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Dealing with burnout as a writer 

From someone who experiences it too often and usually has to work through it on their own.

This is limited to what I experience and what works for me.

First, how do you know you’re going through burnout?

For me, some tell-tale signs are:

Detachment, feeling disconnected from everything.

Prolonged exhaustion that doesn’t go away even after a nap.

Difficulty performing tasks, even those I’m passionate about and don’t want to procrastinate on.

Knowing where the story is supposed to go but just not being able to come up with words so the idea just floats in my head leading too…

Irritability and frustration

Here’s how I (try to) deal with burnout:

Taking breaks, the obvious first choice. For some people, taking a break after a certain number of words suits them best but I found taking breaks after certain intervals of time works better for me. At the end of the break if I find that I’m still unable to write—like I really just can’t do it—I’ll take a longer break BUT I’ll have to time my break so it doesn’t go on for way too long. I'm terrible at time management so if I don't keep it in check a "break" can extend for a whole month.

Revisiting old works or going through my notes and reading half-done works. I do this especially when I’m low on motivation and it always helps.

Working on something else.

Shifting my attention for a while and then going back to look at my writing from a new prespective. Also, this way I don’t feel bad for not doing anything at all.

Reading other people’s work.

For me, this could be anything from a book to a movie to a song. But most people tend to prefer a book that will help them with their own writing.

Most of the time when I start noticing signs of burnout it’s when I’ve already reached the end of my rope and I’m most likely neglecting my personal needs. So, even the smallest task can make a huge difference to my mood such as; taking a shower, drinking water, cleaning up my workspace (or if I don’t feel like doing that yet, writing somewhere else for a change).

Along with hygiene, it’s important to make sure you’re eating enough. Make something low effort that you'll enjoy .

Physical activity does wonders to make me feel better. Also I'll most likely want to take a shower after running or working out so it's like a 2 in 1.

Going out for a walk is not be feasible or easy for me because of the place I live in but do go outside if you can. There’s so many things out there that can be a source of inspiration. I suggest taking a small notebook with you to write down ideas.