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Being a content creator is not an easy job and burn out is a very real issue in this industry. It's why we cover it every few months in this blog. Having to do the work of a small business as one person can be stressful and the burn out that comes with it is very real. It's especially difficult to manage burn out when you're working hard but not seeing the results you expect. Here’s our six tips to manage and prevent burn out:
Don’t Work So Much
A big source of burn out is working excessive hours. If you’re putting in hours at a 9 to 5 and then coming home and putting in as much or more into being a content creator, you’re going to burn out fast. Don’t try to do everything all at once. If you film content one day, save editing for the next. Use a scheduling tool to help you bulk schedule some things to social media and even your fan platforms.
Don’t Let Yourself Get Overwhelmed
If you feel yourself becoming overwhelmed with what you are doing, take a step back and leave it alone until you are feeling better. Becoming overwhelmed is going to cause mistakes in your work which will be more work for you in the long run. It’s okay to walk away and leave it for another day. You can even just leave it for a couple of hours and go for a walk, read a book or go play a video game you enjoy.
Set A Schedule
One thing I have done for myself is set a schedule for when I need to work on the blog, scheduling and other things I do for Unfiltrd. This has helped me immensely as I am mentally prepared to start working on my projects at 8am every day. If you use the Apple ecosystem utilize the focus features to help reduce distractions. It’s called “Focus” for a good reason. Setting up a focus on your phone to help minimize distractions can help you get more work done in a shorter period of time as you wont be disturbed by app notifications, calls and other messages that don’t require your immediate attention. Setting this during a time that you know you’re more productive will also go a long way. I do my best work in the morning, you may do your best in the afternoon or evening. Set a time that works best for you!
Take Breaks!
Whether you take a break in the middle of your scheduled work, or take a couple of days off, these breaks are very important to your mental health as well as the quality of your work. In photography and photo editing, professionals advise taking 10 to 15 minute breaks while editing a photo so that you can come back to it with fresh eyes and notice if anything needs to be touched up or if something is over processed. You can apply this concept to anything you’re working on. Fresh eyes and a fresh mindset will help you recognize mistakes or add strokes of brilliance. When I am writing particularly difficult blogs and hit a wall, I go grab a fresh cup of coffee toss my headphones on and just breathe. After a few minutes of some heavy metal coursing through my system, I come back, read through what I have and usually find a couple of spelling or grammar mistakes, and find ways to change the syntax of what I am writing to make it more succinct. Take a quick walk to get your blood circulating and produce some quick endorphins to help with your mind set as well. Exercise is a great way to help reduce burn out.
Set Priorities
When you’re establishing a schedule for yourself, give yourself a list of things to do in order of priority. For me when my work day starts, the first thing I do is go through the moderation queue and then move on to support tickets. This includes checking the discord to see if there are any accounts that have been reported to be deleted. Mondays have the added task of writing my weekly blog. Map out your priorities for the day and then build your schedule around that. For me, because moderation has to be done several times a day, I make sure its always the first thing I do when I get up in the morning, before lunch, before nap, after nap and throughout the afternoon/evening. With doing it first thing in the morning, it also allows me to focus on the other things I need to do.
Put your easy tasks that take the least amount of time first, your harder tasks that require more time next, and wrap up tasks for the day at the end. And don’t forget to take breaks when you need them!
Set Goals
Set some goals for yourself. And, as much as I hate to say it( because corporate America harps on these)… Set SMART goals for yourself. If you’ve ever worked in corporate America you will have heard this phrase before but for those of you not familiar let me elaborate for you. SMART Goals dont mean “ooh I think it’s smart for me to have this as a goal” well… kind of, SMART means Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timely . Here’s an example of a SMART goal: I want to visit Italy this fall. in order to do this I need to be making 10k a month in earnings. This is specific, $10k a month in earnings, Measurable: I can track how much I am making a month and use these figures as a way to gauge my success and determine whats working and whats not. It's achievable, I've done it before I can do it again. It's relevant, Venice is on my bucket list. And it's timely, I want to go to Italy in the fall so I have 6 months to accomplish this goal.
Give yourself a way to track your success and see if your SMART goal is working for you or if adjustments need to be made.
What do you think? Will you try scheduling your day and SMART goals to try to break your cycle of burnout? K love you Byeeeeee Sara Lyn
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