How to Spot the Signs of Burnout and Reconnect to Your Creativity

The creative process thrives on curiosity, purpose and connection—and it isn’t just confined to writers, designers or art directors. If you’ve ever brainstormed a pitch, mapped out fresh campaign placements or navigated a complex new client relationship, congratulations—you’re in the creative club! 

The first rule of the creative club is that we do talk about the creative club, especially when it comes to our biggest rival: creative burnout. Although great strides have been made in addressing workplace mental health, talking about burnout can still feel taboo. Because it should only apply to entrepreneurs, understaffed agencies or places with poor company culture, right? Wrong!

Like creativity itself, creative burnout can apply to anyone, regardless of their workplace or title. Agency life moves fast, and if you’re consistently running on empty, fully tapping into your creativity can feel exhausting—even if you’re working for a people-centered agency, hold a role that you’re genuinely passionate about and have open, constructive communication with your leadership team. 

If you are experiencing burnout, you’re not alone. According to a 2024 survey by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, 56% of marketers are worried about burnout in their current role, with young marketers aged 25-34 feeling the most affected. 

Burnout affects everyone in different ways, and the path out isn’t always linear. However, being able to recognize and address the signs can make a world of difference. Let’s dive in.

Recognizing the Signs of Burnout

Burnout is more than simply feeling tired or unmotivated—it’s a culmination of emotional, mental and often physical exhaustion brought on by chronic or prolonged stress that, if ignored, can lead to a higher risk of depression and anxiety disorders, according to the National Institutes of Health.

The signs of burnout look different for everybody, but knowing what to look for can help you realize and address the issues before they spiral out of control. Here are some of the most common indicators of burnout (and how they may present in your daily life):

1. Small chores start to feel like a burden: your personal and professional spaces become cluttered, clothes are left on the floor, dishes pile up in the sink and your desk is piled with papers. 
2. Work notifications feel like the end of the world: you hear the “ping” of a Gmail or Teams chat, and suddenly, you’re falling to your metaphorical knees—even for small projects or easy requests. 
3. Irritability with colleagues and clients increases: you’re getting annoyed by small requests and check-ins, overanalyzing interactions or messages with your team or feeling like people don’t understand or value your creative process.
4. Worries about the value of your work creep in: you’re feeling overly anxious about your creative output, putting undue pressure on projects you typically have success with and nothing you do seems to live up to the high expectations you’ve set for yourself.
5. Unhealthy or undesirable habits become the norm: you’re losing interest in the creative pursuits that typically bring you joy outside of work, struggle to get more than two pages into the book you were so excited to read and find yourself spending more time doomscrolling than engaging in hobbies you love.

Remember: Burnout can feel isolating, but almost everyone experiences it at some point in their career. It’s not a sign of laziness or poor performance; rather, it’s a sign that it’s time to take a step back, reevaluate your priorities and turn the focus to your mental health. 

Finding a Path Forward

Don’t Drown Silently

The first step to addressing burnout is to raise your hand and be honest with your leadership team about the situation. At the end of the day, they want to help you succeed—but they can’t throw you a lifeline if they don’t know you’re struggling. 

It’s important to remember that, at a healthy workplace, being transparent with leadership will never make you seem “less than.” In fact, this transparency demonstrates the accountability and care you take in managing your career. You likely won’t leave the first conversation cured of all burnout and stress, but once you’ve spoken up, your team can help monitor workload and deadlines, identify underlying issues and develop actionable next steps to escape the burnout dungeon. 

Set Firm Boundaries and Stick to Them

You are not your whole job, regardless of how passionate you are. And it’s difficult to protect your peace if work is constantly bleeding into your personal time.

Setting firm, achievable boundaries for working hours and project timelines is foundational to a healthy work-life balance. Set focus times to limit work disruptions during personal time, and if you notice an increasing number of after-hours emails or receive frequent hot project requests, clue in leadership or project management.

Getting Out of Your Head 

Put Pen to Paper

Get thoughts, feelings and a growing list of to-dos into a journal or notebook. This helps organize the chaos in your brain, visualize stressors and better understand how to address them. 

To Start the Week

Take 30 minutes at the start of Monday or at the end of Friday to regroup and outline a general plan for the coming week. What are the upcoming priorities? Are there personal tasks or situations to be considered? Any important deadlines? 

