The Creative Reset: What Burnout Taught Me About Starting Fresh

We live in a world that asks us to be on all the time—available, responsive, and productive around the clock. As a mom of two young children and a solo business owner working from home, I often find myself pulled in every direction by the demands of parenting, society, and client work. I’ll go weeks bouncing from project to project without any real pause, convincing myself I’m fine because things are getting done. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to recognize the signs of burnout before it completely takes over.

I recently came out of one of those cycles—a stretch where everything hit at once. Work deadlines piled up, my creative energy thinned out, and a wave of illnesses ran through our household for what felt like forever. By the end of it, I was completely drained—physically, creatively, and emotionally. What I needed wasn’t more discipline or motivation. I needed a reset.

And I don’t think I’m alone in that. Whether you’re a creative, a parent, a business owner, or just someone trying to keep up, burnout creeps in quietly. It shows up as resistance, exhaustion, distraction—the sense that no matter how much you do, you’re never really catching up. A creative reset is about interrupting that pattern and finding your way back to yourself.

Here are a few things that have helped me, and maybe they’ll help you too:

1. Clear the physical space

Before I can think clearly, I have to see clearly. Cleaning my studio, wiping off a dusty shelf, putting brushes or books back in their place—it’s never just about tidying. It’s about telling my nervous system: you’re safe to rest and relax. Sometimes, the act of cleaning becomes its own form of meditation.

2. Slow down the inputs

When I’m burnt out, I notice how much I’m taking in—content, opinions, inspiration overload. A reset often means turning down the volume of everything else so I can hear my own thoughts again. Whether that’s deleting an app, stepping away from my phone for a weekend, or just driving in silence, less noise makes more room for intuition.

Sometimes, I’ll turn on music or a podcast and sketch something for fun—not for a project.

3. Return to simple rituals

Resets don’t need to be grand gestures. Sometimes it’s making a cup of coffee and sitting in the sunlight for five minutes before checking email. Sometimes it’s potting a new plant or cooking something slowly. Small rituals remind us that creativity isn’t just in the final product—it’s in the living.

4. Reconnect with your “why”

When you feel uninspired, it’s easy to assume you’ve lost your spark—but usually, you’ve just lost connection with your reason. Why you started. Why you create. Why you care.

A reset invites you to revisit that “why,” not with pressure, but with curiosity. Maybe your why has changed—and that’s okay, too. I find journaling really helpful for reconnecting with my why. It doesn’t have to be profound, sometimes a quick brain dump is enough to see things clearly again. I also love going through my paint swatches and picking out colors that make me happy, or printing work from artists who inspire me. No making, just admiring.

5. Give yourself grace for the in-between

This might be the hardest part. The pause between old energy and new momentum can feel uncomfortable, even scary. But it’s where renewal happens. A reset isn’t a retreat from progress—it’s the fertile ground it grows from.

If you’ve been feeling the pull to reset—creatively, emotionally, or otherwise—take it as a sign. You don’t have to burn everything down to begin again. You can simply clear a corner, take a breath, and trust that even in stillness, something new is quietly forming.

Until next time,

Xoxo Lu

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