A Note on Burnout
So this is strange, isn’t it? Since August 19, 2017, I have posted on my blog once a week. For four years, I made sure that my content was planned, my photos were taken, and everything was scheduled to go live on Sundays. But then COVID happened, and it disrupted my weekly regimen, and it appears that I have not yet fully recovered from that.
In the past, I’ve written plenty about mental health. This is not a new concept here on The Canadian Creative blog. I’ve written about a few tactics that I like to utilize when trying to break myself out of a rut. I’ve also [more] recently written about my current mental health struggle. So why the long silence here on thecanadiancreative.com? Well, let’s chat a bit about burnout.
Up until 2020, I was very capable of multitasking. I could work my job, write my blog, and have a social life. Everything felt balanced. However, COVID uprooted a lot of things for a lot of people, and for me, that was my ability to focus on more than one thing at a time. Managing my calendar is harder, and socializing with friends and family too, and even watching tv or reading a book can sometimes feel way too overwhelming for my brain. Sometimes, when an email comes through to my inbox, I read it and then immediately mark it as unread again to come back to later. The issue with that tactic is that… well, I don’t always come back to them, and then I end up with 900 unread emails over the course of the time I’ve had this account. Oops.
Then, I began my current job. A job, mind you, that I absolutely love! My team is fantastic and supportive, the work I’m doing is meaningful, and I receive plenty of positive feedback to keep me moving forward. So, why did I take such an extended break from the blog?
My first thought is the time commitment. Writing this blog takes time. I need to write the post, take photos, edit the post, format the text and photos to ensure everything looks good, and then do it all over again for social media. That takes a lot of time and effort. Yet, I did it every year since 2017, even when I was in school. Hell, I used to write blog posts from work once my shift was over! I made it work, and I figured it out.
Then, I considered the pandemic. Everything was shut down. There was nothing new to report, so I had way less to write about. Fair enough. People were let go from their jobs, businesses had to close their doors entirely. It was really tough to find anything to talk about other than what I was watching or what we were cooking.
Finally, what I’ve settled on is burnout. And I want to give a special shoutout to my friend Bonnie who I recently reconnected with and who has truly reignited my passion for personal writing. My current job requires me to write. A lot. And I absolutely love writing. In fact, I’ve gotten really good at it, if I do say so myself! Be that as it may, when you write all day every day for almost a year, it makes it a bit more challenging to feel motivated to write in your personal time.
I’ve done some reflection on this, too, because I really wanted to understand what happened here. I love this blog. I started it because I wanted to share fun and practical and coveted brands and activities and just general life stuff with the people in my life. This blog has taken me all over. I’ve written about some of my travels, I’ve attended fashion events and restaurant openings, and I’ve shared endless, copious amounts of skincare with you. But somewhere along the way, I got stuck. I carry around fewer spoons every day now. And, most definitely, my social battery requires way more to recharge and way less to diminish.
Thanks to support groups, therapy, and Bonnie’s willful attempt at ensuring I don’t fall into the same experiences she has, I have managed to break through this fog I’ve been drifting through. Of course, there are many other people and things to attribute this come-back to. However, what matters most is that I want to get back to sharing my life with you. I want to show you the makeup and skincare I’ve been loving lately. I want to talk all about the fun cocktails I want to make for the holiday season (can you believe I’m hearing about gift guides already??). I can’t wait to highlight some of my favourite fall/winter clothing pieces because this is the coziest time of year. And I especially want to continue this open dialogue about the lasting impacts that COVID has had on myself and many, many people in my life.
With all of that said, I want to say hello again. Because I intend to get back to writing the blog. I will ease myself back into it, but this little slice of the internet is near and dear to me, and I hope you haven’t missed me too much.
Stay safe, take care of yourself, and see you around the internet again real soon.
