My Summer Creative Reset Routine: 5 Steps to Get Inspired Again + FREE Downloads ☀️😎
- Sara Silva
- Jun 25
- 6 min read
Hey there, friends!
It's officially Summer time here in the Northern hemisphere and I can't tell you how excited I am. There are literally so many benefits to summer time in the United States, from not being at school to having so many more outdoor events and festivals that you can attend. With all that time and space to have fun, we can use this time as a way to counter burnout and unnecessary stress to prepare us for the remainder of the year.
What's burnout?
In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) released an article with the title "Burn-out an 'occupational phenomenon': International Classification of Diseases," or in other words, it was included in the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) as, not a medical condition, but as a syndrome that influences "health status or contact with health services" (WHO). So, what does that mean?
It means that despite it not being considered a medical condition like asthma or headaches, burn-out has been considered a factor that increases the chances of people contacting health services in their area. Although it may only be used to a phenomena in the work place, here's the definition given to this condition:
"Burn-out is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed."
Due to the poor management of stress, people may begin experiencing:
Lack of energy or exhaustion
Increased negative feelings related to one's job
Reduced efficacy in the workspace
Have you ever felt these things? We all have. Maybe not all of them at the same time, but a tired feeling from being around work. That's normal. The problem is that the root cause of this condition shouldn't be normalized: improper stress management leading to mental and physical consequences to you.
A lot of times I experience this as a creative, which can be frustrating as I'm not able to create things to the best of my ability. This lack of motivation could also be connected to other things, but it's a common sight with preventable causes.
Start with a brain dump...
Our minds can sometimes observe and gather so much information, especially now with social media and just an overall saturation of EVERYTHING. For this purpose, I wanted us to start this exercise with a clear mind. The best way to do this? A brain dump.
The process of taking time to write things down has proven to have a lot of benefits. From improved clarity and emotional processing, journaling can help regular people like you and me to declutter our minds and focus on the moment.
Here are some questions to get you started -- and you can do this on a notebook, type them out, or even use text-to-speech. Whatever helps you!
Journaling Prompts for Burnout
What creative habits or routines are no longer serving me?
How do I want to feel at the end of this Summer?
What projects have I been dreaming out but putting off?
What would my ideal daily or weekly routine look like?
What did I enjoy doing creatively as a kid that I haven't done in a while?
Where can I invite more fun and experimentation into my creative life?
What's one thing I want to start, one thing I want to keep, and one thing I want to let go of creatively?
What distractions, pressures, or fears do I need to release to make space for creative flow?
What would I do creatively if I wasn't worried about being good at it?
What's a belief I'm ready to rewrite about myself as a creative person?
💌 Would you like to have these prompts as a printable or digital file that you can write on? Download it here.
Then, we refresh our physical space!
The next step is now for us to refresh our physical space. There are different things that you can do to help you accomplish this.
Use a candle with a nice smell or even an incense stick to set the ambiance
Curate a playlist for the Summer that you can play when you're working on things in your space
Tidy up your desk or creative area by removing old things that no longer serve you
Organize your existing supplies and declutter older things you no longer use
When you're done with your physical space, it's time to jump into the digital one as well.
The Steps for a Proper Digital Declutter
As I mentioned before, thanks to the internet we now have an influx and saturation of information all the time. This means that, not only are out brains filled with clutter, but so are our devices. I try to do a digital declutter and cleaning session at least once a month, but I know that life happens and it's easy to move that to the end of the list.
To help you, here's a list of digital spaces that I'd recommend you to clean and look through to even help you save some memory.
Your Phone
Delete unused apps
Organize your Focus status (iPhone)
Clean through your Downloads folder
Go through your Photos for anything... past
Organize your photos into albums
Optional:
Set screen time limits for certain apps
Change your wallpaper to something inspiring
Computer & Files
Clean up your desktop (clear or organize the icons you have)
Delete old downloads and random screenshots
Organize your project files
Back up your important work to Google Drive or an external hard drive
Check for duplicate photos or documents
Unsubscribe from newsletters you never read
Archive or delete old messages
Create folders or labels for important topics
Update your signature
Social Media
Unfollow or mute accounts that drain your energy
Curate your feed with content that inspires you
💌 Did you know that you can also have this in the form of of a printable checklist? Click here to download.
Balance: Movement & Rest
I know we talked about making this Summer very productive, but the truth is that balance is great at any time. In other words: this is also a time for you to rest. On the other hand, as a creative, I know that I spend a lot of time siting down or laying down. With that in mind, also remember that movement is important and vital for your success as a creative as well.
Judgement-Free Creating
I also enjoy using the Summer time for trying out new projects and doing just-for-fun creating. Since I have extra time in my hands, that means that I get to try out new projects or new means for creativity that I had never before. However, I don't know if you can relate, but I struggle with perfectionism and always having a big critic in my head that won't let me create freely or just for fun.
Julia Cameron, author of the book The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Creativity, calls this inner critic the Censor. She asks the reader, "who wouldn't be blocked if every time you tiptoed into the open somebody (your Censor) made fun of you?" With this question, she answers: By employing judgement-free creative practices, like her Morning Pages, you're able to let go of that judgement and criticism and simply create for the fun of it - and for your learning.
If you're new to these more "unplanned" projects and would like some suggestions, here you go:
Doodle a friend or your favorite picture in your style
Recreate an old design that you made
Create a collage with printed pictures or magazines
Go on a walk and take pictures of your favorite views
These are only some suggestions and some places where you can start. The truth is that the more we practice with this "careless" creativity, the more we'll be able to succeed when we aim to tame it (if that's even possible!).
To conclude...
I truly hope all of this made sense.
The truth is that I feel a bit rusty and it has been a minute since I've written. I've missed you guys! I really wanted to encourage you to take some of these projects and put them into practice in your own life. If you take only one thing from this post, let it be this: your real Summer reset is meant to bring you clarity. Whatever you pick to do, use this time to empower yourself, your creative process, and anything else you need strengthened in your life.
If you'd like more creative tools, feel free to subscribe to this blog. For free resources like the ones linked on this post, you can sign up to my Resource Library.
Take care and stay creative!
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