Breaking Burnout

Burnout is a constant battle in any self driven industry. When you don't have a set schedule and minimal accountability for a healthy work life balance its easy to overwork yourself. There are a few things that minimize the burnout for me. I'll go over how and what these things are and why they help me break through the burnout. Because in all honesty; I've been burnt out since March.

The things that used to help me get rid of burnout.

• Events.
  Some examples of events that help put an end to burnout are PAX and Twitch Con. PAX (Penny Arcade Expo) has been something I've looked forward too every year since I first attended PAX West in 2016. PAX is a chance for me to remind myself why I do the work I do. I get the chance to talk with people in the industry that I normally would never interact with. It gives me the chance to meet with friends and fans. It's also a chance for me to directly remind myself that the work I do has a material impact. However, I won't be attending PAX until the strange political climate between the USA and Canada changes back to a state of "normal". Whatever "Normal" means.Twitch Con has always been a similar style of event. I used to always look forward to meeting up with friends that I'd only ever see at Twitch Con. The last time I attended one was Vegas in 2023. Twitch Con has slowly become something that is less and less for me. I've realized as time has gone on that I've been come somewhat of a relic in the streaming space. I use a camera, I have minimal on screen effects. I don't use an avatar focused towards younger audiences. I'm largely a community channel that avoids the current "Meta" of making as much money as possible. Twitch Con Vegas is likely my last Twitch Con. They have moved back to San Diego; While that is a great convention center and a fun city to visit. It is extremely expensive to fly there. Twitch Con is probably the reason I'm still doing this as a job. I made contacts with people who helped me in more ways then I could ever list in a blog post. I met with friends and learned how to manage myself in a crowded networking event. But now its catered to a much younger and different audience that is no longer for me. This is no longer an outlet that I see myself using to help save myself from burnout.

• Seasons.
  This work is seasonal. Yes, I work online but the style of videos and streams I do caters to a specific demographic. In the image below I show my YouTube Demographics. This is mirrored almost exactly with my average Twitch demographics. Since the majority of my audience is 25-44 years old that is the age where someone who is watching my work is likely busy with family or work. In the summer, people get time off and go do things. Alternatively their free time is lessened because their kids are not in school. Less free time means I get less viewership. I used to always say that "I'll survive summer and be okay after PAX" because the event landed in the end of August/Early September. Around the time kids were getting ready to go back to school and my stats would improve. I no longer have that so summer just feels endless. This means I have to focus on other things to get me through the slow season.

The last two bullet points I talked about things that used to help me. Let's cover what I hope to use as outlets going forward.

• Projects.
  This one might sound a bit ambiguous, But there is some logic to it. During slow seasons or periods of burnout I often find myself yearning for something different. Especially while stats for the things that work are down. Summer is often the time I find myself wanting to stream a bit more variety. However I think the better way to explain projects is videos that are interesting to me and different. Things that I don't matter so much if they under-perform. Recently its been a chance for me to pick up drawing as I talked about in a recent post on this blog. It is a chance for me to explore alternative outlets and try new things. It is also the time where I should take actual breaks instead of simply grinding until the next work event. In the next few weeks I hope to get a few book marks up on my merchandise store. Perhaps some original sketches as well. Honestly I don't even care if they sell. I just want to have something up there that I can feel good about. Setting small goals when the mind is clouded with burnout is a good way for me to combat it.

• Updates and Patches.
  At the end of the day I am more excited to work when the audience is excited about the work I'm doing. The summer is slow season. Something I used to wait out by looking towards the next PAX or Twitch Con. Thankfully there is the less expected way of battling burnout and that is updates to whatever I've had fun playing. If an update releases that drums up excitement in the community that is the fastest way to end a streak of burnout.

This might all seem a bit dire or upsetting. The reality is not so harsh. Burnout is a spectrum of interest in the kind of work I'm doing. I've fixed in the past with something as simple as buying a new camera or changing a small bit of formatting on my stream. Sometimes even re-wiring my computer helps. I have a new keyboard that I just picked up that'll be shipped here on Monday. I intend to review that on this blog. Something small like that often helps to reinvigorate my ability to work.

Regardless of how I feel about my current willingness to work. I love this job and what I do. Burnout has happened to me in every single job I've ever had. At least here I have the ability to make small changes or even drastic ones to fill in the void when I feel that I need it. Just like I have done for the past year writing on this blog.