Remember: Be flexible as the week continues and regularly check in on progress. Priorities may change, and some projects may take more (or less) time than anticipated. 

To Start Your Day

Draft a priority list…and then cut! it! down! Take 10 minutes to brain dump all of your tasks and to-dos for the day. Highlight the top, must-do tasks, and then double-check the others—are they all necessary? What can be handled later in the week? Are there items that can be delegated to other team members? 

Remember: You can’t do everything—nor should you have to. If it feels like you’re constantly playing catch-up or have no time to invest in your own creative development, talk to your leadership team. 

Schedule Intentional Breaks

Creating non-stop for 8 hours a day is…well…unsustainable, to say the least. Some studies have found that having a structured series of focus periods, broken up by short breaks, can improve focus and efficiency for both students and professionals. The Pomodoro Technique, in particular, has been shown to promote sustained concentration and fight mental fatigue.

Here’s how it works:

1. Select a single task from your list to focus on (bonus points if it’s the task you’re dreading most!). 
2. Free yourself of any distractions, such as your phone and email notifications.
3. Set a timer and work continuously for 50 minutes, using a desktop app like Flow to help keep track of time.
4. Take a 10-minute break. 
5. Repeat for 4 rounds. 
6. Take a longer 30-minute break and repeat. 

Remember: Your ideal focus times will likely vary from others. If you struggle to stay focused for the full 50 minutes, try switching to a 25-minute work time with 5-minute breaks. 

Do Something Different

As creative professionals, we are always creating—even if it doesn’t feel like it. Our external actions feed our creativity, providing us with inspiration and helping us explore new ideas. 

If you’re having difficulty starting a new project or getting into the flow state, step away from the screen, even if it’s just for 15 minutes. Put on your favorite song and take a quick idea walk or dance break in the bathroom. Alternatively, connect with a coworker to see what they’re working on and talk through ideas. Chances are, you’ll come back to your desk refreshed and ready to lock in.

Maintaining a Cool Headspace

Bookend Your Days with Joy

Build a simple, achievable morning routine to start your day on the right foot and get your brain moving. This could be as simple as making a well-balanced breakfast and picking a soundtrack or podcast to accompany you on your commute—I’m a firm believer that singing along (or, in my case, warbled yelling along) to the right song can lift you out of the worst moods.

Similarly, find a hobby, activity or post-work ritual to end your day. This can help you switch your brain back into home mode, decenter work and create a more positive association with commuting.

Declutter Your Feed

As much as we wish we weren’t, many of us—especially those in the 25-34 age range—are constantly scrolling. While the most obvious solution is to simply “log off” and disconnect from all social media platforms, that can be difficult or unrealistic in an increasingly online world. And, (newsflash!) not all social media is bad or unproductive. It can be a source of inspiration, creativity and community—you just need to make the feed work for you.

Unfollow accounts that drain your creativity or cause negative thoughts, and replace them with accounts aligned with your passions, values and work. You’ll find your feed more digestible, and you’re more likely to hop off sooner, acting on a spark of inspiration you’ve found. 

Alternatively, when you feel the need to scroll, find an article on Substack or explore a subreddit dedicated to your specific creative interests (r/copywriting followers, where you at?!). 

With a few intentional changes, you can turn doomscrolling into a more productive, inspiring habit.

Getting Your Spark Back

“The best antidote to burnout, particularly when it’s driven by cynicism and inefficacy, is seeking out rich interpersonal interactions and continual personal and professional development.”

 –Harvard Business Review

Surround yourself with people who know you, see your efforts, highlight your strengths and give you honest, constructive feedback. These people will help you see what you can control and unpack the feelings of burnout or anxiety, and can challenge you to pursue new ideas that reignite your creative spark when you’re ready.

Remember: It’s important that you don’t try to learn or do too much when you’re already burnt out. Wait until your burnout lightens to pursue new endeavors to avoid added stress and pressure; for now, focus on familiar, low-stress endeavors.

At the end of the day, creative burnout is complex, and overcoming it takes time. But with the right resources and support, you can fight burnout and win—and even learn something new about your creative process in the meantime. 

About the Author

Mary Aimone is a skilled (and clever) copywriter known for transforming complex topics into clear, compelling content. She excels at adapting narrative voice to align seamlessly with each client’s brand and tone.