Four Easy Ways to Break Out of Your Writer’s Burnout

Unnoticeable signs you may ignore that are only hurting you.

Whether you take a break from writing on purpose or by accident, it usually works out for the better. Mentally, you need time to recharge.

Not everyone is Elon Musk who works like a madman and clocks 80 hours a week.

As a writer, you need a break occasionally to avoid burnout. Mentally, physically, and emotionally, you need to take time off.

“Burnout is not simply a result of working long hours or juggling too many tasks, though those both play a role. The cynicism, depression, and lethargy that are characteristic of burnout most often occur when a person is not in control of how a job is carried out, at work or at home, or is asked to complete tasks that conflict with their sense of self.”

Your brain is working trying to be a top writer, today’s Stephen King or J. K. Rowling. You may get there one day or you may not.

You have limitations.

You may reach that status or you may not.

One thing you need to do, you need to take care of your body. Taking a break helps since it gives to get back and start anew. It’s time to make the fresh donuts again. It’s time to start your writing process. It’s time to get back where you left off.

If you haven’t taken a break, figure out when you need to recharge. You may not feel like taking a break, but your body needs to. Your mind and body may not always be in synch.

When you keep pushing and pushing, eventually you’ll break down like a car and will run on fuel that is on empty. You need to fill up and sometimes that means taking a break from writing.

Signs of burnout

You may be in a cycle is where you may feel when “exhaustion means going to the point where you can’t go any further; burnout means reaching that point and pushing yourself to keep going, whether for days or weeks or years.”

Feeling signs of burnout is nothing new for writers. As soon as you finish one article, you don’t take time to celebrate because you’re ready to write the next article.

You are ready to jump to the next article when you have little time to celebrate the victory of completing the last article.

Then you could start repeating the same article time after time.

You may be forcing yourself to write, and that isn’t a good sign.

You ignore other important parts of your life. This may be family, a spouse, watching your kids grow up, sacrificing time with friends, and ignoring other passions you have in life.

As a writer, you should love the challenge, and not fight the challenge. Writing should come with ease and not something you have to force out of yourself every single day.

Tips to avoid burnout

These are some ways to avoid burnout.

1. Power down. Step away from social media, email, texting, reading, and commenting on other articles. This only adds dangerous fuel to increase burnout as a writer.

2. Create a schedule. Set boundaries on when to write, get online, and to avoid your phone. Then find other activities that are not related to writing so your mind can relax.

3. Learn a new hobby that has nothing to do with writing. You may want to meditate; listen to music; sit out and enjoy mother nature; or simply help your kids with an area they are struggling with.

4. Take a vacation. This may be as short as a day trip to going away for a week. The change of scenery and time away from always being online helps lower your anxiety to always be on.

5. Start a journal and keep your thoughts to yourself. You can write down your personal thoughts, and reflect on your writing goals. There is no need to get feedback since you are the sole reader.

This list could go on and on and you may have your own personal idea that you want to pursue. There is no right or wrong answer. The key point is to take a break from the pressures of writing.

Final thoughts

It may sound great to write every day, but no one is going to give you an award for that. They don’t exist.

You may want to get the attention of someone but those are vanity metrics that mean nothing. This could actually do more harm than good and hurt you as a writer.

Step back and look at your writing schedule.

Ask yourself, these three questions.

1. Are you writing too much?

2. Did you take a break after you wrote your last article to enjoy the accomplishment?

3. Are you trying to force your writing or letting the writing come to you?

The answers to these questions may help you see if you are close to hitting burnout.

Writing should be enjoyed. It shouldn’t be a competition with yourself and others.

When you sit down to write, you should love the writing challenge. If you don’t, you may have signs of burnout.