[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”Michael Gungor” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Burnout is what happens when you try to avoid being human for too long.[/perfectpullquote]
Is burnout inevitable? If so, how do you manage it? If not, how do you avoid it? Does it occur suddenly or gradually? Is it self-inflicted or the result of unrealistic expectations?
It seems we’re in a world where clients no longer simply “pick two”, but expect you to hit the bullseye of the Good-Fast-Cheap vendiagram. As technology increasingly improves, people naturally expect the productivity and the quality of work to rise with it. But in the creative realm, we soon realize the limitations within us that technology can’t always compensate for.
Some hit “writer’s block”, others experience physiological exhaustion which can result in serious issues and conditions if not addressed. Often it seems to be treated as a rite of passage, a necessary burden, a cultural expectation, a “crunch” period within a planned schedule or a worthwhile compromise to get to work your “dream job”.
So this month, consider applying the brakes a little, brew some green tea, settle into your most comfortable chair and read what our community has to say on the subject of burnout.
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Please email richard [at] this site to contribute an article for this month’s topic. And as always, please feel free to go “off-topic” if there’s something else you’re burning to share with the community.
I agree with the “rite of passage”, I call it pay-your-dues.. but rite of passage sounds much better. Thanks for that! Ultimately I believe it comes from us not from our employers that expect “un-human” amount of work in a short amount of time.. and maybe we even do our best work in that way.. we are the one that want to impress, get a rush of dopamine for impossible challenges.. then it happens once in a while that we fail, but we keep raising the bar no matter what.. I think it’s just human nature.. well, some humans.. the fantasy and the hope that we can be superheroes..