7 Clues to SPOT a Burned-Out Creator EARLY!

Most creators get exhausted and this exhaustion can turn into burnout real quick. And most creators don't even know that they're in a burnout mode. In this episode, I'll share with you the seven signs that I look out for when coaching creators to see if they will eventually quit because they're not handling bad habits that lead to burnout. And be sure to stay tuned to the end to find out what you can do if you're experiencing any of these seven signs of creator burnout. Hi, I'm Sean Butner, host of Creators that Crush podcast and your certified high performance coach. Creators that Crush is a show that helps creators move from struggling to a creator that crushes. And a creator that crushes does not sit in burnout for too long. So before we get into the seven signs of creative burnout, we need to define what burnout is. So, what, what is burnout? So, having studied this for the last five years kind of more intently than other times of my career, I think creative burnout really comes down to unsustainable habits. So you're doing things that are not sustainable over the long term. And so you might be able to work 160 hour weeks, especially in your 20s, for a couple months, maybe half a year, a year tops, before you break inside and you're burnt out, everything's miserable, and you're wondering, why can't I produce as much as I used to before burnout? So that's one way that I look at burnout. The other way is that you have accumulated stress and you don't have the habits to eliminate that stress or to change your situation. Right? So you either are just constantly stressed out by stuff and you're never getting relief or a break, or you don't believe that you can change your situation in order to live a better life. And so ultimately, that's kind of what I'm listening for when I coach people. But here are the actual seven signs that we'll get into. Now. Let's jump into it. If you've been feeling drained or stuck or that you're losing steam in your creative work, you're not alone. I've been there and I help creators through it every day. I'm a certified high performance coach, and almost every client that I've worked with since I've been certified who's wanted to like change jobs or have a big shift in their life was dealing with burnout in some way or form. That's why after years of being a coach, I use this creator performance assessment and The Certified High Performance Coaching framework to pinpoint exactly what's causing burnout in folks and to help them reach their next steps. And it's something that restores a sense of agency and momentum to folks. And this isn't just theory, because I've experienced burnout myself. My first big run in with burnout came when I was at my first corporate job at Walmart in the information systems division. And I started that job with a can do attitude. You know, give me anything, give me all the hard stuff. And part of that too is imposter syndrome snuck in. So I said yes to every request, you know, even when I was already, you know, drowning in work. So because I was drowning at work, I stopped sleeping. Well, I started to dread going into work, to doing the commute, to even getting out of bed. And I felt completely overwhelmed. And for a while I thought that this is just what it was when you are working your first major career job. But one morning, very miserable, trying to convince myself to get out of bed after hitting snooze for the 11th time, I thought that maybe this isn't how you're supposed to feel in your life. Maybe there's a different way to live. This can't be the way to do it. In that moment, I made a decision to figure out how to shift this thing that I later would identify as burnout. And that caused me to look into personal development. I read books, I started journaling just to get everything in my head out onto paper to try to see if I could see patterns. I deep dove into confidence building and slowly rebuilt my mindset and health. And I realized that burnout had crept into my life because I was not setting boundaries and I was ignoring all of the signs that my mind and body were trying to tell me. So since then, and through coaching, reading workshops, tons of trial and error, I've learned how to help others spot burnout early and reverse it with practical, sustainable changes. And actually, one framework that I'll share with you in a bit. But here's my core belief about this topic. Burnout isn't just about being busy. It's about habits that are not sustainable. You can't brute force your way through burnout and just balancing your work life or just sticking with it is not going to cut it. Every creator needs to ask, can I continue to work at this pace, with this workflow, with this lifestyle and outcome forever? Because if it's not an easy yes, then it's time to rethink your habits. Because burnout doesn't just go away on its own. But it can be reversed with the right type of approach. So what are the seven telltale signs of creator burnout? From a coach's perspective, the biggest thing that I'm always listening for when I interact with creators, either on, like, a strategy call or just meeting people out in the wild, is tension in their voice when they talk about their business or their creative endeavor. And it's that, hey, how is your YouTube channel? It's going okay, right? You kind of get that sound and it's nearly universal with folks. Or you'll see people, like, hesitate, and it could just be for a brief second. But it's the. Yeah, it's good. It's great. Yeah, it's good. Nothing to complain about, you know? And these are types of things that alert me as a coach that there's some tension there, right? So in a coaching relationship, I'll pull on that thread and usually it leads to some type of, man, I'm feeling burnt out. Right? Or people actually will say it, or they'll describe things like exhaustion, like, frustration, like. Or say things like, I don't even know if I can sustain this for the long term. And so if there's tension in what you do as a creator, this is the first sign. The first big sign on the dashboard on the warning system is you're having some type of resistance in your creative career, so we need to address the tension in your work. The second thing is people delay, right? It's like, oh, I need to finish this course on how to do YouTube video intros before I start my YouTube channel, or I have to wait. And I just got these books that I need to read. And once I finish these books or I finish this thing or this thing happens in the future that I have no control over or that I have control over, but I'm not making progress towards. So I have the course. I haven't opened it. I'm not doing any of the trainings, but I know that when I finish it, then I'll start my thing. That's a tale sign of overwhelm, right? A lot of