How I dealt with Creator Burnout during the Pandemic

As much as I love creating content, loneliness during the pandemic lockdowns and pressure from bills drove me into extreme burnout.

While every day fatigue can be shed of by resting or just taking a nap, burnout on the other hand can lead to serious health issues if not addressed correctly Webmd.

Below I share how I dealt with struggles on the first two years of the pandemic.You can pick a few to add on to your routine.

Have a system

Basically I had a schedule that outlined my everyday activities. In that schedule, I would allocate time for work, break,rest and stick to it. Because of my ADHD, I have very low concentration levels, so I worked with one hour work allocations and 15-30min breaks.

Without even realising it I got a lot of work done and at the same time bought time for my mind to rejuvenate for the next workload.

With this system I realised I created more and better content.Depending on the nature of your work, you can have 1-3 hour work time and take 30-60minute breaks. Pick whatever works for you and discipline yourself to stick to it.

Take a hobby

I love taking evening walks. Most of the time it's to buy dinner at a nearby market or visit a friend. But the pandemic brought lockdowns in my Country, that meant all shops were closed by 7pm.

So I enjoyed the next best thing. Dancing. I would put one my favourite music and get my groove on.

Later on I would settle down to a warm bath and a good movie. Relaxing at the end of the day helped me sleep well and ready for the next day. If the nature of your work is Immobile, find something physical to do at the end of the day. It could be running, gardening,Swimming ,basically whatever you are into.

Specialise on a genre

I stopped following trends. When I started learning tech was to improve my writing ability in technology. Since then I've been able to build my own website and App and loving it.

I have had less stress and I am able to focus on one thing at a time. I get to perfect it and allow it to serve me and not the other way round. Right now there's great talk about Web3.

As much as it seems to be the next big thing in tech, for a beginner I wouldn't recommend. Find your foot first in the tech world and then explore the available options.The problem with trends is they come and go.

So if you are jumping on every trend that comes up and abandon what you know, you will end up in a quagmire when it goes out of style.

Diversify your sources of Income

The pandemic taught us a good lesson on putting our eggs in one basket. I for one lost my cleaning business and had to start creating content again.

This wouldn't have happened if I had persisted with my technical writing on the side, I would have at least had one source of income left.

Someone on a twitter space made a good suggestion on how to diversify income through investing in stocks, bonds and other businesses. For brand ambassadors asking for shares instead of pay from the companies you influence for.

This will see you earning for the rest of your life rather than having one large payment.

Outsource

Freelancing is a lonely journey. You are everything from CEO, accountant, web designer to social media. And if you are a content creator ,you have to find space for creativity.

If you can afford to, please outsource some of the tedious functions and stick to what you know best, creating.

Talk to someone

During the lockdown living alone was depressing. Although I'm not a very social person, I do enjoy great company once in a while ,when I want to.

For the first time I realised I couldn't mingle when I wanted to. This started affecting my work and I was angry all the time.

Then I realised how good I felt after making long phone calls to my loved ones. It really was great to open up and talk about what I was going through.In extreme cases you can seek therapy and let it all out. It feels really great to have someone to share your struggles.