“How Do You Deal With Burnout?” (2/21/20)

It’s an apt question I’ve seen floating around in certain circles. Anyone can run into the problem, of course. Overwork is overwork and getting overwhelmed by something done consistently can certainly happen in any endeavor. I’m not sure I’m the best person to speak on this, though, because I’m so scatterbrained, most of the time. I don’t really sit on one thing for long enough to get burned out, typically. And I think it makes me a bit more conscious of the issue. So I’m good at noticing when it’s starting to happen.

That said, I’m not immune to it. It’s just rare that I suffer it, so I’ve not put a ton of thought into how I deal with it. Let’s look, for example, at Burning Sky. That’s a project I’ve been working on for upwards of three years, now. And it’s finally at a stage where I can comfortably say we’re about ready to start moving it forward. But it’s not like I never took a break. The main site has been pretty good for that, all things considered. It provided some nice distractions. And, of course, there’s Bulletoon. I’ve been working on that project for even longer. And I have definitely felt burnout from it. But I just… took breaks when appropriate.

I think I am coming up on needing a break, though. Badly. As it pertains to the anime coverage, that is. The thing is that while I enjoy keeping up with seasonals to talk about them, it’s exhausting, having to do that. Even with the TKO format, which is designed to make it easier, over time, it’s still incredibly taxing in the short-term. So yeah. After this Winter season is done, I may take a break from anime coverage in the seasonal context. We’ll see. Mind you, it’s also partially because, with the nature of Seasonals and all the other stuff I wanna do… I just don’t ever have the time or energy to go back and watch things just because I want to.

I think I’m also just growing a bit weary of… I’m gonna call it “discourse,” even though it’s usually just people screaming at one another on Twitter. You know. When that anime comes along, every season? Not that unplugging from seasonals is going to fix that entirely. I’m not talking about Interspecies Reviewers at all (not my jam, honestly. I like a good romp with a racy aspect as much as the next guy, but I’ve never honestly found sex comedies to be very… you know… funny. Which inherently makes the sex appeal less “appealing” and more awkward), but I’ve still heard about that drama. Oh boy, have I heard about that drama.

I just think that by removing myself from even paying attention to seasonals, for a bit, aside from things I’m actually highly anticipating (so basically sequels to things I already enjoyed), I’ll be able to refresh myself and feel less like it’s all part of some grand obligation.

I haven’t even talked about what I’m watching other than the TKO here, yet, because there’s just been no time. As soon as I finish watching stuff for the TKO, I have to bugger off to watch stuff for Bulletoon. Or I have to find the time to write more of Burning Sky or EXTRACURRICULARS. It’s a lot, mate. So yeah. We’ll see how I feel at the end of this season. If nothing else, I don’t regret covering seasonals, at all. In fact, I’ve been having a blast, this Winter. My unpopular opinions about exceptionally hyped anime aside (In/Spectre and ID:Invaded just continue to not impress me at all), the shows have been really great times, across the board. It’s been a really good Winter, in that regard.

I think if I do end up taking a break, I’ll use the time to make a dent in this watchlist I’ve allowed to build up. That way I can delve more into older shows whenever the muse strikes me. The same goes for manga. I know a lot of people want me to talk more about Medaka Box and I’ve yet to finish rereading it. So there’s that.

What about you? Do you ever face burnout? And how do you like to deal with it? How do breaks help you, if you take them?