Suffering From Songwriter Burnout?

Do you feel that the writing of songs brings you more stress than joy? Read on.

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Burnout is a difficult condition to define, but everyone knows when they are experiencing it. It’s more than simply being busy. I know many people who have days that go almost non-stop from start to finish, but they would not necessarily say that they are burning out. In fact, they seem rather content with that kind of lifestyle.

Burnout is more than that. When you feel burnout, you typically experience:

• Depression.
• Stress and anxiety.
• A sense of futility (songwriting feels like a wasted effort).
• A feeling that your efforts are under appreciated.
• An ongoing feeling that songwriting “duties” are overwhelming.

If you feel burnout, it probably means that it has been brewing for a long time. Burnout is the final stage of something that starts in the past, and then festers and grows.

One overriding cause/symptom of burnout, regardless of whether we are talking about songwriting, or any other activity or profession, is this: you feel that even a successful end result is not worth the energy and effort required to achieve it.

From a songwriter’s point of view, you know burnout is around the corner if, once you have written a song, and perhaps recorded or performed it, even rave reviews don’t seem to make a positive impact in your life or disposition. You always feel this brooding sense of depression and anxiety, and you catch yourself thinking or saying, “It’s just not worth it.”

There are many possible causes of burnout that songwriters need to know.

1. You are simply too busy. You need down time to recharge your batteries and make the job of writing worthwhile to you. If you are always writing with the stress of unfinished chores at the back of your mind, songwriting will feel like more of an annoying distraction than the pleasurable creative activity it is supposed to be.
2. You’re picking up a negative reaction to your songwriting from someone close to you. Songwriting is a very personal activity, and we benefit from positive reinforcement from family members and other loved ones. We like to think that others are proud of our work. There are times, however, when someone in the family is a “failed songwriter” who had ambitions to make it big. Even a slightly negative family member can wear your emotions thin. (You: “I finally finished my new song!” Response: “I’ll bet you didn’t put the garbage out, did you?”)
3. Your audience base is building slowly or not at all. You can’t seem to take your eyes off your Twitter account to see how many followers you have, and you’re not happy with what you see. You may be pulling in small crowds to your performances. You may even be hearing a negative response to your last few posted songs. It may be time to rethink why you’re writing songs in the first place. Remember, even if you are commercially successful, songwriting has to be a personal activity that brings pleasure to you first, and then to others. A negative response from a YouTube video or a posted MP3 is not necessarily an indication that you are doing something wrong.
4. You live in hope of winning the big songwriting contest. And when you don’t win, you can feel deflated and start to wonder if the effort was worth it. If you enter songwriting contests, send in your entry, and try to forget the fact that you just did that. Get on with what you enjoy doing. Some might advise, “Assume you’ll lose… then there is no disappointment.” A better way to say that is, “Assume the contest adjudicators won’t get what your music is about.” You’ll be happier, and you’ll still feel the drive to keep writing.

To prevent burnout often means that you need to sit back and remind yourself why you started to write songs in the first place. If your main objective was to become famous, it is more likely than not that burnout is around the corner for you.

If, though, songwriting has always been a creative outlet, a chance for you to create something that pleases you and encourages you, that makes your days happy and ultimately makes you feel fulfilled, then sometimes you simply need to put your guitar down and remind yourself of that simple fact.

And if you find yourself saying, “It’s just not worth it,” take that as an alarm bell that’s trying to get your attention. It’s time to stop writing for a moment, take a walk, and remind yourself why you do this in the first place.

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Written by Gary Ewer. Follow on Twitter.

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