020!
WOW I had no idea how perfect this week’s assignment would be back when I was brainstorming. But it’s been an intense couple of weeks, hasn’t it? We have this big collective experience that everyone is figuring out how to navigate, and many of us are working hard to keep our careers healthy too!
There’s been a lot on the interwebs lately about taking advantage of the enforced down time and getting really productive. I spent some brainpower (and plenty of shower thoughts haha) working through the ethics of promoting your businesses during the COVID-19 crisis. (I shared a bunch of those thoughts on Instagram Stories and saved the whole series in my Highlights.)
The conclusion I came to was this: if your work is helpful or useful or makes someone’s life better it should be out in the world, now more than ever. If you are able and interested in being productive right now then you should be! On the flipside, don’t feel obligated to sell or produce work if you are not able to!
Basically, whether you’re rocking out a whole slew of new work or not, the thing we should ALL be doing right now is taking care of ourselves. And part of that self care should include practicing creative self care.
CREATIVE self care is different from a bubble bath and a glass of wine (although those are also important haha). Creative self care is about prioritizing creative activities that make us feel inspired and expressive and light and good. And the reason it’s so important? Creative self care helps us combat both creative burnout and creative malaise because it connects creativity with really positive emotions and practices.
You can start practicing creative self care immediately: come up with a list of creative activities that make you feel amazing then cross reference that list with stuff you’re actually doing. If you’re not making time for the “I feel amazing!” stuff on a regular basis start working it into your regular schedule. Don’t just fit it in - schedule time for it. Make it a priority!
We need to carve out time for self care in our businesses the same way we have started (as a society) carving out time for self care in our personal lives.
For myself, I’ve been working on a mural painting course for the past several months, released it last week, and today is when enrollment closes. I have been working especially hard on this project, sharing posts, being super present on social media, answering lots of questions, and being much more attentive and responsive than usual.
So I will be “refilling” my creative self care tank this weekend and in the coming weeks! (It probably won’t include any mural work haha.)
It helps to think of creative practices like a laptop battery - when it runs out of juice, we recharge! We don’t blame the laptop for losing power or shutting off. Creative self care is a way for us to recharge our creative practice - whether we are running a business or practicing a hobby regularly. Schedule regular times to “plug in” to the creative activities that help you recharge!
Which brings me to this week’s assignment….
Your assignment: make (and illustrate) a list of activities that make you feel inspired and creative.
Caption idea #1: Go into detail about how the things on your list contribute to your creative well-being. If it’s something similar to what you already do for “work,” explain how that particular activity recharges (rather than drains) you. If it’s something different from what you do for work, explain how that particular activity relates back to your art.
Caption idea #2: Talk about how you are going to incorporate these creative self care activities. Are you going to schedule in time? Set an alarm? Make sure you have a “self care kit” on hand? Let your audience know what you’re doing to make creative self care a priority!
Don’t forget to share on Instagram with the hashtag #HOMwork2020 and tag me @homsweethom when you post. I’ll be sharing my favorites in my Story all week!
