Burnout, but make it creative

In this video, I talk about the experience and emotions of creator burnout. I use a mixed-media approach to convey how the experience feels for me, how I am confronting it, and the emotions I'm having along the way. This is a departure from my usual content- I felt inspired to make something more stylized than usual. I'll be back to my regular content at some point soon, but for now, please enjoy this explanation of where I've been.

[@khashayarr]

This really resonated with me! Getting to the things that you've put aside because of work seems like the perfect framing. I think what this framing highlights is the difference between work and labour. As human beings, I think we'd wilt without work. Realizing our potential, production of stuff we're proud of, and striving towards something are all facts of our existence - this can be defined as work and a source of fulfilment. But when combined with an unreasonable loss of freedom and tied to our ability to exists (rent, food, etc.) then it becomes labour and looses its ✨ magic ✨ I love the idea that escaping from labour could involve escaping to work!

[@michael.trimboli]

This video struck a chord with me. I definitely loved the editing and stylistic choices you made in making it. But your feelings about creativity at work vs. at rest are spot on. For me, I usually frame it as consumption vs. creating. Too much of one or the other and you will get burned out. As much as trying to be creative and productive all the time is not healthy, the reaction to this can be consuming content all the time, such as Instagram, KZbin, Netflix, etc. It's very difficult for me to find that balance, and maybe it needs to ebb and flow rather than be a constant delineated amount of each. But you can't have one without the other.

[@YvonneHansonPhotography]

This is a really lovely way to put it. I like the idea of balance. That creating and consuming are two parts of a whole, rather than two competing wholes. Thank you for sharing this perspective!

[@MattHooker]

I needed this video right now. Thanks Yvonne!

[@PhotoReactionVideos]

Fantastic episode!!! I can relate. Thank you for putting this together 😊

[@YvonneHansonPhotography]

Thank you for watching :)

[@juliemarkova4056]

Thank you, this is helpful ❤❤

[@JamieMPhoto]

Nice move with the low battery. :) (still watching)

[@YvonneHansonPhotography]

He he he I thought that was clever. Risky though hahaha

[@JamieMPhoto]

Well, this is the best burnout video. I think I've gone through a lot of this while working a night creative job WHILE being drastically more interested in photography ... and then again while enduring basically an abusive grad school situation, etc. I've considered photography my work and my play for a while, but have always been interested in design, writing, drawing, and increasingly motion stuff. The biggest chafing points always seem to be constraints like "you're just a photographer" or "stick to your place" type situations. Physical rest is important, but I guess idleness can only rest creativity so much ... I think about athletes sometimes with this. They've found that kids who dedicate to one sport are far more prone to injury, and those who will rotate sports with seasons will still excel at whatever they are really best at, but with lower injury risk. Maybe our brains work a similar way. If everything in our lives feeds our art and creativity, we are only starving ourselves by a diet of creative entropy or ... something.

[@YvonneHansonPhotography]

@@JamieMPhoto I love that comparison, with sports. Its like using a muscle! If you're using the same muscle groups over and over, it doesnt matter how much you love doing the sport, eventually you're going to need to find activities that use different muscles. It doesn't mean giving up physical activity all together, but finding ways to do it that don't cause injury. Its weird thinking of creativity this way, but I think its actually a really tight comparison.

[@marilyn525]

I think it's more informative than you imagine. I haven't really thought about how doing creative projects outside my work world helps me feel so much more rested than ... resting. But they do!

[@YvonneHansonPhotography]

I appreciate that! I hope you get a chance to put that into practice, and take on some extracurricular creativity!

[@coryajonesvideo]

Well, I think this video definitely resonates with me, actually it kinda surprised me how much. I'm also a photographer/novelist, and in my case the burnout was on the writing side, and I turned to photography after a long sabbatical to help me get the gears turning again. Much the same way you have returned to painting and writing. I'm not a pro at either because I'm not making any money with either of them, yet, but I devote easily as much time to them as I do my actual full-time job. I've sacrificed everything from relationships to retirement savings, and I even sleep a lot less than I should so I'd have enough time to do it all. Voluntary sacrifices, and probably not smart, but when you're committed, then you do what you gotta do. But then everything you're juggling starts moving at different speeds, throwing you off balance, causing stress, causing loss of creative drive, and ultimately, compromising idea generation. It sucks, but it sounds to me like you're already bouncing back pretty well. I'd love to see more of your painting if you decide to incorporate that interest into your channel, and maybe some writing vlogs? I'd watch. :) But, either way, this more creative style of videomaking is a winner. I loved it. Hopefully we'll get to see more, and hopefully you'll be feeling much better. Cheers Yvonne! 😁💙📸🙌

[@TheSoulProponent]

1000+ style points

[@YvonneHansonPhotography]

Ty ty!

[@spectrazone]

Definitely sharing this with some of my artist friends, this might be my favorite video on the subject. It's such an interesting way to re-frame what burnout is and what to do about it, and I agree that a lot of other videos fixate way too much on just ending the burnout as soon as possible, so as to get back on that grind. I love how the style of the video leans into this idea of playful and exploratory creativity, too; it feels like there was a lot of fun and experimentation in the composition of each shot, the use of reflections, the framing through camera/phone screens, the colored lights, lens filters, etc. Aside from just making the video fun to look at, it really reinforces what you're trying to communicate about still being creative in a way that's different from your usual work. I think regardless of what "lofty ideas" you had at the outset of making this, what you ending up making is beautifully expressive, and left me feeling better and more informed than I have watching other videos about burnout. Also holy shit, the painting!!

[@YvonneHansonPhotography]

Thank you so much for watching! I'm glad you liked the expressiveness, I was worried it might come across as a bit cringe but I was having too much fun playing around with different ways to convey the subject! And it would have been ironic to curtail that creativity while talking about the need for creative expression haha. I'm really glad it resonated with you!

[@sliepa]

Burnout is a sign your life is out of balance in some way, that you are denying some needs in your life. Most creative people will probably go through multiple periods of this. The trick is to realize your needs have changed; the hard part is not knowing what those needs are or what to do about it. During this time, if you recognize this as a sign you are growing and trust, with time, you will find your way through it, it can be a lot less frustrating. Accept that you have plateaued for a while, know you will begin to grow again and allow yourself the time to discover and activate new parts of yourself.