I Was Burned Out – How Claim The Sky Helped Me Reconnect With My Creative Side

About a year and a half ago now, I took a work sabbatical. I had a few months away from the grind of teaching and took time to reflect on, well, me. I was burned out. I’ve had plenty of ups and downs with teaching and it wasn’t the first time I wondered if I was done. I have no doubt some people would have described this as a midlife crisis. I don’t know about the ‘crisis’ but it was certainly a crossroad.

Rediscovering Creativity

During this time I found a lot of calm and satisfaction in drawing. Something I’ve dabbled in since childhood. I’m no Da Vinci, I don’t claim to be an artist, but reconnecting with a creative side I’d let slide felt rewarding and invigorating. I played with a bunch of digital tools, learned some new things, and ended up creating some imagery I really liked. And one day I thought to myself, ‘I’d like that on a t-shirt.’ And so I slowly started down this road.

Sketches to T-Shirts

Along the way I had some realisations. I’d really missed being creative. Some of you have read my old blogs, or listened to the old podcast (shout out to the Dad Regime boys). Those things existed in a space that was just an outlet for creativity. I learned a ton doing these things. They were challenges I took on because they were fun and rewarding. For the longest time I was on a journey to find my ‘art’. Turns out the burnout might have reignited some enthusiasm. A rekindling of creativity. Enough to feel brave enough to put this out into the world.

Finding Authenticity Online

None of those old creative ventures ever made money, I never asked for any! Which brings me here. I’m selling t-shirts. While I find the prospect exciting – it’s also uncomfortable. I have to place a lot of trust that the behind the scenes stuff happens, that deliveries occur promptly, that material quality remains high, the prints are centred. Once I hit go, I don’t have full control of that anymore.

And I have to market this. This where I get super uncomfortable. I’m terrible at promoting myself and my work. I’m terrible at social media.  I find so much of that world contrived and inauthentic and yet I know it’s key to developing a successful online business. How do I do this in a genuine and authentic way? I have some ideas. I have some plans.

What am I asking for from you? Look, I’d love for you buy a t-shirt! But I know a lot of you are like me, and that purchases are either out of necessity or earned through brand trust. So what I’d love more than anything is that you come along for the ride. If you’ve ever liked anything I’ve ever done before, then you’ll find something here to engage with. If you’re interested in seeing where this spark of enthusiasm takes me, follow along. Follow Claim The Sky on whichever socials you prefer. Share when you can. Comment. Like. All those cliché things because apparently, they really do work.

Let’s Talk About Burnout

So that’s how I got here, but I know I’m not the only one who has ever lost the drive. How about you? Have you suffered burn out? Did you lose the creative spark? What helped for you? What are you doing now? Let me know!