✍️TWW: #006: How to recover from a burn out & get back your creative energy

Let me ask you something:

Have you ever entered a creative rut?

A period, when you either lack ideas or none seem good enough for you.

A period, when writing feels like a chore.

A period, where you don't get any work done, and if you do, you do it half-heartedly because 80% of your brain is thinking about the TV show you wanna watch. 

Let me tell you something:

This is how I'm feeling right now, at this very moment.

I'm not excited to write this issue as I used to.

I don't look forward to writing.

Tweet ideas don't pop as easily.

But...

I am a content creator, which in other words means...

I'm solving my own problems in a way that serves other people.

Here are a few quick thoughts on being stuck in a rut, and how to get back your creative energy (that I hope to apply over the course of the next week):

Creative energy is energy like any other

Creativity is a way of channeling the energy you have.

If you don't have anything to channel, the results will be poor. We know that.

So asking "Why am I not creative? Why do I feel burnt out? Why am I annoyed by everything?" is pointless when you don't take care of yourself.

Whenever you struggle in life, you have to realize that 80% of solving a problem comes down to solving the basics:

• getting enough sleep

• limiting your screen time

• eating clean

• exercising

• meditation

• spending time with the right people

Our brains are just biochemical machines.

If the chemicals aren't right, nothing else is.

Get into a flow state

Flow state is like a magic pill.

It's when your skills are perfectly matching your task at hand. It's when you feel like you were the only person on earth made for doing the task.

It's the feeling of doing something you're meant to do, but on the other hand, going further than you ever thought you can go.

Learning how to enter the flow state is a superb skill - if you master it, you can make writing more enjoyable than Netflix.

I describe more on how to get into the flow state in this issue.

But there's one major pushback for most people:

To get into flow state, you have to follow your own goals.

Which brings us to the next point:

Know Thyself

As David Perell says:

"Most people don't want things they actually want. They just look at other people, and say "Oh, I want that too!"

And this, my friend, is obviously a problem.

People spend entire lives chasing something they don't even want, just to fulfill someone else's needs.

Sounds stupid when put on paper. Well, it is in reality.

In life, your #1 priority should be living life on your own terms.

Or at least that's mine.

I can be happy or sad - but all of that's ok if I'm living on my own terms.

Ugh - we got more broad than we should.

So how does that relate to content?

Create content that excites you.

This is the best indicator.

All day long, you're being a slave of someone else's goals. Use the internet to escape that people-pleasing hell.

But here comes a big BUT:

But what if nothing excites me?

Keep reading.

Be careful with dopamine

"Are you overstimulated?"

I’ve learned to ask this question very often since I started consuming more from Dan Koe.

Dopamine is a hormone that’s supposed to tell us when we’re headed in the right direction.

But these days, cheap sources of dopamine are available everywhere, while we don’t have to put in any energy to get them.

This makes our dopamine receptors dumb - and also ruins are sense of excitement and curiosity.

Dopamine hits when you get this feeling of “whoah, I want to know more about this”.

If you don’t experience these feeling that often, this might be a dopamine-overstimulation problem.

How do you deal with that?

• take walks without phone

• drink only water & tea

• no phone first 30 mins after waking up

• single tasking (not switching between tasks)

Small changes make a big difference.

Put yourself on a schedule:

Here's what I have written in the past issue:

Disappearing for 6 months is a meme.

So let’s start a new trend:

Disappearing for 30 mins.

Not enough to make life-changing progress all at once…but hell enough time if you do it every single day.

In just 30 mins of focused work, you can write a long-form piece of content.

A Twitter Thread.

Batch-write tweets.

And not only that - it feels good to just throw off your phone, say “see ya” to the distracting world, and immerse yourself into your passion.

You spend all day reacting to other people’s priorities.

It’s time to establish your own.

Be a bit selfish, and put yourself on a 30-min schedule just for yourself, your computer & Notion ;)

Spend time collecting & connecting the dots

Content is made out of content.

If you don’t feel inspired, if you don’t feel enough creative energy, that might as well mean that you don’t get enough of the right fuel.

As they say:

Garbage in, garbage out.

Because... let me tell you something:

You, as a creator, are the funnel vessel between the things you consume and the things you put out. You have the power to turn them into something that is immensely helpful for other people.

You can form a unique perspective, you can be someone’s life-saver, you can be the hit of dopamine they get when they read your stuff.

But how can you possibly accomplish that?

Spend enough time collecting high-quality dots.

Dots from different dots. Go down that rabbit hole.

Then dots that make up other dots.

There are infinite directions you can go in.

But if you follow the one truest to you- if you pursue your curiosity - that is when you create the most authentic, helpful & high-quality content there is.

Be true to yourself, and follow your passions to hell.

Then, burn most of what you found into a masterpiece.

Sounds difficult- but if you consume the right content you have the right energy.

Take a break

Momentum is the important word here.

It's like riding a bike.

When you slow down, it's hard to speed up again.

It's easier to get off the bike, take a few breaths, and then cycle harder.

The same should go with content creation.

And that's why I'll be taking a break over the next few days - probs until Wednesday (which is my birthday) yayyy.

Feel free to join me as well -  a few days of break can only help.

Now...that's it for today!

I know this was a long one, but I needed to clear my head.

Till next Thursday,

— Claudia "Taking a break" Stellner

P.S.: Don't forget to catch some sunlight today ;)

P.S.S.: Whenever you're ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:

1. Join my free community for accountability & friendly chat (170+ writers)

2. Grab The Consistent Writer's Playbook to accelerate your progress as a beginner (60+ writers). You can use discount code “PLAYBOOK13” to grab it for $4.99.