Ambidextr Media

In today’s competitive environment, being memorable is the primary goal to boost brand recognition. This is why creativity is undeniably crucial in marketing, and why different marketing agencies exist around the world. In order to attract potential consumers, marketers attempt to come up with unique ideas that set a company’s reputation apart. 

Creative burnout, therefore, is a threat to businesses and marketers alike. When faced with repetitive ideas and multiple competitions, getting burnout is unavoidable. Luckily, conquering creative burnout is possible.

When is it considered a burnout?

Differentiating burnout from stress, tiredness, and fatigue can be confusing. Burnout, according to the World Health Organization, is an “occupational phenomenon” as a result of “chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” Meaning, it is a persistent stress that you experience strictly from your job. In terms of creative burnout, it interferes with your performance and you feel as if you can’t produce anything creative no matter how hard you try.

Unlike tiredness and fatigue, a simple rest can’t address the underlying issue of a burnout. It’s not only a physical exhaustion, but an emotional and mental one too. Some causes of burnout are:

• Lack of work-life balance
• Excessive workload partnered with unreasonable deadlines
• No support system in the workplace
• High expectations from yourself and your peers

If you work in a marketing agency, watch out for these signs of creative burnout

It would be better if we can avoid feeling burnout at all. However, in the middle of a fast-paced work environment, it’s hard to evaluate yourself and stay on top of your responsibilities. Still, it is important to recognize the indicators of creative burnout.

• You don’t feel motivated to do your work. 

Creative block is inevitable when we work on new projects. However, if you feel like you can’t seem to produce good ideas on multiple projects and feel demotivated for a long time already, it might be a sign that what you’re experiencing is creative burnout instead. 

• Depleting self-esteem.

Early signs of creative burnout include lots of self-criticisms. You start thinking your ideas are boring, repetitive, or not creative enough. You may also start doubting all of your past achievements and wonder if you deserve your job at all.

• Emotional outbursts.

Creative burnout also affects your relationship with your co-workers. When you feel too pressured or frustrated towards your job, anything can trigger you to have emotional outbursts, even in inappropriate situations. You may become irritated by the smallest of movements, or you may struggle to control your temper when conversing with someone. 

• Feeling dull about everything.

You also start to feel dull about everything, and it can manifest in multiple ways. It could become harder for you to get out of bed in the morning and go to work, you might stop caring if you perform poorly, or even worse, you might begin to consider quitting your job.

How do you deal with it?

By identifying these signs, you can take necessary steps to manage your workload, prioritize self-care, and maintain a healthy work-life balance to prevent burnout from escalating. Here are some ways you can overcome your creative burnout:

• Expand your knowledge.

If you feel like you’re not being creative enough in your projects, maybe it’s also a sign to explore other strategies by searching for new trends or looking for inspiration elsewhere. Changing your usual approach might be scary for a while, but welcoming new knowledge can help you boost your creativity.

• Find a support system.

Finding a support system whether within or outside your workplace is helpful for your mental health. Look for peers that you can openly communicate with without judgment. Receiving appropriate advice and words of affirmation from friends can alleviate the exhaustion you feel from your job.

• Set realistic goals.

Being an overachiever and proving yourself is sometimes a natural instinct for us. However, make sure to only take the work you know you can accomplish to your capacity. This helps you have more time to focus on your project, as well as prevent you from feeling pressured to accomplish everything in so little time. 

• Be more assertive.

Often, our supervisors might give us projects with unreasonable deadlines or responsibilities beyond our roles. It’s important to be more assertive when it comes to setting your boundaries as an employee. Taking up additional workload when you already have a lot can instantly make you feel overwhelmed and in return, demotivated to actually do them.

• Prioritize work-life balance.

Above all, prioritizing your work-life balance is essential in both avoiding and overcoming creative burnout. Make sure you have proper time to take breaks in between your responsibilities. Life doesn’t solely revolve around your job, so make sure you still dabble on your hobbies and do a little self-care once in a while.

Blog by Maria Bernadette Torda