people delay when they're not confident or there's just too many things to do, they don't know where to start. And so you have to really get clear on what the next step is, and you have to step into it boldly. So delay is 2. So first point is tension is the warning sign. Second is delay is the warning sign. The third thing that I look out for with creators is irritability, right? If I'M talking to a creator on a call and we're talking about how is the creation process going? And they get snippy with me, which happens more than you think. Then that's also a sign that there's something going on there. You're not happy with the things that you're doing. And some people take that out on other people, such as a coach. And it's usually an opportunity to unpack why there's this ill will behind exploring that a little bit more. So we have tension, we have delay, we have irritability. Is the first three warning signs that you are in creator burnout. The fourth one is exhaustion. And it's this type of forever exhaustion where people are like, I don't know how I can keep up with this pace. I always wake up tired. I go through the daytime tired. I am completely exhausted at the end of the day. And I just don't want to do anything, including the work that I love or the passionate thing that I create. And I've seen this happen a lot with beginners or earlier people in their creative career in that they're doing a lot. There's a lot of sweat, there's a lot of blood, there's a lot of tears going into the work. And they're not building that audience. They're not getting the sales to. To sustain the business. They're not getting the traction or whatever their definition of success is. And so it can be really exhausting if you're always feeling like you're not able to accomplish your goals. And I've dealt with this one personally myself. And I talk about it. My 700 videos of YouTube with no results type thing that I mentioned on the podcast before. What do you do to battle that existential or actual exhaustion? And something I do day in and day out with my coaching clients. And we'll get into what to do about if you're experiencing any of these here in a minute, so stay tuned for that. But okay, so tension, delay, irritability, exhaustion. The fifth thing that is a sign of burnout for creators is distraction. It's the act actually avoiding doing the work. And this could look like delay. And often this is kind of related, but distraction is. I know I have to sit down and record a podcast episode today, and I'm gonna spend the whole day watching Netflix or I'm going to clean the house. And it's not just, I'm gonna clean the house for 15 minutes or clean my space to. To be able to get to work. It's like, I'M going to deep clean everything with a toothbrush in the kitchen type distraction, you know, so this comes up in a lot of different ways for folks. Like sometimes those habits it's really hard to figure out. Is this a habit that helps you get ready to do work, or is this a habit that is preventing you from doing the work? And our brains are masterful at convincing ourselves that, that it's all preparation to do the work. And sometimes you need to be around different people to be like, hey, like sounds like or looks like you're procrastinating or you're letting distractions win when you know for sure that the thing that you want to be doing is talking about your topic in one of the many forms we do as creators. So distraction winning often is a sign of creator burnout. So we have tension, we have delay, we have irritability, we have exhaustion, we have distraction. The sixth sign that you're in creator burnout is isolation. You are not showing your work to other people. Whether that's hitting publish on the video, whether it's collaborating with team members or other people and peers in your space, you are just trying not to be noticed or seen. So maybe you have great ideas and you're like, I don't want people to steal my idea, which I hear a lot. I don't want people to see me fail, so I'm not going to reach out or do the things that are social around being a creator. And so that is another warning sign. And then the. So we have tension, delay, irritability, exhaustion, distraction, isolation. The seventh one is what I call like the hero complex of like, I can do everything myself as a creator. And this is maybe where you are when you first start out in doing a YouTube channel or any of the creative content creation stuff that people do. But. But you will eventually need to get a team and that team is going to help you do more than you could possibly do by yourself. And so this I'll do everything myself. And I am definitely a prime candidate and fall to this one all the time often leads to the overwhelm or stress of like, I don't have enough time to get everything done, or there's just so much going on I keep can't keep track of it. And that prolonged causes burnout. So those are the seven, right? Tension, delay, irritability, exhaustion, distraction, isolation, and like the hero complex. A lot of times working with creators that are feeling burnt out, they'll just flat out tell you, hey, I'm feeling burnt out. And that's like the easiest way. So that's like the bonus eighth. But each of these by themselves is a symptom of creator burnout, but is not necessarily creative burnout. So how do you figure this out? Well, you can take my creator productivity assessment and rate yourself on five areas that can help you diagnose where you feel burnt out. And it takes about five minutes. It'll get you thinking about your creative career, your creative process, the work that you do in a little bit different way. And people love this quiz. Just go to SeanButner.com's quiz, which is in the show notes below. Once you are assessed, what can you do with this assessment? That actually shows me a couple of different areas or maybe I could focus on to get out of burnout. I have a three step framework for handling burnout and it's called Clear Action Wins. This three part framework starts with you getting clear on what you want to feel in your creative endeavor. So how do you get more clear on what you want to feel? Answer these following questions. What habits would you need to be sustainable forever? What habits would you need to stop because they're not going to work long term? And what would you need to stop or drop focus on to make your next biggest move? And these questions, you know, so maybe a habit you would need to start to be sustainable forever is get enough sleep. Right? It's common knowledge in a lot of the personal development space that sleep is a key component to anything you're going to do. It's key to brain health, it's key to creativity, it's key to feeling connected with people. And so there's so many benefits to sleep. And if you're not getting solid sleep