How to avoid burnout: Where recovery fits in the work of prolific creators - Unthinkable #156

Whether you embrace hustle culture and effectively inject the advice equivalent of Red Bull to the brain every day, or you simply feel called to create your art and leave your legacy, burn out is real. Today, we explore the idea of recovery with some folks who are both awful at it and great at it.

On the show, we keep talking about the importance of reaching that next rep of your creative process consistently, faster, and better, but often, those ideas are in conflict. Often, we shouldn't move to the next iteration or project quickly.  Then there are other times where taking a break is actually a form of hiding. We want the perfect conditions or the Muse to visit us.

How do we spot the difference? How do we know whether we should just keep showing up, shipping the work, putting in the reps ... or we need to recover so the next rep is better?

There's a hidden a tension between being consistent and being better. Sometimes, they work in harmony, but when they don't, we experience burn out.

We'll visit with a writer, Margo Aaron, who became a marketer by accident, burnt out, and has found a smart, repeatable way to recover and consistently show up improved. We'll also hear from editor and researcher Molly Donovan, who brings us some of the science behind recovery in athletes, as well as a concept called Default Mode. We'll learn why that mode is so critical for the health of our brains and, specific to our exploration together, to creating more resonant work.

Recovery is a messy topic, and we have so many more questions than answers. Sounds like an Unthinkable episode to me!

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VOICES IN THIS STORY:

Margo Aaron: twitter.com/margoaaron thatseemsimportant.com

Molly Donovan: twitter.com/mhdonovan | mdonovancontent.com

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Jay Acunzo