Julie Answers: How do I fix my creative burnout?
Fashion Designer asked: As a designer, I’m going through a period of burnout for over a year now. I’m not sure how to fix it and become inspired again. I’ve talked to a therapist and have found a few helpful tips, but what advice can you give me?
Dear Fashion Designer,
Being a creative person means living with the ups and downs of that creativity. It is almost like an art in itself to find your own unique way to stay motivated even when you are not feeling inspired. Here are my best tips:
It’s helpful to remind yourself that having lapses in creative energy is a normal part of the creativity cycle. It is even more helpful to remember that it happens to everyone, even the best artists. To give yourself hope that your own dry spells will pass, seek out inspiration in others’ stories of their own. Nearly every artist has gone through periods when they thought they had lost their spark and were afraid it was gone for good.
For example, in tick, tick… BOOM! we see Jonathan Larson almost at the end of his rope trying to write a new song. As a viewer, you are right there with him as he comes up with nothing… and nothing… and nothing… and then — finally — something. And it’s good.
Rather than seeing the past year as just a period of low creativity, think of it as…