or you're constantly waking up tired, it's extremely important to figure out what's going on there. Once you get that dialed in, you see how awesome it is, you'll want to do it forever. So it's an easy win. What habits would you stop? Because they don't work long term. And maybe you're thinking like, you know what, I wake up and I work from 6 in the morning to 6 at night with only breaks. I don't eat anything and I feel like crap at the end of the day and just completely wrecked. So maybe you don't do that anymore. Eventually you will hurt your health with a habit like that. Are those habits in your life that you could eliminate that aren't going to help you sustain your productivity, your happiness, your sanity, your energy, your creative career? And then what do you need to focus on? Maybe you need to focus on getting really good at YouTube or really good at your podcast before you start a newsletter or start actively figuring out LinkedIn or Facebook. So you're really choosing something you're going to focus on for the next 30 days can be extremely helpful. So get clear on what you want to feel in your creative career. I guess kind of rhymes. So get clear Actions wins. So the actions then is once you identify what you want to feel like in your career, the habits you do start or stop, then it's what is the next bold action of integrity for you as a creator? So this is visualizing what does that next step look like? You know, in the previous example, it's, you know, maybe figuring out my sleep is getting a sleep study to figure out if I have sleep apnea. Maybe having some suggestions there with some medical help, you know, talking to a doctor. That's really good at that. Maybe, you know, stopping the death march during the day is on your calendar, blocking out time, you know, a time to go outside and lock in the sun for an hour, to take an hour of lunch during the day, to maybe have an afternoon coffee with a friend. Right? And maybe that's what that looks like for you. In those two examples I shared before, what would happen if you only focused on your YouTube? What would that mean? That would mean you'd stop your newsletter. You'd actually stop running Facebook ads or doing Facebook content to solely focus on your YouTube channel. And so all that time that you spent switching tasks is now focused on one thing. And what else would get in the way of that vision happening? It's like, oh, I'd have to find a way to block YouTube videos and Netflix and all the apps that distract me in the process. Right? So that's what kind of envisioning that next step looks like, thinking through, like, what's stopping you from making that next move happen now that you have a clear vision of that in your head? It's different for everyone. So you kind of need to work with someone to get a more personalized and detailed recommendation for you. But it's something like that. And then the final question, and this is what differentiates, I think, creators that crush than the ones that are crushed by their careers is why is it essential for that next bold action of integrity to happen? Right. What's the necessity? You know, what do you stand to gain greatly by starting by following through, by generating some momentum towards this vision of your future? You know, who needs to see you do this or who needs you to succeed in this These types of questions can really help you identify why this is essential. Because, you know, personal development often says know your why. And this is, this is why it's important you will do things for other people where, especially if you're a solopreneur, then you would just do for yourself. Like me setting a deadline for myself is terrible, but me working with someone and saying, hey, I'm gonna have this to you in two weeks, lights a fire under my butt to get that done in a week and a half so they have some time to review it or whatever. So as an example, so that essentialness linked to other people can help you follow through on that action of bold integrity. Okay? And then so clear action wins. The third step is to celebrate every small win that happens. Part of being burnt out is sometimes you just really need a win. You just need to know that you're making progress. You've been like dealing with that frustration component of you've been toiling and sweating and bleeding to try to make this thing work, to have a self sustaining business, to provide for your family, to have an impact in the culture. And you need to celebrate the wins as you go. Because I have coached people that do amazing things, have large brands, really big careers, and they're so focused on what's next that they never take time to incorporate and integrate the great things that they've already accomplished. And maybe that's you. And if that's you, here's a couple of things you could celebrate by taking that next bold action of integrity. You do something different, right? You are making progress and you've tried, you're trying something new that can help you get to that future that you imagined for yourself. And that's great and I'm cheering you on, right? Or you did something that moved you towards that ideal feeling you had in your career, right? So you did something different. You're moving towards something new in your career that's also amazing. And maybe you actually saw some results towards that future vision, right? And that's something worthy of celebrating too. And so just generating some wins, as simple as I tried something different or as impactful for my creative career, making my life the way that I want it, you know, have that agency. And I enjoy doing this now because I can see that connection. It, it's powerful, it's palpable. So, and that's what I want for each and every one of you. So to recap, the seven signs of creative burnout are tension, delay, irritability, exhaustion, distraction, isolation, and a hero complex. And if you see any or some or all of these signs in yourself, then remember clear action wins. It's that easy. And I know you guys can do it. So remember, every creator and everyone that's a professional actually will see these signs. But it's what we decide to do about it that separates a creator who gives up and a creator that crushes. If you are experiencing any of these signs, I'm cheering you on. Half the battle is knowing that it's happening, that you're burning out. And if you want help identifying where you are burning out and what next steps might be and how to fix it, sign up for the High Performance Creator quiz linked in the show notes@seanbutner.com quiz. You also might like episode 17 of the podcast which is the Truth About Creator Burnout. I'll have that in the show notes too. Or if you're watching on YouTube over on the site here at the end. With that, we'll see you guys in the next episode of Creators that Crush.