How to unplug or cure creative burnout.

For the past couple weeks I have been missing in action; not only here on the blog, but also sporadically on social media. It wasn’t intentional at first, even though I have planned many times for the past few months to retrieve myself from the internet, because God knows I needed it, but truth be told, I was reluctant for many reasons. Well, sometimes life would force us to take a much needed action, through a certain situation, whether it’s unexpected or not. Sometimes, it’s through an unfortunate life change, but other times it’s just a matter of a small change in our daily routine and habit, and I’m grateful to say that it was the latter. 

My family was expecting friends from overseas, and because I knew I would need to dedicate myself to them for these few weeks they were spending with us, I decided to take a little break from working and creating contents, so we can all truly enjoy their stay. – Win-Win, right!?

 However, the transition wasn’t a smooth one. My daily routine had changed a bit. I still had a few campaigns due, and my inbox was full of e-mails that needed to be addressed. Keep in mind that I don’t have a team… (YET… Speaking this into existence now), so I do all of the work by myself… (my dear hubby lending a hand every now and then… 😛 ).

As much as I tried to put in some work in early in the mornings or late in the evenings, I quickly found out I wasn’t really unplugging and relaxing; I was getting burnt out. It was time to listen to my body and relax my mind. I truly needed to unplug and this is how I did it:

• I cut down the amount of time I spend on my phone, especially scrolling through Instagram and Facebook. I was still documenting some of our activities through IG stories, but it was solely for fun and only when I felt like it. Even though I tried to take a few outfit photos on the go, I wasn’t obligated to, because they weren’t sponsored.
• I spent more time flipping through magazines and books to continue stimulating my creative mind even when not working.
• Music, music, music! Such a soul and Mind’s healer. Good music, that is! 
• I emailed the brands that I still need to deliver work to during that period of time and asked for an extension on my deliveries. Hey, the worst they could say was “No” and I’m glad I got lots Yes’.
• I stopped accepting campaigns that will force me to work during the couple weeks period of my break time. Some of them were willing to extend their due date, so that worked just fine.
• I was still touching base with a couple of clients on projects we were working on; Luckily they weren’t rushed projects or anything in that matter.
• I made sure to clear my schedule of any work-related events, so that all events I would attend were with family and friends and not in a professional setting.
• I used my alone time to meditate more, exercice, free my mind, relax, and pamper myself.

So these were some of the actions I took to make sure I was getting in the rest I needed and staying away from the internet as much as I could.

Now unto the more fun part 🙂 Since we were having people over, it didn’t make sense to plan a vacation, I would say it was more like a staycation and it was truly what we all needed. We decided to explore our cities (the Twin Cities) even more and enjoy mother nature and any other amenities we may enjoy out here.

The Como Zoo

So, here are some of the things we did and the place we visited:

•  We spent a lot of time in the water: water-parks, swimming pools, beach…  We all know the positive effect “water” can have on oneself, so it was refreshing, spending a lot of time by the lake and getting those vitamin D in. It’s fair to say that those were the kids favorite moments – Happy kids, happy parents! 🙂 
• We went for boat rides on the Mississippi river and Lake Minnetonka. If you didn’t know, Minnesota is called the land of ten thousand lakes, and that gives you a lot of options… and honestly, we never get tired of those boat rides, whether it’s a Sunday brunch ride or a Friday/Saturday Sunset Dinner mini-cruise.View from the front deck during one of our mini-cruises.

• We visited the Minehaha fall. One of the Twin Cities most visited places by tourists and even locals. We walked a little through the parks; rode a rented tandem bike/pedal cart at some point all along the river and then had a picnic in the park while watching a band perform.
• We visited the Sea Life Aquarium in the Mall Of America – (Kids’ favorite). We also spent hours of walking and shopping in the MOA and other outlets malls.
• In the world of a perfect blogger, I also browse through online store such as wikibuy and others to score some deals.
• Another day in the mall was spent doing rides in the Nickelodeon World, enjoying crepes, smoothies, and ice-cream.  (Cold Stones is our favorite!) 
• We ate out a lot. We enjoyed a few old favorites and tried new places too. Our guests enjoyed trying American cuisines, as they traveled from Switzerland. One of their funny reactions was about how generous the foods on the plates were, or how extra big the margarita glasses at the Mexican restaurant was. The shocked look was a true Kodac moment! 😀 
• We visited the Art Museum, the Science Museum, the Como Zoo,the Sculpture Park, downtown Minneapolis (by day and by night 😉 ) and St Paul and much more… We attended friends and family events and made sure to have all the fun we could have.Minneapolis Sculpture Garden

• We also made sure to have some adult only nights out, while the kids were enjoying movies and popcorn and what-not at home.

Phew! Seems like a lot, doesn’t it!? And it was! But hey, we honestly had an awesome time; and even though we spent long days out, we also had days where we just took it easy, enjoyed good conversations, over home-made meals, or those when I have soaked my feet in my foot massage machine or enjoyed a night pampered bath.

Here you have it, folks. This was so much needed; and I’m glad I could kill two birds with one stone. Now I’m trying to get back in the swing of things, but I have to admit that the transition isn’t easy. One thing’s for sure, I’m coming back refreshed, renewed, and excited to step into new dimensions! 🙂 

How do you unplug or cure creative burnout? What do you do?

Thanks for reading and have a great week ahead! 

Lots of love, 

XOXO

Edwige