Burnout 101: For Creative Entrepreneurs

Burnout is something that anyone can face when they’re amidst a period of extended strain or stress. That said, when you run your own creative business (or your side hustle), the risk of burnout increases because your work becomes so deeply embedded into your personal life if you’re not adamant of setting boundaries with yourself and others.

In this blog post, learn about what burnout really is, how to recognize when you are burnt out (or on the verge) and how to actually heal through it. While this article is not intended as medical or psychological advice, I speak with deep empathy and experience and include relevant research throughout.

What IS Burnout?

‘Burnout’ refers to a state of physical and excessive mental exhaustion after serious and prolonged stress. Burnout is typically connected or thought of in relation to stress with a job. It’s also still a relatively new term, not coined until the 1970s by Herbert Freudenberger, who defined burnout as “the extinction of motivation or incentive, especially where one’s devotion to a cause or relationship fails to produce the desired results.”

The two key defining factor of burnout is that it’s from prolonged or extended stress, which is quite common for entrepreneurs (especially in the early stages of business), and that it is deeply tethered to our sense of accomplishment. The Mayo Clinic defines burnout as “a state of physical or emotional exhaustion that also involves a sense of reduced accomplishment and loss of personal identity..”

Why Entrepreneurs Are *Extra* Vulnerable To Burnout

As entrepreneurs tend to be extremely passionate about our work, we are inevitably more vulnerable to burning out. But when you also consider factors like the uncertainty of entrepreneurship, limited safety nets, and the isolation that comes from online business, you see the many reasons why we need to be attuned to ourselves and care for ourselves to avoid and reduce burnout.

Harvard Business Review conducted a study into this link between the passion + burnout of entrepreneurship. They found that entrepreneurs with obsessive passion were more likely experience burnout than those with harmonious passion. This harmoneous level of passion is characterized by periods of deep concentration, but also periods of deep rest and flexibility. Conversely, the obsessively passionate entrepreneur, more prone to burnout, chases things like money, to the detriment of other areas of their life and wellness.

The key here: BALANCE in our work + life, and FLEXIBILITY in our mindset are integral to reducing burn out as a creative entrepreneur.

Recognizing You’re Burnt Out.. 

Curious if you’re experiencing creative burnout? You may be burnt out (or on the way there) if you feel… 

• Listless and apathetic about work that typically lights you up 
• Uninspired creatively 
• Extremely exhausted and lethargic
• A deep sense of helplessness + defeat
• Exhasterbated and unexplained gastrointestinal problems.
• Increased irritability and depression

Beginning To Heal From Burnout 

If you’re experiencing burnout, you need some radical self-care to heal through this period if you want to eventually return to what you love! Or take the time to take a step back and heal to discover what genuinely lights you up.

Here are some of the self-care steps to take when you’re feeling burnout: 

• Accept the fact that you’re burnt out. Avoid resisting or fighting this fact, which will only delay healing. 
• Make extra time in your schedule for rest, and make an effort to go to bed earlier at night to get extra sleep
• Call in support from a dear friend, therapist or coach to help get on track.
• Limit your usage of unnecessary technology and social media.
• Narrow your creative scope of focus to 1-3 core tasks a day.
• Create just for fun again
• Start a journal for gratitude and write down at least three things you’re grateful for each day. 
• Carve out a time at the beginning and end of the day for your own alignment (this can be even 5 minutes twice daily) 
• Work to reframe how you measure success from outward accomplishment to inner fulfillment.
• Work on developing your flexible mindset towards entrepreneurship with tools like affirmations and mindset work.

Check out this post for 5 Self-Care Tips for When You’re Burnt Out

Boundaries = burnout protection 

The best way to avoid continually burning out (no shame if you are in that era right now because I’ve been there) is to create, and continually create, powerful boundaries with yourself and others. 

There are all different types of boundaries, beyond the obvious boundaries you may think of (like country borders). There are emotional and psychological boundaries too! 

For example, if you’re a full-time creative entrepreneur, your ‘do’ list will never truly *end*, so you have to have a hard stop time for your work, or you could technically keep working all through the night. 

Additionally, if you work full-time in your creative business from your home, do everything you can to create a workspace that has a door you can close at the end of the day. This is a powerful boundary – both of these are examples of psychological boundaries. 

In terms of emotional boundaries in creative entrepreneurship, one area you can embody this and practice this is in client feedback + messages. By choosing to only read and answer these when you’re in a place to do so (rather than impulsively checking it every time you pick up your phone), you’re protecting your emotions and energy. 

BALANCE in our work + life, and FLEXIBILITY in our mindset are integral to reducing burn out as a creative entrepreneur.

Take Time For You With The {Free} FULFILLED Workshop

Bask in deep self care and re-inspire your creativity, while shifting your focus from outward success to inner fulfillment in the (free) Fulfilled workshop… 

Other Articles You’ll Love

5 Ways To Practice Self Care When Anxiety Hits

5 Self-Care Tips For When You’re Burnt Out

What is a Resilience Mindset + Why Is it Important For Creative Souls?

3 Daily Habits For Building a Resilient Mindset

30 Mantras + Affirmations To Transform Your Life 

A New Twist For Your Mindset + Self Care Routine

*this article is not intended as psychological or medical advice. 

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