So You’re Stuck In a Rut. What Now?

Like it or not, everyone occasionally comes to a point where they just lose interest in doing their normal everyday work. Some call it “burnout”, some call it “designer’s block”; regardless of what it’s called, it’s a fact of life as a creative professional that some days you just won’t be “feeling it”. Despite this feeling, though, you still have clients demanding work from you, and that work has to be done somehow. What do you do?

Get inspired elsewhere

Sometimes burnout is a simple matter of doing exactly the same thing for too long. Even if you absolutely love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, having one every single day can get boring. So, the first technique to get yourself out of a funk is mixing up your routine. Try a different workspace; go outside if you’ve been spending all your time indoors; read websites, magazines, or books that you wouldn’t normally touch. Often these kinds of activities will trigger some part of your brain that has just been sitting around, helping you look at the work you need to do from an entirely different angle and getting you involved and interested again.

Just start at all costs

Many times a so-called “burnout” is really procrastination. Your work is overwhelming you, and as a result your natural inclination is to step back and wait for the situation to change. The problem with this approach is that the only thing changing is the amount of time left until your deadline – which is getting smaller, not larger. The trick to getting out of this situation is just starting, and not focusing on the totality of what needs to be done. Get yourself to spend 10 solid minutes working on something, and chances are good that you’ll get into a rhythm and be able to finish a sizable chunk then and there. If not, go back to procrastinating for a bit and then commit yourself to 10 minutes of work again.

Have you had a break lately?

Sometimes burnout is just a sign that you really need a break. If you’ve been pushing yourself hard for months, without any time for yourself, take a mini-vacation for a day or two to give your brain a chance to think about all the non-work things that it has been saving up while you work. Then, when you come back, you’ll be refreshed and ready to go.

Preventative medicine

All of these tips can be used before a burnout happens as well. Spending time now and then exposing yourself to new and different things, and committing yourself to tiny bursts of work when you don’t really feel like doing anything, will help keep you in check before burnout even rears its ugly head. Take care of your brain, and it will take care of you.

Are there any tips I’m missing? What are your strategies for avoiding a work meltdown?

Photo by megwills