BURN OUT

May 15, 2022

Hey Friends

Finally finished up some client work and a bunch of planning for "content" and I am feeling the effects.

Burn

I do a lot of things these days, between my freelance work, personal art, the podcast, youtube channel, this newsletter, the Patreon, and all while trying to be a good human. I am feeling a little bit overwhelmed and dare I say even... Burnt Out. I think I have an issue where when I have free time I try to fill it with so many things that when all the other endeavors start to pick up again my schedule, mind, and body gets overloaded.

Luckily with some books, I've been reading and overall awareness of my mental state, I have been more conscious of it and tried to take time off when I can. In the end, though that overarching feeling is always still there telling me to

"create more"

"Do Better"

"Get Farther"

I think ambition sometimes is what causes us to burn out. It's a good thing that we feel burn out here and there because it means we are pushing ourselves to achieve the things we want.

A big factor that I think is adding to my burnout is that I am in this preparation phase. I have lots of anxiety and OCD when it comes to scheduling and keeping everything organized so I am preparing for a vacation. I don't want any of the things I do to be swept under the rug though. So I am overworked right now I think so that I can enjoy my trip without guilt. So If I seem a little manic up until July just know at least for a week or 2 in July I will be chilling on the beach in Puerto Rico.

How are y'all feeling? Are you in a good state? Are you burnt out? If not how do you deal with those feelings when you are experiencing them?

Less one Offs

I think a main thing that contributes to the feelings in the previous sections is this world of One offs. We live in a society where everything from Art to a selfie is something that is posted online and is Quick to Consume/Quick to Forget. Creating a video here and there and then a random Instagram poster or collage that is different every time can feel so unimportant. Everything is just a one off and only seems to matter sometimes for the day or 2 it's getting attention. This is why I think I had so much fun with my Black Note series because it was a personal project that I was forced to sit with and take more time on. It is also more fulfilling when you create an entire project (client or personal) than just silly one-off pieces.

I have been having a lot of fun with my Skatin not Stirred series though. This has been a breath of fresh air in my life filled with one-offs. When this goes out I will have posted 6 of them out of the total series of 8. I am excited to finish the project and organize it all together. I also was thinking of maybe making some kind of grid poster with the 8 on it and sell it as a limited edition print in the store. What do y'all think of that? Is that overindulging or maybe it could be a cool thing that was worked too and we can experience together.

I know I ranted a little bit more on this but I gotta stop putting myself into boxes. Expect some longer wordage like this sometimes and other organized little categories other weeks.