Hello Reader,

first of all, huge thanks to everyone for the warm welcome-back replies. It means the world, truly! Coming back is scary and you made it a smooth landing. 🥰

Today, I have a story for you. My story of overcoming burnout that I hope will make you feel less alone as a creator who may have experienced burnout as well (whether you realize it or not).

Why? Hearing other people’s stories no longer makes burnout a personal failure, but a normal human experience a lot of us share in this day and age. Talking about it is healing, whether you are the one talking or the one listening/reading.

This is the story of finding the passion to create again after feeling completely overwhelmed and paralyzed. Don’t expect overnight miracles, but candid real-life tale. 😳

Because we need to start being more honest about the behind the scenes that don’t make it on our social media profiles, because it’s a part of the problem why many of us burn out. So here we go…

***

15 years ago, I started creating online for fun and all I had dreamed about was to make a full-time living with my creativity. That dream came true 8 years ago and it’s been my bread and butter ever since. 😍

The tricky thing about turning your passion into a profession is that somewhere along the way it stops feeling like fun and starts feeling like work.

The psychological part of burnout makes you feel completely paralyzed to do the thing you once loved. And it’s mind-boggling. 🤯

My “solution” in the first year and a half was to just soldier on and hide it from the world out of fear. 😔

“I’m a pro,

I can do this in my sleep,

I have a responsibility toward my clients,

I can't ruin my reputation

and people’s trust in me…”

were the thoughts that kept playing in my head. 🥺

So I just kept pushing, but something was missing from my work.

Fun. Passion. Drive.

I honestly considered changing my career for a while there. 🫣

***

Next to the psychological part of burnout, there was the physical one. After 3 long years, my body was well enough to finally go back to some sports activities and I started running again. 🏃🏻‍♀️

To keep myself accountable, I started sharing it on my personal IG. Two months later, I realized I was being a little annoying 🤷🏻‍♀️ and started my “runsta” (running Instagram) @lenkaontherun as my online accountability diary, just for myself.

Meaning – no strategy, no best practices, no aesthetically pleasing feed. Just whatever goes as long as it’s fun. Zero pressure.

And that’s when it started to change. 🤯

Finally, making content was fun again.

The passion for it came back.

And I felt the drive to challenge myself creatively.

It was a gradual process that happened over an entire year. Let’s be real. There was no waking up and “problem solved”.

Allowing myself to take it slow and not have expectations was the key.

I realized I didn’t want to change my career, but maybe I needed to revisit my roots to find my purpose and add more of creating just for myself instead of only serving others. Balance. 💆🏻‍♀️

***

Was this the only thing that helped me? Of course not.

In my case, severe burnout was the cause of having two careers in different timezones, plenty of volunteer activities, and an overall busy life. 😬

Gradually, I finished up most of my projects and collaborations.

My body was completely depleted, so I consulted with specialists and made my health a top priority. 💪🏻

And of course, I took a break, as you may have noticed from the prolonged radio silence. Simplification of my life was the medicine I needed. Only then I was ok enough to start adding things back in. Gradually, one at a time, and seeing how I feel.

The whole Instagram thing and the resurrection of Creative Coffee were some of the latest steps in the 3-year recovery journey. 🫠

So in case you are feeling bad for not being to bounce back straight away, you are not alone. 🤗

***

Here is the sum of my learnings that I wish someone had told me:

1. Quitting projects or collaborations (responsibly) to take time off to recover is not selfish.
2. Soldering on is not brave or strong. Asking for help is.
3. Expecting yourself to bounce back in any timeframe you set is not helpful.
4. Make the comeback slow and sustainable. Focusing on fun takes off the pressure.
5. Talk about it with others. You may feel like you are dealing with it alone, but the person who looks like they have everything figured out might be struggling just like you.

***

Hope you found this helpful. It’s a little different format and I’m curious to hear your thoughts. 😊

Next time you can expect a more practical issue of Creative Coffee – I’ll be talking about a slow and steady approach to content creation on social media and why I think it’s the way forward.

If you set yourself a goal to finally get going this year, but feel too paralyzed to start, this will be for you.

Stay creative,

Lenka