GROW LONG-TERM
Avoiding burnout
feat. @lauriseirl @presidentkennedy @kali.ledger @plantkween @deepica @meganjaynecrabbe
Creating is a marathon, not a sprint. It's hard to stay inspired and continue loving what you do when you're not in a good place. That's why it's essential to learn how to recognize burnout, and how to prevent it.
Know how to recognize burnout when it starts to happen.
Use tools to limit your notifications and take breaks.
Give yourself permission to take time offline.
Don’t let your short-term goals get in the way of your well-being.
How do you recognize burnout?
[@meganjaynecrabbe] So many people would say, it's not a real job. It's so easy. It doesn't take that much energy, but the burnout can be real. And for me, I know that's hitting when my entire brain feels like it's on a scroll, and it's just filled with the opinions of hundreds of thousands of other people, and my own voice is getting lost.
[@plantkween] Yes. Burnout is real, and make sure you care for yourself. And if you can't care for yourself, rely on community care. So have other folks that you love and care for, care for you.
[@presidentkennedy] What I realized was that, if I'm not good, then I don't show up good online, period. is just based on my personality and my mood. And so if I'm not at my best, then I can't provide my best. So it's very important for me to be well rested, for me to be feeling good, for me to be in a good mental space. I'm also very honest about when I'm not in a good mental space. So I think it just levels the playing field and levels expectations. People don't come on expecting me to be perfect or in the perfect mood every day. They know that this is a real human and you know, if she's dealing with something, she's dealing with something. Refreshing.
What are your tools for avoiding burnout?
[@lauriseirl] I really like the take a break tool that Instagram introduced. I use it a lot. I have mine set to 10 minute intervals, so that if I'm on Instagram for longer than 10 minutes at a time, it will snap me out of it, and be like, girl, get it together.
[@kali.ledger] So for me as a social media creator, the lines between working and casually browsing can become a bit more blurred. So I like to set myself some time limits and also put my phone into focus, work mode, which means all my private notifications are coming when I'm off work, basically.
[@meganjaynecrabbe] So the Instagram tools that I use to avoid burnout and take care of my mental health are absolutely, turning notifications off, when I need to, setting a time limit on how long I spend there, having things like only people I follow being able to reply to my Stories, so I'm not constantly being inundated with tons of people's reactions. And I could not be more thankful for tools that allow you to set those boundaries, and put a limit on how much energy you give and can be taken from you.
How do you practice self-care?
[@plantkween] I think with everything that's happening in the world, that burnout is very, very easy. And so I took time away from social media for a little bit, and that was so helpful and eye opening for me. Make sure that you take time away from social media to enjoy the things that you're bringing into your life and all the work that you're putting into your social media presence, and the opportunities and experiences that it's bringing you.
[@deepica] Having set vacations that actually are meant to be vacations. It's really tough when you're a creator and you feel like people are there to follow your journey even on vacations, right? But I have set vacations that I do where I'm actually not thinking about work, and really giving myself time off, and it's really helpful. You know, there's always gonna be things that come up organically, that are trending sounds, and if they happen and they feel really easy, I'll do it. But I have my set filming days. And that way I have other days to focus on other parts of my business.
[@plantkween] Self care can look like a multitude of different things. Taking a bubble bath, buying yourself something cute, saying no to social plans. And in those moments I find inspiration, and I'm able to feed myself so that I can avoid burnout.
How do you manage audience expectations?
[@meganjaynecrabbe] I like to keep plenty of content in reserve for if I have a day where I'm just not feeling it. I know I have something that I could post but also, I like to be honest with myself and my audience. If I'm not inspired, if I'm not feeling creative, I no longer force myself to put out that content.
[@presidentkennedy] I definitely was one of those people who was like if I'm not online every day, then, you know what I mean? I'm gonna lose some followers. And it's just like, girl, and, who cares? You lose a follower or two. Next! At the end of the day, what's more important is my wellbeing. I value my wellbeing more than I value my status online. And so I think it's just about prioritizing that. My wellbeing over social media. I'm going to choose me every time.