The Dog Days of Summer Burnout

It’s hot. I’m tired. You probably are too. I’m burnt out. You might be too.

So what do we do? For one thing, I do NOT feel like writing. 

And then I start to worry, “what if I never feel like writing again??” 

And then I remind myself, “you like to write, you don’t have to feel like writing to like writing. You’ll feel better soon.”

Because when we’re so brain fried, how can we expect our brains to create? My brain’s battery is empty, barely emitting pathetic sparks to show life. 

So I’m resting it. Last week I talked about how I made muffins in an effort to be off my phone more. The scrolling, constant email checking, and 24/7-thinking is what burned up my fuel in the first place. 

In these dog days of summer, I’m leaning into the heat. I’m leaning into the tiredness. I’m resting more. Turning my brain off more.

I’m reading for fun, working my way through The Vacationers by Emma Straub. I have beach reads on the brain and this is just right. I also loved her book All Adults Here so much, so it is interesting to read some of her earlier writing.

When we feel burnt out, we rest. We nurture our bodies and brains with good food and good reading and sleep. 

Eventually we will feel a bit more like ourselves, and a bit more like writing.