Creators are constantly burning out on YouTube – and for good reason. YouTube is a lot of work and the successes don’t come quickly. We want to encourage you to grow through the hard times and be able to discern when to push through and when to take a break.
Signs of Burnout
Recognizing the signs of burnout early on is helpful. If you catch it early, you can start making changes before it’s too late. One of these signs that you’re feeling burnt out would be trying to create out of a deficit. – No inspiration, no excitement but forcing yourself to create anyway. If you wake up feeling like, “Ugh, I have to…” this is a bad sign.
If you are here, recognizing what part of the process you are dreading can be helpful. You might love filming, but the editing makes you want to poke your eyes out. Or maybe you love the editing, but the planning is draining. Recognizing and looking for a way to solve this problem is vital.
The important thing when you are here is to not be reactive. A lot of people in this place start to just copy other people’s content because they have no inspiration to create their own. Because of this, they totally lose focus of their goals and audience. If this is you, take a step back. Take a break if you need and refocus yourself.
Perseverance
Patience is also something we need as creators. Getting to your first 100 subs is excruciating. Getting to your first 1K feels like it takes forever. So many people give up when it doesn’t happen immediately. We totally understand the desire to just get there already, but it’s a process and it’s different for everyone.
Another thing that creators need to persevere is purpose. So many creators have a goal of a certain number of subs or views. This is bad for two reasons: 1) If it takes a long time to hit this, it’s really discouraging. and 2) Once you reach it, your goal just goes up. It’s really had to see your progress and appreciate the work you have put in.
Instead, I would suggest looking at these things as milestones, instead of the end goal. What if you looked at your retention during your hook and tried to improve that over the next quarter? What if you focused on your titles and thumbnails and had a goal of improving your impressions over your next 8 videos? This is going to be so much better for you mentally and honestly better for you to improve your YouTube skills overall.
Being open to change is also a key element to success on YouTube. So many creators come to us, asking for help yet, they are so resistant to trying anything new. I get it. No one likes change. But if you want different results, maybe try something different.
Practical Solutions
Maybe this is you. Totally burnt out. Forcing yourself to create even though the idea of it brings instant dread. Maybe you are feeling like throwing in the towel and giving up your channel forever. If this is how you are feeling, it’s ok to take a break. At any job, you get vacation. Why should YouTube be any different? Take off for two weeks (or two months) and don’t even think about YouTube while you’re on break.
Then when you come back, write down what made you want to start Youtube in the first place. What was your purpose? If you left your channel just as it is, what is left unsaid? Is there a different approach that would be more exciting for you?
If you aren’t to the spot that you have to take a break, take a step back instead. Figure out what is the thing that is draining you. If you aren’t ready to talk to someone else, pull out your phone and record yourself just ranting. Don’t hold back, but allow all your thoughts to get out of your system. What is it all boiling down to? What can you change that will make this better?
Change can be intimidating. If you feel like you can’t implement any changes, maybe you need a bigger break. Change is hard, but change is also good. And change can also be exciting. Changing your perspective might also be the first step.
Our Break
Here at Video Creators, we have decided to take our own advice and take a break from the podcast. We still have a love and passion for helping creators, but simply feel maxed out with our other responsibilities and need to take a step back to reignite our passion and reevaluate our channel.
But don’t worry! You aren’t left alone. We have over 600 videos on our YouTube Channel ready to teach you strategies to grow on YouTube. Or if you want someone to come alongside you, I’ve trained all the vidIQ coaches and there is a coach waiting to help you daily in your journey.
All of us here, love you and wish you the best in your YouTube journey. We hope to restart the podcast again. Until then…
Keep changing lives!
Tim Schmoyer
YouTube . Instagram . Facebook . Twitter . Linked in