Creative exhaustion
Creative exhaustion might not officially be a thing, but I’m fairly confident it’s something we’ve all struggled with from time to time.
It’s like you hit a wall and then start to panic. You’ve spent so long building up your followers and delivering a top notch service to all your clients and now they expect this stream of valuable content and communication to continue and you don’t want to let them down. Only, you’re lost for what to do next.
I myself was in that very position only last week and it got to the point where I was showing physical exhaustion symptoms as well. I was lethargic for days and eventually I had to just climb into bed on Friday afternoon and sleep. My body had jumped in to tell me that my brain needed to escape from the creative pressure. And so I slept. And then mr. nimble cooked us both a fantastic dinner. And then I slept some more.
I was days behind on lots of little jobs, but I had to let myself recuperate.
You see whenever I have any sized project in the studio, I pour every ounce of myself into it. Being the owner of my little business means the buck stops with me on every project and I’m guilty of putting a lot of pressure on myself to work hard because I pride myself on delivering the best possible experience to every single client. But I guess being human means that it’s only possible to sustain that for so long before your body begins to struggle. And so the creative exhaustion takes hold.
Stopping and allowing myself to rest was absolutely the right thing to do. And the following day I didn’t rush straight back into the studio to try and catch up. Nope, I did the most mundane thing I could think of. I polished and hoovered the house. And I lost myself in a favourite podcast of mine while I did it.
The result? My body and mind were rested, and the creative sparks began to fire once again.
Thankfully it only took that little bit of breathing space to allow my creativity to flow once again, perhaps because I’d responded so quickly to the signals my body was giving me. Who knows? I’m just glad that by the end of that podcast I’d drummed up the beginnings of all the ideas I needed for the next week and my energy levels were creeping back up to where they should have been.
The moral of this story? If you’re struggling then remember it’s counterproductive to push yourself harder. Stop. Rest. And breathe. You’re body and mind will be better off for it in the long run.
If you’re experiencing some creative exhaustion and would like to get more support with your corporate video production, then head over to our free supportive WhatsApp group. It’s a safe space to ask questions and share advice between small business and third sectors employees who’re looking for support in creating great video content. You’re welcome to come and join in the conversation anytime.
